Tessuti Fabrics sewing lesson

A while ago my housie told me about an amazing urban sewing legend place, whose waiting list extended beyond the new year. Apparently there was a waiting list to be on the waiting list, or some shiz like that.

Unperturbed, I logged on to said urban sewing place's website and yep, she was right - Sydney = SOLD OUT. Seems we all want to sew our way into our granny's good books.

A couple of months later, I browsed the website again. Like the shining sun coming through a grey cloud, there it was - an opening for a beginner sewing class the following Saturday. BOOKED!

Tessuti Fabrics sits aptly amidst the hipster-scum-cum-crafty-bum suburb of Surry Hills. My first introduction to the shop was only to be told to wait outside as they weren't open yet (I was seven mins early). Then, the owner and his baby son came along and asked if I was waiting for the lesson? Yep, well come on in then!

Customer service pays dude. If he hadn't of overwritten what the old bat had said, this little post could have been different. Be nice to your paying customers.

Onto the lesson. There were seven of us around our oldish Bernina and Janome machines. They were perfectly fine and in good working order, though they had already been threaded. I am a BEG-INN-ER. Let me thread my own damn machine after you TEACH me how. My thoughts at this was 'Here we go, I'm going to be way out of my depth again, and get frustrated and wield that roll of dusty pink duchess satin around in unfulfilled crafting angst'.

Except, it didn't quite go all She-Ra in Tessuti. The lesson progressed nicely and at a pace where we could all grasp the basics. I'll admit, my quizzical eyebrows were getting a workout though like the dag student I am, I promptly raised my hand and asked questions. I have no patience for teachers who assume knowledge cause once again, I am a BEG-INN-ER. Sound it out, cause that's what I am.

So we learnt this stitch and that hem, and how to sew waistbands into skirts. I came out of it thinking yeah good start, now i'll just have to book continuous classes. For $75, it's more expensive then your tech/college courses (that are a couple hundred bucks over several weeks), though it's a taster plate if you will. If you want to do cushions, napkins, table clothes, you're covered. If you want to sew a summer dress, best book a longer course.

Overall, the teacher Georgia was exceptionally lovely and positive. She mentioned the adjective 'perfect' a few times about my work. I was glowing like the girl geek I am, and then overextended my abilities to the point where I ruined what I was working on. I patiently unpicked, re-pinned, re-sewed and still managed an ok job though. Star.

Negatives about the class was that it didn't start from the beginning (how to thread the bobbin, names of the machine parts) and it perhaps didn't quite give adequate notes to take (I would have liked explanations for what the parts do, because I don't remember). There was also only one iron, and that chomped into a lot of time.

Positives about the class was that it was an overall experience and was fun to dive straight in and challenge my abilities. I may have been messy, or cause the bobbin to spaz a few time, though Georgia was always there to help.

Tessuti Fabrics
110 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills
Also in Melbourne and Chatswood (NSW)