What You'll Learn
The classes in this virtual retreat teach you how to…
- measure your body
- use different sewing machine needles
- choose between basic sewing machine feet including the regular (zigzag) foot, the regular zipper foot, and the ¼" foot
- understand fabric weave and construction
- correctly use fabric grainline
- cut pattern pieces
- mark fabric
- sew seams including straight and curved seams
- ease seams including straight and curved seams
- clip, grade, and press seams
- use fusible interfacing
- sew fundamental stitches including topstitching, understitching, staystitching, and machine baste stitching
- finish raw edges
- print a digital pattern
- sew a dart
- gather fabric
- sew a basic elastic casing
- sew a patch pocket
- sew a double folded hem
- sew a facing
- sew a princess seam
- choose sewing patterns that you can successfully sew using the skills taught in this class
The classes in this virtual retreat don't teach you how to…
- fit patterns for your body
- grade sewing patterns
- make fit alterations
Special note about choosing sewing pattern sizes: Due to time restrictions, Christine won't be able to assist individual attendees on choosing their unique sewing pattern sizes. If you'd like help choosing a pattern size, join Jennifer during an open sewing session for assistance. See our full schedule below.
Schedule and Class Experience
Our virtual retreat has live class instruction with real-time demonstrations; group working sessions where you can connect with classmates, work on your project, and share your progress; planning meetings; and a celebration event. We hope to see you at all retreat events, but we understand you might not be able to attend everything.
With that in mind, our class sessions are recorded, edited, and time-coded for future reference. Previous students have told us that they valued the ability to easily revisit lessons as they made progress on their class project, and students can continue to refer to these recordings even after the class ends.
Please note that group working sessions are not recorded.
Our Winter 2025 retreat class days are as follows:
- Weekend Edition: Saturday, January 18 and Sunday, January 19
- Weekday Edition: Wednesday, January 22 and Thursday, January 23
Questions about the schedule for Garment Sewing Fundamentals 101? Reach out so we can help! Email Jennifer at hello @ workroomsocial.com or call her in the studio at 646-481-1650.
🎥 = recorded session
Weekend EditionClass Day 1 with Christine Haynes 🎥 Class Day 2 with Christine Haynes 🎥 |
Weekday EditionClass Day 1 with Christine Haynes 🎥 Class Day 2 with Christine Haynes 🎥 |
Retreat Welcome and Orientation with Jennifer Wiese 🎥
Wednesday, January 8 • 7:00–8:00 p.m. Eastern (4:00–5:00 p.m. Pacific)
Registration closes
Monday, January 13
Group Working Session 1 with Jennifer Wiese
Wednesday, January 15 • 6:00–7:00 p.m. Eastern (3:00–4:00 p.m. Pacific)
Focus on class preparations.
Group Working Session 2–4 with Jennifer Wiese
Saturday, January 25 • 12:30–1:30 p.m. Eastern (9:30–10:30 a.m. Pacific)
Thursday, January 30 • 6:00–7:00 p.m. Eastern (3:00–4:00 p.m. Pacific)
Wednesday, February 5 • 2:00–3:00 p.m. Eastern (11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Pacific)
Meet and socialize with other sewists, get group feedback on work, and make progress on your projects. Students are split into breakout rooms to create space for better conversation. Jennifer is available to answer questions and help students.
Retreat Celebration with Jennifer Wiese 🎥
Wednesday, February 19 • 6:00–7:00 p.m. Eastern (3:00–4:00 p.m. Pacific)
Our celebration is a fun way to show off the work you did in class. Jennifer moderates this show-and-tell event, giving everyone the chance to share their project.
About Your Instructor
Christine Haynes is a sewing author, teacher, and pattern designer. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the department of Film, Video, and New Media. After college, Christine moved to Los Angeles, CA and sold ready-to-wear garments for many years. When Random House approached Christine to write her first book, she left ready-to-wear, and turned her focus to teaching others to experience the joy of making clothing for themselves, through her patterns, books, and workshops. While in Los Angeles, she was also the shop manager at Sew LA. Following more than a decade in Los Angeles, Christine relocated to New York, NY, where she became the shop manager of Purl Soho. After managing Purl Soho for a few years, Christine returned to patternmaking and teaching, which she now does from her studio in San Francisco, CA. Learn more about Christine and see her workshops and patterns on her website and on Instagram.
What's Included with Registration
Your registration includes a comprehensive learning experience that our students consistently praise.
Classes and Instruction
- 9 hours of live class time with Christine Haynes.
