I Don’t Sew…I Quilt!
Is your classroom empty way too often?
Want to reach new customers?
Want to keep the customers that you have?
CLICK HERE FOR THE SCHOOLHOUSE VIDEO
I Don’t Sew…I Quilt!
Is your classroom empty way too often?
Want to reach new customers?
Want to keep the customers that you have?
1) Teach sewing to quilters
2) Teach quilting to sewers
3) Entice DIYers who don’t yet know if they want to do either – they just want to create! They want quick
results – instant gratification!
Sounds great but I don’t know where to start!
~ Research sewing businesses across the country – Google! – What do they teach, sell, promote? Target ages?
~ There are many quilt/sewing studios across the country who are building their businesses being dual
focus shops
~ National Sewing Circle – videos, class ideas, project ideas www.nationalsewingcircle.com
~ American Sewing Guild – targets more advanced sewers – offer video classes www.asg.com
~ Important to offer classes to all ages!
~ Offer classes at varying times throughout the week & year
~ Offer classes in store or offsite – give discount to students of offsite classes to buy supplies in your store
~ Work with your local home school organization and offer classes as part of their curriculum (in store/off site)
1) Start with simple skill building classes/demos:
~ Know Your Sewing Machine (simple cleaning & maintenance); Sewing Basics; How to Cut
(scissors/rotary cutter); How to Iron & Press; Super Hero Capes
2) Simple apparel & home dec classes
~ Pillows; Placemats; Wrap or Circle Skirts; Elastic Waist Gathered Skirt; Valances/Tier Curtains;
Nursery Décor; A-line skirts with zipper; Shift dress with variety of necklines/closures; Deconstructed Jacket;
Clutches & Bags; Simple Halloween Costumes
3) Expand class variety and skill levels as program grows and feedback is received – consider fashion design
Create events …. not just classes!
(building loyalty thru camaraderie)
~ Host Sewathons – day or night - you may want to pick a theme such as apparel, specific project or just open
sewing can be a lot of fun!
~ Host offsite classes – take the program to the students! Offer to teach classes in your local community
center, library, church, hospital or office cafeterias
~ Halloween Party – can sew simple things like trick or treat bags, stuffed pumpkins, super hero capes &
masks, fabric candy bowl OR can offer costume sewing (provide choice of a few designs)
~ After School Sewing Party
~ School Break Sewing Camp – this could be over summer vacation but try the shorter winter & spring holidays
as well
~ Runway shows – students get to show off their accomplishments!
~ Bubbles Sewing Party (as in champagne!) – tons of fun for adults but keep the project simple 
What supplies will I need?
~ You have everything you need to get started! You can slowly add items specific to the types of classes you
want to offer. You can control your inventory by what you teach.
~ Let’s say that you want to teach a class that uses zippers. You won’t need to buy a full display of zippers in
every color & length. Most simple garments can use a few basic colors in a few lengths. You can keep stock
and supply a zipper as part of the class fee. Good news – nylon coil zippers can be cut to length so OK to buy
long zippers and chop!
~ Sewing machines – your shop may already carry a few basic sewing machines to use for classes. If not, you
may want to invest in some simple, basic machines. OR – collaborate with a sewing machine store in your
area to create some sort of partnership.
~ You can use the fabric that you already have. There are plenty of projects that you can make with your
current inventory. Yes, you can add plush, double gauze, knits, etc. but you can expand the variety only as
your class and project needs evolve.
How do I find qualified teachers and build a sewing program?
~ In addition to your existing staff, talk with your customers! You may be surprised who is an experienced
sewer and would love to share what they know. Find out who has a teaching background!
~ Contact your local 4H as well as local tailors & seamstresses
~ Call schools to see if they will share names of their home ec teachers even if they no longer offer a home ec
program. You can also ask if you can post on their bulletin board to see if there’s a teacher who also has
sewing experience.
