Workshop Day Tag: Sunday

CREATIVE THERMOFAX PRINTING with Alison Hulme, Eau Brink Studio – Sunday 12.35

90-minute workshop – cost £25.00

Join Alison Hulme for an inspiring workshop on fabric printing. Discover the art of printing onto pre-dyed fabric using Thermofax screens and acrylic paints. Alison’s expert guidance will teach you how to create unique, vibrant textile designs.

Suitable for all skill levels, this hands-on session will ignite your creativity and leave you with beautiful, custom-printed fabrics.

Advisory Note:

Not suitable for children under 16 years

Meet the Tutor

Alison Hulme

Alison Hulme, a talented textile artist hailing from Hampshire, UK, has made her mark in the world of stitched textiles. With a Foundation Degree in Stitched Textiles completed in 2013, Alison’s artistic journey has been filled with exhibitions, shows, and inspiring workshops.

With a passion for textiles that knows no bounds, Alison imparts her expertise through workshops, inspiring the next generation of textile artists. Alison’s journey highlights her talent, passion, and dedication to the craft.

MIXED MEDIA SHROOM PINCUSHION with Alex Hellawell – Sunday 10.10

2-hour workshop – cost £36.00

Add a little woodland magic to your sewing table with this beautiful versatile pincushion that also has a holder for your small thread scissors too.

In this class you will be using mixed media to:

  • Create a Shroom stem with a tin foil armature, wrapped in Quick Cure Clay (QCC)
    • Sew and stuff your pincushion head
    • Paint your stem using acrylics
    • Attach Shroom base to wooden slice using a hot glue gun
    • Attach pincushion head
    • Use tacky glue to attach moss to Shroom base.

Advisory Note:

Not suitable for children under 12 years of age due to the heat of the clay and hot glue. Adult supervision is required. Open to ALL abilities.

Meet the Tutor

Alex Hellawell

Alex is a mixed media clay artist who creates whimsical, colourful, dark imaginative sculptures. She uses clay, paint, paper and found objects to craft sculptures and wall pieces, these can be playful, quirky and charming or dark and brooding.

Craft Academy Full Day Workshop – Festive Willow Reindeer with Rachel Harwood

Willow Weaving – Sunday 3rd Nov 2024 – 9:30am

Join Rachel on a fabulous full day Willow Weaving workshop and learn how to sculpt your very own 4ft reindeer ready to take home and decorate for the festive season.

The day is broken down into segments to make it fun and achievable and everything you need is included.

An apron is provided, but we suggest that may want to wear old clothes too.

This workshop will take place at our 31st October – 3rd November Birmingham NEC show which includes access to: The Creative Craft Show, Sewing for Pleasure Winter Edition and Simply Christmas plus sister shows Cake International and Bake International

Under Rachel’s guidance you will:

  • Learn how to build a large body framework.
  • Try out a variety of weaving techniques.
  • Gain in-depth knowledge of how Willow sculptures are created.
  • Find all about the lifecycle and processing of willow.
  • Gain advice on aftercare.
  • Obtain lots of individual help, with the opportunity to ask all your questions.
  • Learn all about the tools and how you can progress your weaving skills at home.

Full day Academy Workshops include:

  • Lunch and refreshments throughout day.
  • All materials and equipment required.
  • Complementary ticket to visit the main show on another day.  

Important Note:

This class is suitable for beginners over the age of 16, but a degree of hand strength is needed.

Meet the Tutor

Rachel Harwood

Drawing on her experiences of wildlife and nature, Rachel uses British grown willow from Somerset to create sculptures for the home and garden. Connecting with the natural environment is her passion and she tries to capture the movement of nature in her sculptures. Rachel loves to teach, passing on her practices and inspiring people on the use and beauty of natural materials to reconnect with the natural world.

Zips In Three Ways With Mercedes Ferrari-Plumridge- Sunday 13.45

90-minute workshop – cost £24.00

[Max 10 people]

Join Mercedes and learn the tips and techniques for three different methods of zip insertion. Starting with the centred zip you will then move on to the lapped zip and then finish with the invisible zip. All three methods will be useful additions to your garment and home-ware sewing.

Advisory Note:

Suitable for over 16’s only. Experience using a sewing machine would be useful.

