For today's post in my series focusing on turning sewing into a viable career I want to talk about teaching.
Before I had children and started sewing softies all the time I was a teacher. I worked in education for six years all together: two as a Teach For America corps member teaching middle school French and Social Studies in the Mississippi Delta, two as the Education Director at a non-profit that worked with under-served kids in the Boston public schools, and two as a sixth grade teacher in suburban Newton, Massachusetts. I have a master's degree in education from Harvard. I love teaching.
And I love sewing.
So the idea of teaching sewing sounds just about perfect to me! And maybe to you, too?
I'm teaching a sewing class tomorrow at Sew Easy in Wellesley. I've been teaching adult classes there regularly this year and it is one of my favorite parts of my new career as a sewing professional (I sew professionally! Really? Yep, well that's the goal, at least.)
I'm not going to explore the ins and outs of teaching online because I've never taught an online class. If I was going to pursue that, though, I would start by taking Sister Diane's online class on teaching online classes. That might be one of my future goals.
Today I wanted to talk about what it takes to teach a successful in-person sewing class. I think my classes are effective and run smoothly, but there is always more to learn so please add your thoughts in the comments whether you've been a teacher of sewing, or a student.
Finding a Veneu
When I first decided I wanted to teach sewing I held workshops in my home. I started by just inviting friends over for "craft night", teaching them a simple, hand-sewing project. They didn't pay me for this, it was just for fun and so that I could explore whether or not teaching sewing was something I enjoyed.
Once I realized that I like teaching sewing, I offered a class at my home for just the cost of materials. We sewed sock monkeys by hand and I had several women over who were beginners. From this class I learned something crucial about teaching sewing: everything takes longer than you expect! What you can sew in half an hour will take a class of eight students three hours to complete.
Why?
I think there are two reasons. First, I am very comfortable with the materials. I can thread a needle and tie a knot in about a minute, for instance. For people who haven't done it in a while that can take ten minutes.
Second, although I take sewing incredibly seriously, for the people in the class this is a leisure activity. They are there to have fun, to relax, to chat, and make something cute. Intense focus on the project or the skill being taught may not be their aim.
Once I had done these workshops in my home, I wanted to teach a class that involved use of sewing machines. This meant reaching out into the community to find a venue and this brings me to my next point.
Reach Out and Ask for Work
A big part of being self-employed is reaching out and asking people to hire you. You need to get comfortable tooting your own horn!
There is a quilt shop in Wellesley not far from where I live. It is independently owned and I always enjoyed going in there. In fact, I bought a lot of the fabric I used in The Artful Bird there. I called them and asked to speak to the owner. I explained that I had a book out about sewing birds and asked if I could come by for a few minutes to bring her a copy. She was neutral on the phone and seemed a bit confused by what kind of birds I was describing, thinking at first they were quilt appliques of birds.
Plowing ahead, I went to the shop at the appointed time and gave the owner a copy of the book and I also brought samples. Once she had three birds in her hands, without my even asking for it she started booking dates for a workshop. We decided to hold a five hour workshop and make the lark that is on the cover of my book.
From this workshop I learned about the profiles of various kinds of students. It seems every class has: someone who moves more quickly than everyone else, someone who needs the directions explained again individually after the group instruction, and someone who changes the project and makes something different from what everyone else is making.
Just knowing that these types of students will be in every class helps me to be more patient and prepared to work with each person and further them along in their learning.
Start Class By Establishing Your Legitimacy and Hearing Where Everyone Is Coming From
I begin with a brief story about how I learned to sew and what I love about it. I show my book and talk about the patterns I design and the work I do. I often bring samples so that people can see and touch. This establishes trust. Students see that you know what you're talking about, that you are an expert.
And guess what? I often sell things to students. Bring extra supplies, especially specialty supplies that may not be available elsewhere. Bring copies of your book, or your patterns. Bring samples of your finished work. Many people want some further connection to you or to the class and they will buy what you brought. You'd be surprised! (If you are teaching at a quilt shop, ask the owner first whether this is okay. You don't want to step on any retail toes.)