~ Contact colleges – do they offer any fashion design programs? Those teachers OR students may be willing to
help with your own classes
~ Find classes and support for yourself and/or your staff to become more “sewing qualified” ….
~ Check this out!
Hipstitch Academy – patterns, projects, curriculum, community & training for those who teach sewing
www.hipstitch.co
Here are some suggestions for class ideas & instruction!
~ Pinterest – tons of great images that can lead you to a pattern or source of instructions
~ National Sewing Circle and American Sewing Guild – see above
~ Basic sewing books/manuals:
~ Sewing School – 21 Projects Kids Will Love to Make – clear, basic instructions and a FUN
presentation!
~ Sewing School 2 – Lessons in Machine Sewing – 20 more projects but clear instruction for everything
to threading a machine to how to take a project and “make it yours”
~ Sewing School Basics – a complete sewing course for first time stitchers
~ The Sewing Machine Classroom – step-by-step, comprehensive instruction for all things sewing –
excellent!
~ Pat Sloan’s I Can’t Believe I’m Sewing! – you already know Pat as an excellent instructor – what’s
more to say!
What can I do to promote my sewing classes?
~ Create fun, eye-catching signs to post everywhere! Not only your shop but other stores, library, bulletin
boards at churches, schools, grocery stores, day care centers, senior centers, over 55 communities, township
buildings, coffee shops
~ Ask to place ads in local community/church directories or publications
~ Don’t forget to promote within your own shop – bag stuffers, discounts to quilting students to entice them
to take a sewing class
~ Social media, of course!
~ Eblasts using your current email list
~ Check this out!
~ Meetup.com - Meetup brings people together in thousands of cities to do more of what they want to
do in life. It is organized around one simple idea: when we get together and do the things that matter to us,
we’re at our best. And that’s what Meetup does. It brings people together to do, explore, teach and learn the
things that help them come alive. You can offer your classroom space and schedule a meetup in your store to
offer classes or any sort of sewing get-together.
Did you know?
~ You can collaborate with a local sewing machine repair shop. Bring them to your shop at regular intervals to
offer basic cleaning and maintenance service of customer machines. Or - the repair shop may be interested in
giving you discount coupons to share with your students to encourage bringing machines into their shop for
maintenance.
~ Consider working with a local school to write a grant to supply sewing machines and/or supplies to teach
sewing in a school that may have a reduced home ec program. Grant money is available for all sorts of
opportunities. Check online to find out more!
~ We’re a sponsor of It’s Sew Easy on public television! Deb Barcello of Cattell’s Sew & Vac Sewing Academy
(Medford, NJ) is one of our customers. She was a guest for segment 1105 titled The Stylish Girl. Deb showed
an easy way to make a fun & sassy circle skirt! Ink & Arrow fabrics were featured. You can continue to see
this series & segment on the It’s Sew Easy YouTube channel.
~ Have you seen our QT Academy and Ink & Arrow Academy videos? You can access them through our
websites as well as YouTube. We present some insight, tips and tricks that you’ll want to see!
Hipstitch Academy - Our Purpose
Hi, I’m Megan Avery, the Hipstitch Academy founder. I’ve been successfully teaching sewing to adults
and kids in my sewing studio M Avery Designs for over 12 years. I opened my sewing studio in Hoboken,
NJ in 2004 when I saw my community asking for classes & workshops on how to sew & be creative.
I love sewing, creativity & making things with my hands.
More importantly, I love teaching others how to do all of these things.
Here is why I created Hipstitch Academy:
• To form a community of like minded sewing teachers and business owners.
• To empower others to teach people how to sew, anywhere in the world.
• To let people, existing businesses & aspiring sewing business owners know it IS possible to be profitable making living doing what you love – teaching others how to sew.
We truly believe all people, young & old can benefit from learning how to sew & be creative. And the
benefits of sewing—developing motor skills, learning responsibility, expressing creativity, and making
decisions—foster a healthy sense of independence and appreciation.
