Step Into Dressmaking: Sew Your First Dress ✄✄
what students are saying
Stop searching for the perfect dress... make it! This is the Sigma Dress from New Zealand's PaperCut Patterns.
The Sigma dress features bust darts, waist and back darts, small soft gathers... AND pockets! Every garment is better with pockets! The dress is high waisted, to flatter your figure, you can additionally learn to lengthen the skirt if you are feeling the Winter winds. You will be taught how to insert an invisible zip (that looks amazing).
In this sewing course, you’ll create your own dress from start to finish, learning the skills to sew a beautiful garment you can actually wear. Whether you’ve made a few pieces before or you're ready to step beyond basics, in this course we will guide you through each step with support, no overwhelm, no guesswork.
By the end, you’ll walk away with a custom-made dress, plus the confidence to tackle more advanced garments on your own.
COURSE PLAN:
- Taking measurements & size selection
- Layup pattern pieces and optional skirt lengthening
- Cutting out and transferring markings
- Fusing interfacing
- Finishing raw edges with an overlocker
- Fill a bobbin, setup & adjust machines
- Stitching darts
- Sewing pockets
- How to create gathers
- Joining the bodice and skirt
- Inserting an invisible zip (like a pro!!!)
- Attaching sleeves
- Getting a professional hem!
In class, we make the short sleeve as included in Papercut's school pack. For more variations, including long sleeves, buy the full Sigma dress pattern by Papercut Patterns.
Workshop skill levels explained – click here.
Wear it with: Papercut's Sapporo Coat - click to view.
We have all the tools you'll need. Each participant is set up with fabric shears, pinking shears, thread snips, unpicker, hand needles, tape measures, pins, tailor's chalks, hem guides, ironing/pressing tools, rulers, stationery... there is no need to lug around your whole sewing kit. We've taken care of it all.
Details
You will learn
- Taking measurements and choosing the right size, pattern placement and transferring markings, cutting technique.
- Finishing raw edges and seams with an overlocker
- Stitching perfect bust and waist darts. Sewing an invisible zip. How to sew gathers.
You will get
- Finally Sew a Dress You’ll Wear on Repeat
- Instructions and a copy of the pattern to make many more dresses
Appropriate for
✄✄ Intermediate Sewing Star: This sewing thing is really growing on you! You can follow a suggested layout and have now worked with a variety of woven fabrics, maybe even your first knits. You've stepped up to using patterns for simple garments like basic skirts, pants and tops. You've sewn a dart, inserted a basic zip and have finished edges with an overlocker.
Preparation
What to bring
- .3 metres of light weight fusible interfacing
- 55+cm invisible zipper
- Woven fabric >140cm wide - 1.3 metres, or <140cm 1.8 metres. To make a knee length skirt, bring .3m more fabric.
- Matching sewing machine thread
What to wear
Casual
Planning a Private Event?
From corporate team building to birthdays and hen's parties, Thread Den can tailor a private sewing classes experience for your group.
Your Teacher
Thread Den
2417 reviewsLearn to sew, craft and create with Thread Den, located on Melbourne's vibrant Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. Since 2007, we've spent almost 20 years helping students start from the very beginning, level up their skills, and find their own unique style.
Coming to Thread Den feels like learning from a friend, a super nice, clever one, alongside a small group of fellow sewists. Everything you need is right there waiting for you: lovely big cutting tables, smooth-running Janomes with plenty of feet and accessories, inspiring resources, and friendly people to chat to along the way.
Your teachers bring years of experience, their own labels and businesses, and a genuine love of sharing their skills and craftsmanship with you.
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We can't wait to see your dress! It was lovely to teach you. We've sent you a note about coming along to a FreeStyle session to finish the last parts of your dress.
Cancellations & Refunds
If the organiser cancels the class:
You are entitled to a full refund.
If you can't attend the class:
You’re welcome to send someone in your place.
OR
- A refund can be requested 1 day before class starts. An admin fee of AU$35.00 applies.
- A transfer can be requested 4 days before the class starts. An admin fee of AU$10.00 applies.
- A credit note can be requested 4 days before the class starts. An admin fee of AU$10.00 applies.
No changes will be allowed after these times.
Terms & Conditions
Attendance & Preparation
Taking part in a workshop at Thread Den is fun, and we love teaching people our craft, but it''s your responsibility to clear your diary for the session(s) you''ve booked, especially if your course runs across multiple weeks. To finish your project, you''ll need to attend every session and arrive on time. Unfortunately, we can''t go back over material already covered, as it wouldn''t be fair to your fellow participants.
Please bear with us on this next point: our workshops and courses are usually booked out weeks in advance, so it isn''t always possible to simply move you into another session. If a suitable class is running and has space, we''ll try to offer you a discounted spot to help you catch up. If that''s not an option, you may need to book a private lesson to stay on track.
We also won''t chase you up to confirm you''re coming to class or that you have the right supplies. Most workshops require you to bring your own materials; we only offer a supplies kit at an additional cost for the Sewing Basics 3 Week Course. If you''re ever unsure what to bring, just email us at info@threadden.com and we''ll point you in the right direction.
We want you to love what you make just as much as we do, so please take our fabric recommendations seriously. Choosing a fabric suited to a more advanced skill level can make the experience frustrating rather than fun.
We do our best to answer common questions in each workshop description, but please don''t hesitate to email us with anything else. And we''d genuinely love to see the fabric you''re considering, we''re always happy to point you toward our favourite fabric and haberdashery suppliers.
Thanks for reading through the finer details, we appreciate it.
Our cancellation and refund policy is presented during the booking process.
Medical Events
Your safety and wellbeing are important to us. We reserve the right to make decisions necessary to protect the safety of all participants, this may include calling an ambulance on your behalf and at your expense.
Course Cancellations
- Classes are subject to sufficient enrolment (usually a minimum of 2 participants).
- We reserve the right to cancel any scheduled course.
This policy is also available on our website: threadden.com/about/bookings-and-cancellations-policy
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Step Into Dressmaking: Sew Your First Dress ✄✄
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