Sewing Machine Basics with Taryn Hipwell

Ready to learn the basics of machine-sewing? 

Join Taryn Hipwell for this beginner-friendly workshop, where you'll get hands-on experience using a sewing machine to tackle simple mending projects. Taryn will guide you through essential techniques like basic stitching exercises, hemming, and easy repairs, perfect for those just starting their sewing journey. 

Bring your own sewing machine, or use one of ours (limited to 2). We’ll provide basic materials (fabric, thread, buttons, pins), and we encourage you to bring your own supplies if you prefer. For first time sewers we recommend natural woven fibers (denim/twill, men’s shirting, woven cotton sundresses since polyester, silks, and stretch fabric tends to slip more). By the end of the class, you’ll have the confidence to use a sewing machine for everyday mending and repairs!

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.

Host or Publisher The Things Lab