Chapters
“Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.” - Rachel Zoe
Singer sewing machines are doing well. In recent years, the brand has seen an increase in sales thanks to more people getting into arts and crafts and wanting to learn a new skill.
Not that many people know how to use a sewing machine, do stitches, or even thread a needle. That’s why more and more people are deciding to get sewing tutorials and learn more about embroidery, customising clothes, knitting, and sewing, of course. It's always easier to find work in growing industries as there are more job openings.
If you’re fashion designer, why not offer your services to the newbies wanting to make their own clothes, sew on a button, fix the hole in their jeans, or look for sewing jobs in schools and colleges?
If you're stitching clothes full time in a warehouse or factory, why not look for a job posting, change your career, and start networking so that you can find jobs in haute couture?
Before you start your job search, make sure that you're skilled and qualified!
In this article, we're going to show you what a recruiter might be searching for and how you can improve your career with work at a fashion school or how to get a new job doing what you love!
Teaching Sewing Classes as Part of a Group
Firstly, you won’t become a millionaire by teaching classes in a sewing group or doing random jobs stitching up a garment for your friends. These are the kinds of jobs that you’ll often do as a volunteer or a salary near the minimum wage since sewing circles are rarely multinationals!
On the other hand, there are a lot of advantages to choosing to teach this way:
- The classes are often in smaller groups. It’s a great way to talk to the students and personalise your classes to them and help them complete their own personal projects.
- It’s a great way to get teaching experience. This is handy if you're looking for jobs at schools, colleges, or universities.
- The classes are often relaxed and friendly. They’re far less serious than classes would be in a fashion school. Everyone’s there to have a bit of fun and learn some new skills like stitching up damaged clothes, fixing a seam, or relaxing with a bit of quilting.
- It’s a great way to meet people. Do you remember just how easy it used to be making friends as a child? When you’re an adult, things are a little trickier... A sewing group is a great way to make friends!
- It’s also really rewarding to teach a student right from the very beginning and looks great on your resume or CV.
- As a teacher, you can help get the best out of your students, help them to gain some self-confidence, and show them that they’re capable of almost anything.
- Teaching as part of a sewing group can help you become more creative. You may come up with ideas that you mightn’t have otherwise thought of if you were on your own. Additionally, you’ll all move forward as a group!
If you’re looking for a sewing group, you just need to do a few quick web searches. You’ll probably find that there are more sewing groups near you than you first thought.
If there isn’t one nearby, you could also create your own as long as there’s the demand for it. It’s easier than you think. There are a few administrative tasks to wrap your head around. Then you can start teaching sewing to the members of your group.
Teaching Sewing at a Fashion School
To command a better salary, sewing tutors should look at teaching in professional schools. Whether it’s teaching younger students the basics of sewing with patterns, sewing on buttons, or threading needles, you’ll need to have the right qualifications and experience if you want to be the best candidate.
There are a few ways to do this:
- Teach in a college
- Teach in a private sewing studio
- Teach in a fashion school
Generally, experience counts a lot when an employer considers hiring talent. The recruitment process is more thorough for an applicant than it would be for someone looking for a temporary summer job in a haberdashery, of course!
When universities and fashion schools are recruiting, they'll only consider interviewing people with the right qualifications and experience. Unfortunately, this means you'll have to be willing to complete a degree in something like fashion and design before you start applying to these competitive positions.
The salary is usually higher at fashion schools than in a college or a school. If you don’t have many hours of teaching, you can always make your own basic sewing creations (cushion covers, dungarees, tunics, etc.) to supplement your income.
Teaching Sewing in Private Tutorials
Why not offer private sewing tutorials to beginners or aspiring stylists who want to improve?
Whether you want to teach them how to sew, making hems, or patching up damaged clothes, there are a few things you need to take into account.
You’ll need decent material: thread, zips, fusible interlining, and other sewing accessories. There are plenty of sites where you can buy fabric. Make sure that you also keep the offcuts too as they’re useful when teaching people how to use a sewing machine.