- PDF sewing patterns for class exercises.
- Lifetime access to edited, time-coded class recordings.
- Clear, detailed demonstrations of all techniques.
- Assistance selecting and troubleshooting your specific class project.
Classroom and Community
- Encouraging, non-competitive group check-ins and working sessions with fellow classmates.
- An interactive virtual classroom to keep you engaged and supported between class sessions.
- Accountability and camaraderie of a supportive community of fellow sewists all working to achieve similar goals.
- A live course celebration where students get to showcase their class project. (This event is really fun!)
Additional Resources
- Sewing pattern references for skills learned in class.
- Lifetime access to course materials.
Logistics
Our virtual sewing retreats and courses are hosted through SocialSewists.com using the platform Mighty Networks. SocialSewists.com is where students watch recorded materials, ask questions, share progress, and interact with each other.
Within our virtual sewing courses, our live class sessions and group working sessions take place on Zoom, ensuring you have real-time interaction with your instructor and fellow students. Students receive lifetime access to edited and time-coded video recordings of all class sessions, allowing you to easily review and revisit the lessons as needed. Recordings are hosted on SocialSewists.com.
Registered students receive an email with instructions to set up their Social Sewists account and access class information. Confirmations are sent to the email address used at checkout.
If you need assistance with any of these logistics, please contact Jennifer at hello @ workroomsocial.com or by phone at 646-481-1650.
Registration Details
Scroll up to the top of this page to register. Space is limited.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: This is exactly what I'm looking for! How do I register?
Scroll up to the top of this page to register. Space is limited.
Q: When is this virtual retreat?
We currently have 2 sessions available. You can choose the Weekend or the Weekday Edition.
- Weekend Edition: Saturday, January 18 and Sunday, January 19
- Weekday Edition: Wednesday, January 22 and Thursday, January 23
Scroll up for a full, detailed schedule.
Q: I can't make these dates, do you know when you'll be hosting the virtual retreat again?
We don't have future dates scheduled at this time. We do hope to run Garment Sewing Fundamentals again in the future. The best way to learn when registration opens is to join Workroom Social's mailing list.
Q: How long will I have access to the classes in this virtual retreat?
Students get access to the recorded classes for the lifetime of the class. That means as long as the platform is available, you'll have access to the recordings.
Q: Are the classes in this virtual retreat live or recorded to watch on-demand?
The classes during the virtual retreat happen live, and we encourage students to attend live to ask questions in real-time and engage with their fellow students. Classes are recorded for those who can't attend live and can be watched on-demand as often as you want. Group working sessions are not recorded and must be attended at their scheduled times.
Q: Who is this virtual retreat designed for?
Garment Sewing Fundamentals is designed for sewists who don't have a cohesive and comprehensive foundation in garment sewing skills. It's designed for both new sewists and active sewists who aren't succeeding in or satisfied with their garment construction skills.
Q: Will this virtual retreat teach me how to sew?
Yes! More specifically, it will teach you how to sew clothing using sewing patterns. It will not teach you how to operate a sewing machine. All students must know how to operate their individual sewing machines.
Q: Will I sew a garment in this virtual retreat?
We do not teach you how to sew a specific garment in this sewing retreat. Students learn the garment sewing skills listed above, and apply this knowledge to sewing sample pieces using sewing patterns developed specifically for the class.
At the end of class, students see how the specific skills are used in different garment sewing patterns. Students are encouraged to choose a sewing pattern to create immediately following class days, and to start work on them in our group working sessions that take place after the class days end.
If students choose to sew a garment during the course of the retreat, they can get assistance with choosing a size during our group working sessions.
Q: Will this class teach me how to make adjustments to my sewing pattern to alter the fit?
No, this class does not cover how to make adjustments to sewing patterns.
Q: Can I find this information on YouTube for free?
You can find some of the information in this class for free online. However, as expert sewists and experts in adult-skills-training, Christine Haynes and Jennifer Wiese developed this virtual retreat to teach sewists a comprehensive foundation for garment sewing. The classes in our virtual retreat are taught in a systematic way so that knowledge builds on itself, setting up our students for sewing success. When you register for this virtual retreat, not only do you receive the class materials, which were specifically developed to teach this topic, you also get help from experts and your fellow students in our online class community. And remember! By registering for this class, you're supporting a small business too.
Q: What if I want a refund on my class registration?
Due to the nature of digital products, Workroom Social does not offer refunds on class and event registrations. All registrations are final sale. You can read more about our Terms, Conditions, and Refunds policy at https://workroomsocial.com/terms.