Next I ask everyone to introduce themselves and tell us about their sewing experiences in one or two sentences. I find once their voice is in the room students are more likely to speak up again later. And it is helpful to me to gauge skill levels and learn each person's motivation for signing up for the class.
And then I explain the goal of the class and the steps we will take to reach that goal. Everyone feels more comfortable when they know where they're headed!
Prepare!
My best words of wisdom are to be prepared. I write a detailed outline for each class and I make step-outs to illustrate each step of the project.
And then a day or two before the class…I sit in my studio and pretend to teach. I know, it sounds strange, but I think it is actually the most important step of all. Keep a notepad next to you and teach to your empty room! Saying everything outloud will make it obvious to you what you know and what you actually don't know and need to research before the class. It will remind you what tools and materials you need to remember to bring. And it will make you less nervous when the day of the class arrives. Make notes on your notepad so that you can add to your outline, or your "to bring" list.
Create a handout to give students that includes your contact informtion so that they can get back in touch with you, visit your website, and sign up for future classes. I give out step-by-step directions for the project, too, so that they can replicate it at home if they'd like to. People will also take notes on the handout.
Plan to be in the classroom for 10-15 minutes after the class is over so that you can clean up the space, round up all your tools and materials (referring to your "to bring" list helps!), and chat with students who have further questions and or who want to connect with you.
In addition to group classes, I also teach private classes in people's homes showing them how to use their sewing machines. Both types of classes are lucrative and satisfying. It can be hard to make $200 for two hours of work in this business. Teaching is one way to do this.
If you are considering teaching an in-person class, I recommend giving it a try. And please comment here with any additional thoughts or questions, or just to share your experiences as a teacher or student. Thanks for your awesomeness, as always.
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I’ve taught adults and kids, and for a one project-one meeting class I run it almost exactly like you just described. But my absolute favorite classes to teach go on for several sessions. In the last few years that’s been mostly teaching kids at week-long summer camp classes, where we are together 3 hours a day for five days. The reason I love this so much is that it gives them room to branch out on their own and apply their new skills to their own designs.
Day one goes much like you described. I design a project specifically to teach basic skills, and everyone makes the same project on the first day. In a softie-making class I might have everyone make a simple bunny. They’ll learn to embroider a face, applique a tail, make lined ears, cut felt hands and feet, and embed all those parts in the seams. They learn to sew simple curves on the machine, turn and stuff their project, and sew up the opening with whipstitch.
After they complete that project I show them several samples of other animals – pointing out how those same techniques they just learned can be used for lots of different softies. And then I set them loose to design their own. I always have patterns on hand that they can use – and some do. But there are always a couple of kids in the class who are happy to draw patterns and share them with everyone else, and kids often like using other kids’ patterns.
I spend my time going from kid to kid, teaching additional skills needed for specific projects, and troubleshooting where necessary. I spend a lot of time early on threading needles and tying knots – but as soon as a kid has mastered a skill I make a general announcement to the room. For example, “Izzy Rose is now a knot wizard. If anyone needs help with knots, she can teach you.” Or, “Sadie is a whipstitching master. Anyone who needs help with whipstitching can go to me or her.”
When I end up teaching additional skills, I also make a general announcement. “Jake wants to learn how to put rickrack in the seams so I’m doing a demo on that over here. Anyone who wants to learn can gather ’round.”
It’s a really loose approach and I love it because everyone is really stretching their skills and making EXACTLY what they’re envisioning. They’re helping each other and sharing ideas and it’s just a lovely environment.
Sorry – this got really long. But I REALLY like to teach kids. 🙂 I have a post here that has some very specific tips about sewing with kids. http://wendigratz.blogspot.com/2011/07/10-tips-for-sewing-with-kids.html It might be helpful for people thinking of going in that direction.
I’m quite enjoying this series of yours. I don’t know that I have any aspirations to teach on my own (I’m actually pretty sure I’m a terrible teacher), but it is interesting to see the ins and outs of these aspects of being self-employed in craft work.
I believe you are creating the outline for your next book – “Making a Living from Your Softies.” The photographs illustrating these recent posts are wonderful – they make me excited about either taking a class or teaching a class. And the comments you’re getting – each one adds information or a nuance to your posts. This is by far the best blog series that I have encountered; I look forward to each new post.