Now more than ever, with computer and smartphone screens dominating everyday life, it’s essential to
remind people what it’s like to make something with your hands, something you made yourself.
Hipstitch Academy is our experience, insight and expertise in Sewing + Education. It’s for hobby sewists,
small business owners, educators & anyone who wants to teach others how to sew.
Whether you are:
• Thinking about starting or just started your own business teaching sewing
• Looking to teach sewing on a small scale and need ideas & guidance
• Ready to make your already existing business more successful and profitable
You need to join the Hipstitch Academy Community!
Hipstitch Academy is:
• Community & Networking
• Sewing class curriculum & Lesson plans
• Megan’s Sewing Teacher Blog
• Live Events, Conferences & Workshops
• Sewing Business & Marketing Coaching (group & one-on-one)
• Audio & video training
• Free Goodies & Downloads
For more helpful information about growing your
sewing business, visit www. hipstitch.co.
Sample Help Wanted Ad to Hire Part Time
Kids Sewing Class Part Time Instructors
Our Sewing Studio is hiring part time instructors immediately!
We are a sewing studio in _________ on the hunt for great sewing instructors to help with our after school
and weekend classes! Classes will take place mostly at schools locally in the _______, area and also at our
___________ Studio location. Classes will mostly be for kids first to 6th grade.
Must Haves:
-Sewing proficiency, pattern making & fashion design a bonus.
-The ability to be a self starter.
-An entrepreneurial spirit.
-Tons of patience.
-The ability to lead.
-A love for kids of all ages.
-Personality & charm.
-Organization skills.
-A positive & upbeat personality.
-The ability to get around Hoboken, Jersey City & Weehawken (all schools are close to public transportation).
-The ability to pass a background check with flying colors
-Experience teaching and/or working with kids.
Payment structure is dependent on number of kids enrolled in the class. Up to 8 kids max and Up to
$______per 1 hour class.
No need to be a professional seamstress, tailor or a famous designer. We are more interested in finding people who would find it fun & rewarding be a part of our sewing community and teach others to get creative
with the sewing machine.
Please send cover letter (stating why you'd be a great fit) as well as your current resume to be considered.
Do you have a sewing related website or blog? We'd love to see it!
If you know any super star stitchers that have experience teaching? Please, please, please share this message
with them!
For more helpful information about growing your
sewing business, visit www. hipstitch.co.
Sample Promotional Email for an
Upcoming Kids Night Out Sewing Workshop
Dear Cyndi - We’ve got a BRAND NEW CLASS coming up that will teach
you how to sew using knit fabrics. Everybody loves to wear knits (jersey,
stretchy, whatever you want to call them) because of how comfortable they
are. But in my experience, people are afraid to sew with them!
Well I’m here to shout from the roof tops - Sewing with knit fabrics really
isn’t as hard as everyone seems to think!!
We’ve designed an awesome new 15 hour sewing class that’s going to help make you a pro at sewing stretchy stuff
you love to wear and look great in!
This class takes place over a series of 6 weekly classes and we’ve broken out the class into 4 sections. Each section
has an awesome, wearable project to go along with it!
Projects include leggings/work out pants, t-shirt/knit top, knit skirt with front pockets (aren’t pockets dreamy?)
and finally a wrap dress (think Diane Von Furstenberg, but way more affordable!)
This new class is going to be taking place on Thursday nights from 7-9:30pm starting on Thursday September,
22nd, 2016 and the price is $299.
Right now there are spots available in the class, but they’re starting to fill up!
And if you can’t make it this time around but really want to take the class, we have future sessions already scheduled.
Thursdays Sep 22, 2016 - Oct 27, 2016
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Tuesdays Jan 24, 2017 - Feb 28, 2017 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Saturdays Apr 01, 2017 - May 06, 2017
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
We sure do hope to see you in class very soon!
Yours Truly - Megan
For more helpful information about growing your
sewing business, visit www. hipstitch.co.
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