Sewing Machine Basics II with Taryn Hipwell

Join Taryn Hipwell for this beginner-plus workshop, where you’ll build confidence using a sewing machine! This class goes beyond basic stitching, guiding you through practical techniques like hemming, patching, and finishing seams to spruce up your wardrobe. You’ll also learn how to customize what you already own, modify fit, and make more intricate alterations, all while embracing the creative power of self expression through upcycled fashion.

Bring your own sewing machine if you have one, or use one of ours (limited to two; please reserve at registration). We’ll provide all the basics—fabric, thread, buttons, and pins—but feel free to bring your own materials to work on specific projects. For best results, we recommend practicing with natural woven fabrics (such as denim, twill, or cotton) as they’re easier to manage for beginners. Perfect for those who have dabbled with a sewing machine or want to strengthen foundational skills.

Taryn Hipwell is a global speaker and passionate healthy fashion consultant who has taught upcycling for over 10 years. She specializes in aligning brands and future designers with best practices in transparency and circularity, and sourcing cleaner fabrics and raw materials. She is the author of How to Shop for Shi(f)t, an instructor at Istituto Marangoni Miami, a Remake co-Community Organizer for Florida, a Wear You Values breakout session speaker at LAFS, the winner of the Sustainable Expert award at the Mana Fashion Awards 2024, and the founder of Beyond the Label, which started as a partnership with TEDxLA to educate locals on the true health, social, and environmental costs of their fashion purchases. Hipwell has spoken about sustainability, transparency, circularity, diversity, and toxins in fabrics to over 10,000 students at 30 top fashion schools and universities around the world, including the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Parsons, NYU, UCLA, and YOUNGA, a first-of-its-kind global youth takeover of the United Nations.
The Things Lab is supported in part by Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

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