Susan, That is so very nice of you! I’m really glad that there are other people out there interested in exploring how to make sewing into a livelihood. It’s something I think about quite a bit and I’m enjoying learning as I go!
Thank you, Wendi, for sharing your experiences as they relate to teaching children in particular. Part of teaching sewing for me has been an introduction to teaching adults and I have to say, I’m really enjoying that!
This was really helpful! I am going to be teaching a class soon and I’ve been worrying over things like outlines and timing, so this was really helpful. Thanks!
Did I say this was really helpful? Hahaha!
Thanks for sharing your teaching tips, Abby. I love teaching, but am still learning the ropes (ready to get past the “having friends come over for a craft project” phase!). I’ve found the rehearsing part to be really helpful, esp. when I’m teaching a class I’ve never taught before. Like you said, it takes much longer to do things in a class, so I want to be sure I have my timing down and don’t try to cram too much in. I am always so disappointed when I take a class and the instructor runs out of time before finishing! I get excruciatingly nervous when I have to speak in front of a group, but for some reason when I’m explaining or showing how to do something, it isn’t too bad.
Hi Wendi; this is just how I’ve imagined teaching a class! Sometimes I do “artist in residence” programs in schools, but I don’t have much experience working with kids, so any tips are appreciated. Thanks!
Great post as usual! I sometimes forget that intro part at the beginning, explaining my background, etc. I don’t like to talk about myself and I feel like showing my book is schmoozy. When you outline it like that is sounds so much better though! 🙂
One tip: Do not get derailed when a student “shows you up”. Often I end up learning a different way (and sometimes a BETTER way) to do a technique or a project step. I used to feel a little embarrassed like, “I’m the teacher, why didn’t I think of or know that?” But we are all there to learn, even the teacher.
Also, be prepared for the Grump. I don’t know why, but almost every class will have a difficult personality. Again, don’t let them derail you or suck all of your time from the other students that are enjoying themselves! Just be polite and try to usher them along best you can.
I know I am pointing out pitfalls, but teaching can be challenging in addition to rewarding!
And great comment, Betz, as usual! Keeping your cool and keeping things moving are both vital in these situations. Sometime I make mistakes, too, skipping a step or forgetting to explain something. I think it's always best to come clean right away and talk about how sewing mistakes are part of every project.
This was a great post! Thank you. Ironically, I learned much of this last weekend when I taught my first ever workshop on inkle weaving projects at the Florida Tropical Weavers annual state conference. I was so nervous about the class because most of the weavers have been weaving almost as long as I am alive. But, what I realized quickly is that I am a crafter who found weaving and they are weavers who do not craft. Things I assumed they would know, they did not. Big learning moment for me.
“It can be hard to make $200 for two hours of work in this business. Teaching is one way to do this.”
Of course it took you much longer than 2 hours to prep for the class! But if you teach it again there would not be as much prep-work either.
My husband is a high school teacher but I don’t think I could do it! Working at home so many years has turned me into too much of an introvert unfortuantely. 😉
Thank you for sharing your teaching process. It is information like this that helps to reduce the fear factor when trying something new.
I am curious…how did you came up with your book ideas and your process for getting a book contract?
Kathreen on WhipUp did a great series not long ago about the ins and outs of getting a book deal. You might enjoy reading it! Is there a part of the process in particular that you'd like me to write about?
Here is a link to the first post in the WhipUp series. There are three posts in total and they are excellent: http://whipup.net/2012/01/12/how-to-get-your-craft-book-published-part-1/
Thank you for the tips Abby, and everyone else. I’ve never posted here before but I’ve been a reader ever since discovering The Artful Bird last year. Two days ago I started a new full-time job in my local haberdashery and sewing machine shop – it still feels very surreal and like a dream come true to have a job doing what I love to do! – one of the owners teaches sewing classes there, and I believe they may have the idea for me to go into assisting her in her classes, maybe taking my own one day in the future. I love the idea of it but, having never taught before, I’m wondering whether I’ll be up to the challenge – so reading the blog and everyone’s comments has already given me fantastic inspiration. I know my new boss will be a true mentor, and I’m excited about it being a possible avenue for me to pursue in the future.