Needle and thread
Hem a pair of trousers, sew a button on so it never comes off again, put on a patch you need not be ashamed of. A course about hand stitches and looking after clothes; at the end — a shopper bag sewn entirely by hand, from cutting out to the handles.
What you will be able to do
7 modules, one project
01 The repair kit and a button3 lessons · 1 h 35 minOpen
We put together a kit for a couple of euros and use it straight away: by the end of the module you sew on a shank button the way a tailor does.
02 Three working stitches3 lessons · 1 h 27 min
The base of the whole course. Every stitch is broken into steps with a check: stitch length, the back side, resistance to tearing — all of it testable on your own sample.
03 Hemming2 lessons · 1 h 20 min
The most common repair and the most common mistake. We measure on the body, mark, press the fold and hem so that not a single stitch shows from the right side.
04 Holes and worn spots3 lessons · 1 h 34 min
A hole is not a death sentence. A patch from the inside and from the outside, darning with a woven weave, and visible mending, where the repair is made a decoration on purpose.
05 Seams that came apart, and fastenings2 lessons · 54 min
A split side seam, a sagging lining, a torn hanging loop, a stretched elastic — the standard failures of clothing and the order of action for each.
06 Looking after clothes2 lessons · 52 min
The best repair is the one you never needed. Care-label symbols, dealing with bobbling and moths, storing by season with no surprises in spring.
07 Project: a shopper bag3 lessons · 2 h 07 min
The end of the course: a bag in heavy fabric, sewn by hand. Straight cutting without a pattern, a flat-felled seam with enclosed edges and handles that hold ten kilograms.
What you get
A set of hand needles in different sizes, polyester thread in three basic colours and one contrasting reel for learning — on a contrasting thread every stitch is visible. About €5.
Heavy cotton, linen or canvas, a piece 50 × 140 cm — for the bag and the stitch samples. Roughly €6–9 in a fabric shop.
A couple of buttons, a snap, a hook, darning thread. Scraps for patches are best taken from old clothes — that costs nothing. Another €3–5.
A thimble, dressmaker's pins, tailor's chalk or a sliver of soap, a tape measure. The whole kit for the course is about €15–20, plus your own clothes that need mending.
The whole first module is open
Watch the lessons of the first module and the first task. If the format does not suit you, you have lost nothing.