Applications to our Sewing Teacher Training 2026 online course have now closed as the course has begun. If you are part of this cohort you can sign in below.
Sewing Teacher Training 2026
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 training will start in February 2026 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 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
ABOUT YOUR TEACHER:
Lydia Higginson has been teaching people to sew for over a decade. Through her sewing school Made My Wardrobe she has taught hundreds of people to use a sewing machine and make everything from clothes to quilts.
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 data suggests 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.
FAQs about our Sewing Teacher Training
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No, this course will teach you how to start running workshops using the sewing skills you already have. We recommend you have at least three 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.
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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.
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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.
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No, this training will give you the skills you need to set up your own sewing workshops under your own brand and business name.
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The live training calls will take place on the following Thursday evenings at 7pm BST:
12th February, 12th March, 9th April 2026
The optional check-ins will take place at 7pm BST:
26th February, 26th March 2026
The free bonus follow-up will take place in Summer 2026 (exact time TBC)
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. -
Watch this space, we are working on something special.
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Yes, if you complete the course in full you will receive certification that you have graduated this course.
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Due to the digital nature of this course, once it has begun on 12th February 2026 we cannot provide any refunds. If you cancel before 12th February 2026 we can provide an 80% refund.
Who Is This Course For?
Anyone who has been sewing for more than three 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!
Find out what the 2025 cohort thought of our Sewing Teacher Training…
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I had such a great experience in the Made My Wardrobe Sewing Teacher Training! Each lesson was packed with carefully distilled information, gathered over Lydia’s years of experience designing and teaching workshops and running a sewing business. Lydia and Ana were so generous in sharing their wealth of experience with us, and I found both the class material and homework feedback to be immensely helpful as I designed my first sewing workshop. I felt so well prepared when I taught my workshop for the first time! As an added bonus, my fellow students were lovely and their thoughtful questions and workshop designs enriched my experience of the course.
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I really enjoyed the Sewing Teacher Training. It gave me lots of helpful tips and information, making me feel more prepared and confident about planning a workshop and creating a nice space for someone to learn a new skill. I found the planning sheets especially useful. They helped me focus, break everything down into smaller steps, and write out exactly what I needed for my workshop. It made the whole process feel muchmore manageable.
Lydia was brilliant. She has such a friendly, joyful attitude in the live sessions, which made everything feel welcoming and easy to follow. The slides were really well put together, too, with practical advice on planning, materials, and even understanding costs and pricing a workshop correctly.
Overall, the course was really supportive and encouraging, and I feel much better equipped to run futureclasses.
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‘I still take so much of what you taught us into all my teaching and I truly cannot tell you what an important part of my journey it has been. I completely sold out my entire autumn/ winter block of classes and demand meant I was also able to put on additional runs of a couple of them too. I genuinely don’t think I would have got to this stage yet without the course.
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The sewing teacher training course has been incredibly informative and supportive. It’s such a great community of like-minded people where you can ask questions and get encouragement along the way. The course content was broken down into manageable chunks, and the homework tasks meant that by the end I had all the resources I needed to run my first workshop. Without this structure, the process would have felt overwhelming and unachievable.
The accountability built into the course was also a huge help in making it happen. Lydia is very knowledgeable and shared so many useful tips and advice throughout. I’d highly recommend this course to anyone thinking about running sewing workshops.