A sewing machine is an important investment for anyone learning how to sew. While you can loan one to students during their classes, it’s better for the student to buy their own.
Your classes should also be fun and enjoyable so that you start getting a reputation as a great tutor. Word of mouth is great for getting new sewing students.
Private sewing tutorials are usually one-on-one classes but you can also offer group classes. There are several topics you can cover, too:
- Getting started with sewing by making a few simple projects (lining, patterns, hems, etc.).
- Making clothes for babies, children, men, or women.
- Upholstery and furnishing
- Recycling: breathing new life into old clothes by transforming them into something else.
- Special events: Sewing for children’s parties, Halloween, Easter, hen parties, etc.
A sewing tutorial should generally last between 2 and 3 hours. It’s difficult to get anything done in less than two hours and it’s often not worth the travelling, either. However, you'll still probably be paid hourly.
When it comes to rates, private sewing tutorials range anywhere between £15 and £50 per hour. Of course, you can increase your rates if you provide materials or have to travel a long distance to get to your students.
Let word of mouth do its thing by telling friends and families that you’re offering tutorials and use social media. Unlike working at schools, you don't need to worry about applying for jobs.
You can also use Superprof to offer your private tutorials: there are plenty of sewing tutors already teaching private sewing tutorials thanks to the platform.
| City | Average Price |
|---|---|
| London | £45 |
| Birmingham | £12 |
| Manchester | £16 |
| Newcastle | £10 |
| Liverpool | £25 |
| Nottingham | £18 |
| Bristol | £20 |
| Belfast | £20 |
| Leicester | £15 |
| Cardiff | £20 |
Teaching Sewing Classes Online
There are plenty of advantages to teaching sewing online:
- No need to go anywhere: You can save a lot of time, petrol, and money!
- Larger target audience: In addition to the UK, you could teach students from anywhere in the world.
- More free time: Since you don’t have to go anywhere, you can use this time to offer more tutorials and you can be more flexible when it comes to your schedule for work.
- Buy fewer materials: the student will have to invest in their own materials in order to follow your class. They’ll also need to use their own sewing kit if they’re making their own wardrobe under your guidance.
- Personalising tutorials: Unlike the free sewing video tutorials you can find online, you can personalise webcam tutorials to each individual student. They can ask you questions in real-time and also enjoy classes that are tailored to their level.
However, be careful because you need a great internet connection in order to offer this service. A band connection will make things harder to understand, more mistakes, and you’ll run the risk of getting a bad reputation.
Test your webcam to make sure that the lighting is good and that you can see what you’re doing. You’ll need to make sure that the sound quality is also good.
It can be more difficult to create a bond since you’re not face-to-face. Create a friendly environment and a genuine bond with your students.
If you want a potential student to hire you, it helps to include the right keywords in your profile. A student searching for sewing tutorials won't find you if you haven't mentioned sewing anywhere in your profile.
It's not always fun looking for tutoring jobs so make sure to set up a job alert on jobs websites. This means that whenever there are new online tutoring jobs in your field, the website alerts you via an email or a notification. You can set up these alerts according to particular online job searches, a certain keyword or job title, an internship or seasonal or permanent jobs, or just any new jobs that meet a certain criteria.
Sewing Tutorial Definitions
There’s a lot of terminologies when it comes to teaching sewing tutorials.
What Is a Serger?
This is a type of sewing machine that cuts and makes an overlock stitch as it does. It’s pretty useful.
What Is Haberdashery?
When we task about haberdashery, we’re referring to all the materials and items used in sewing such as thread, buttons, etc.
Any job seeker can become a home sewing tutor if they've got the right skills; they just need to keep an eye open for job opportunities and vacancies, be a diligent worker and good sewer, be good at advertising their tutorials, and, one of the most important things when entering the world of private tutorials, be good with people.
The platform that connects tutors and students
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating.
Loading...