Meet the Tutor

Mercedes Ferrari-Plumridge

Mercedes was a contestant on series 5 of the Great British Sewing Bee (2019). She lives just outside Brighton with her husband Graham and their two cats, Maggie and Erica. Having worked in IT for over 20 years and serving as a reservist for 13, Mercedes has a passion for all things technical and wants to know the ins and outs and whys of everything.  Mercedes enjoys utilising fabrics from all sources in her sewing projects while using traditional and developing new techniques.  

Fabulous Cuff Plackets with Mark Francis- Sunday 11.45am

90-minute workshop – cost £24.00

[Max 10 people]

Join Mark Francis from the Great British Sewing Bee for everything you will need to know to sew the perfect cuff plackets. In this session you will cover traditional, bias bound and inseam cuff plackets. Everything is provided, but please do bring a basic sewing kit if possible. Full instructions are there for you to take home and you will be working in Calico cotton for your samples.  

Advisory Note:

Not suitable to children under 16 years. Experience with using a sewing machine preferable.

Meet the Tutor

Mark Francis

Mark’s practical sewing experiences began quite late in life, but his relationship with sewing began when he was a small child. However, needlework was not something that little boys were encouraged to do in the 1980’s.

Many years passed until he found the confidence to finally learn to use a sewing machine, and he discovered his passion for making clothes and costumes. Then, a few years ago, Mark’s husband entered him for series 6 of the Great British Sewing (2020) and life hasn’t been the same since! 

Mark now works across the sewing industry, teaching, presenting talks and developing his growing range of sewing patterns.

LEARN HOW TO MACHINE STITCH A TEXTILE LANDSCAPE PICTURE with Julie Cole, Dropped Stitch Artists – Sunday 9.45

This workshop is designed for anyone wishing to experiment with machine embroidery. Using painted Bondaweb, Tyvek, organza, lace sheers and handmade cords you will create a 15 x 15cm textile seascape picture.

Advisory Note:

Suitable for over 16’s only. No previous machine embroidery necessary, although some prior knowledge of using a sewing machine is required for this workshop.

Meet the Tutor

Julie Cole

Julie Cole is a member of the textile group Dropped Stitch Artists, and is a textile and mixed media artist living in South Lincolnshire. Being a visual type of person she finds herself very much drawn towards creating texture through mixed media art.  

She loves mark-making, mono-printing and making her own creative fabrics to work with through dyeing eco-dyeing and printing. Julie’s inspiration for her work comes from embracing the countryside

Make & Take: Using-up scrap fabrics with Embroiderers Guild – Sunday 11:30am

Duration: Between 1 hour- 1.5 hours

Cost: £10

Information about this workshop: 

Make a picture using scraps of fabric applying beads, buttons, simple stitches. Amazing what can be made out of ‘scraps’!  

Make and Take session times:  

Sunday 11:30-12:30

all ability levels, incl beginners

You can book & pay for these sessions at our stand H17 but we have limited spaces!

Make & Take: Create a Card or Notebook cover with Embroiderers Guild – Sunday 1:00pm

Duration: Between 1 hour- 1.5 hours

Cost: £10

Information about this workshop: 

We will provide materials for you to make a unique card or notebook cover using simple stitches, adding beads and buttons.

Make and Take session times:  

Thursday 3:00- 4:00

Saturday 3:00- 4:00

Sunday 1:00- 2:30

all ability levels, incl beginners

You can book & pay for these sessions at our stand H17 but we have limited spaces!

Make & Take: Create a flower picture with Embroiderers Guild – Sunday 9:30am

Duration: 1-15.5 hours

Cost: £10

Information about this workshop: 

Using a small ring frame which will act as the picture frame upon completion, we will show you how to layer sheer fabrics and stitch through them to great effect for a stunning picture for your wall.

Make and Take session times:  

Thursday 9:30- 11:00

Friday 11:30- 12:30

Sunday 9:30- 11:00

all ability levels, incl beginners

You can book & pay for these sessions at our stand H17 but we have limited spaces!

Make & Take: Make a needlecase using simple shapes & stitches Embroiderers Guild – Sunday 3:00pm

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cost: £10

Information about this workshop: 

Make and decorate a felt needlecase to take away to use for your sewing projects.  You will have a choice of pattern and colours to use.

Make and Take session times:  

Thursday 1:00- 2:30

Friday 3:00- 4:00

Saturday 1:00- 2:30

Sunday 3:00-4:00

all ability levels, incl beginners

You can book & pay for these sessions at our stand H17 but we have limited spaces!