Domestika – Sewing Machine 101: Make Your First Dress

Creating your own clothes with a sewing machine is a powerful skill. It’s an opportunity to free yourself from the fast fashion industry by making unique clothes that fit your body type. Juliet Uzor is a self-taught dressmaker who is passionate about showing others how to make bespoke sewn outfits.

In this course, discover how to create a unique, made-to-measure dress from scratch. Learn how to operate a sewing machine, moving from the basics to creating the final finishes for your garment. See how to adapt a pattern to your size and learn Juliet’s tips and tricks for kickstarting your clothes-sewing journey.

What will you learn in this online course?
COURSE TABLE OF CONTENTS
U1 Introduction
U2 Becoming Familiar with Sewing Techniques
U3 Preparing the Fabric
U4 Sewing the Garment
U5 Taking Your Garment to the Next Level
FP Final project

Meet Juliet Uzor, discover her dressmaking journey, and learn why she decided to stop buying clothes and make them herself. Learn about her love for fabrics and the fabric designers she admires. Get an overview of what you’re about to learn in the course.

Get familiar with the tools you need to make your dress. Discover the main features of a sewing machine and learn about its basic functions. Go through the main stitches offered by your sewing machine and learn how to use them correctly. Then, it’s time to start sewing! Create straight and curved lines, sew fabrics together, and see how to finish the raw edges of your fabrics.

Prepare your sewing pattern and learn how to identify and cut the correct size for your body type. See how to choose and prep your fabrics before learning how to cut your pattern. Create your facings with an interfacing and sew the raw edges of your fabric.

Start sewing the bodice of your dress, then prepare and sew the skirt before adding the finishing touches to your neckline pattern. Get an in-depth look at how to construct buttonholes and buttons, adding finishing touches to your dress that leave it ready to wear.

See how to fix and avoid common sewing machine problems as well as how to keep your equipment and fabrics maintained. Discover Juliet’s tips for matching bold and patterned fabrics and finish the course by seeing how to vary the pattern used for your finished dress.

What is this course’s project?
Learn how to sew a button-down midi dress using a sewing machine.

Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone who would like to learn how to sew clothes from home, especially those who have trouble finding the perfect size or fabric type for their body.

Requirements and materials
No prior sewing knowledge is required to take this course.

You will need an iron, fabric scissors, chalk, button, threads, pins, iron-on interfacing, fabrics, elastic, and most importantly, a sewing machine with its basic tools.