Sewing Teacher Training

If you’re looking for a fulfilling creative career that allows you to share what you love, we’re here to help you launch your own business teaching people how to sew. We will break down the process of launching your own sewing business into manageable chunks so that you can find your confidence with creating, promoting and teaching your own sewing workshops.

The course will start in May 2025 and will run for three months. The course will be delivered as monthly live webinars from Lydia Higginson who has spent the last decade teaching folks how to sew through her sewing school Made My Wardrobe. There will also be easy to follow work booklets that help you put into action the steps you learn, plus a fortnightly check-in via our membership portal so that you can ask us any questions. All of the content will be available to watch for three months after the course if you miss anything and would like to catch up.

 
 

What will be covered:

  • How to design your own original sewing workshops that you’re inspired to teach and people are excited to join

  • How to draw up lesson plans with aims, timings and demonstrations (with MMW lesson plans to use as templates)

  • How to promote your class online and in person (with brand guideline templates on Canva)

  • How to price your workshops so that your business can grow (with costing template spreadsheets)

  • How to prepare your tools, fabric and equipment: what to rent, buy, crowdsource, get sponsored & what to ask students to bring

  • How to keep up good communication with your students before, during and after the class

  • How to give clear sewing demonstrations that are intuitive for students to follow

  • How to receive student feedback in order to improve your offerings and make sure your students feel looked after

  • PLUS: A free follow-up bonus session will also be included on how to branch out your business from teaching workshops to selling sewing patterns, fabrics and sewing equipment

All this for £285

FAQs about our Sewing Teacher Training

  • Will this course teach you how to sew?

    No, this course will teach you how to start running workshops using the sewing skills you already have. We recommend you have at least two years’ experience sewing to take this step. However, do not feel like you have to know everything there is to know about sewing in order to be a good teacher, you just need to know the thing you are teaching well. We are all still learning new sewing skills all the time and that will never change.

  • Will this course be online or in person?

    This course will be held entirely online to make it accessible to folks all around the world. We will form a supportive international community of sewing teachers.

  • How many hours do I need to dedicate to the course?

    There will be approximately two hours of teaching time per month, plus optional monthly check-ins. Then we recommend allocating four to six hours per month to do the worksheets we provide and put into action what you have learnt.

  • Does this training mean I will join the Made My Wardrobe team?

    No, this training will give you the skills you need to set up your own sewing workshops under your own brand and business name.

Who Is This Course For?

  • Anyone who has been sewing for more than two years and wants to share their sewing skills with others

  • Folks who are looking to switch careers and take sewing from a hobby to a profession

  • Anyone who wants to run sewing workshops as a side hustle alongside their existing job or care roles

  • If you are a recent graduate of a fashion, textiles or costume degree and you are looking for ways to start your own business and earn money from the sewing skills you learnt at uni, this course is perfect for you!

  • And finally, if you have been on one of our in person workshops, looked at the teacher and thought, that looks like a nice job, we would also love for you to join us! It really is a lovely job!

 

About Your Teacher:

Lydia Higginson has been teaching people to sew for a decade. Through her sewing school Made My Wardrobe she has taught hundreds of people to use a sewing machine and make things they love.

She has seen her business through a lot: having to move studio five times, global financial uncertainty and that one time she thought all 15 of her sewing machines had been delivered to the wrong address and disappeared off the face of the earth. She has learnt so much along the way, and now, 10 years in, she wants to share with you how to build your own thriving sewing business. She passionately believes that there is a need for sewing teachers in every town, city and village. The sewing community wants to grow and learn and they need the time, space and guidance to do that.

Some career highlights include teaching workshops at Battersea Arts Centre and Shoreditch Town Hall, and designing and making costumes for companies such as Sadler's Wells, Royal Opera House, Candoco and Akram Khan. She became a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust scholar for pattern cutting in 2018. In the same year she received a Scotsman Fringe First Award, the British Council Showcase in 2019 and Bertha Foundation funding in 2025. She has grown as an artist thanks to artist residencies in both California and Sweden.

 

  • What time and date will the course take place?The live training calls will take place on the following Thursday evenings at 7pm BST:

    15th May, 12th June, 10th July 2025

    The optional check-ins will take place at 7pm BST:

    29th May, 26th June 2025

    The free bonus follow-up will take place in September 2025 (exact time TBC dependent on the group)

    If you cannot make any of the live training calls that is no problem, they will be recorded so that you can watch them back at a time that suits you. All the lessons will stay online for you to access for three months after the course. The calls will last 90-120 minutes, the check-ins will last 60 minutes.

  • How can we keep learning together after the course ends?

    We will be announcing a monthly check-in membership in 2026 for all graduates of this course to continue to collaborate and grow.

  • Will we receive a certificate?

    Yes, if you complete the course in full you will receive certification that you have graduated this course.

  • What about refunds and cancellations?

    Due to the digital nature of this course, once it has begun on 15th May 2025 we cannot provide any refunds. If you cancel before 14th May 2025 we can provide a full refund.