I've been on the road for work these last two weeks and it's been a
bit more hectic than expected. But Autumn is here, it's back to school
time of year and also National Sewing Month.
It seems like there's been a teaching explosion in the sewing world over the years that sewing has been a part of my life. In addition to sewing magazines and books, which have been around for the long haul, more fabric stores and creative spaces have started offering in-person classes, there's been a proliferation of blog tutorials and sew-alongs, and new web-based platforms have given rise to all sorts of webinars. As the sewing blogosphere has grown, so have the opportunities to learn.
So, I'm curious to know: with all the options, how do you learn best and where do you like to get your info from? Here's a little poll I've created:
I view the growth in classes and tutorials as a generally positive phenomenon. However, with such a proliferation of teaching, there's a distinct downside. Not all of it is good. One reason this is on my mind is that I was recently invited to lead a sewing webinar on a popular sewing website. My immediate reaction was to be suspicious of the quality of the teaching on this site. Ha ha.
Don't get me wrong, I was immensely flattered and I don't mean to disparage myself or my skills. I'm confident, but I still view myself as a learner. I don't do tutorials; I do try to document what worked for me in a given situation and where I learned it. That way I have a reference for myself in the future.
I suppose it boils down to this: even though my Sewing on Leather post is my most viewed post ever, and the number of hits it receives continues to climb, I don't think that, because I've tried something once and been successful at it, I'm an expert or have any business teaching it to others. When I went to a Sewing on Leather class taught by Kenneth King at Mood, it was very much to learn what I had done right, what I could do better or differently, and to possibly cringe at what I may have done wrong. It turns out that I really did pretty well with my jacket. Whew! Up until then, I had worried that I might be giving out bad information.
So far I've been fortunate to have only taken classes - webinars and in person - that I think were worth the time and expense. But I know several people who have had poor experiences. For me it has all come down to who is doing the teaching. Likewise with tutorials. I'm pretty glad that I know enough to spot bad information when I see it these days.
So my second question set, which is open ended is: What do you think of this teaching explosion? How do you choose your learning experiences? Have you had good, bad or ugly experiences? What have you taken away from them?
Oh, and before you answer, please know: I'm not looking to start any trash talk about anyone or any particular platform. What I'm hoping for is a dialogue. Please contribute!
Travel
gives me time to reflect on sewing while not actually doing it. This
trip, I've been thinking about learning to sew and learning new
techniques.
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| Class Dismissed! |
It seems like there's been a teaching explosion in the sewing world over the years that sewing has been a part of my life. In addition to sewing magazines and books, which have been around for the long haul, more fabric stores and creative spaces have started offering in-person classes, there's been a proliferation of blog tutorials and sew-alongs, and new web-based platforms have given rise to all sorts of webinars. As the sewing blogosphere has grown, so have the opportunities to learn.
So, I'm curious to know: with all the options, how do you learn best and where do you like to get your info from? Here's a little poll I've created:
I hope you will say in the comments why your choice works for you!
I view the growth in classes and tutorials as a generally positive phenomenon. However, with such a proliferation of teaching, there's a distinct downside. Not all of it is good. One reason this is on my mind is that I was recently invited to lead a sewing webinar on a popular sewing website. My immediate reaction was to be suspicious of the quality of the teaching on this site. Ha ha.
Don't get me wrong, I was immensely flattered and I don't mean to disparage myself or my skills. I'm confident, but I still view myself as a learner. I don't do tutorials; I do try to document what worked for me in a given situation and where I learned it. That way I have a reference for myself in the future.
I suppose it boils down to this: even though my Sewing on Leather post is my most viewed post ever, and the number of hits it receives continues to climb, I don't think that, because I've tried something once and been successful at it, I'm an expert or have any business teaching it to others. When I went to a Sewing on Leather class taught by Kenneth King at Mood, it was very much to learn what I had done right, what I could do better or differently, and to possibly cringe at what I may have done wrong. It turns out that I really did pretty well with my jacket. Whew! Up until then, I had worried that I might be giving out bad information.
So far I've been fortunate to have only taken classes - webinars and in person - that I think were worth the time and expense. But I know several people who have had poor experiences. For me it has all come down to who is doing the teaching. Likewise with tutorials. I'm pretty glad that I know enough to spot bad information when I see it these days.
So my second question set, which is open ended is: What do you think of this teaching explosion? How do you choose your learning experiences? Have you had good, bad or ugly experiences? What have you taken away from them?
Oh, and before you answer, please know: I'm not looking to start any trash talk about anyone or any particular platform. What I'm hoping for is a dialogue. Please contribute!
32 comments:
I marked "in person" because I learned the most from my mom teaching me when I was a little kid, and classes I took in NYC a few years ago. However... I haven't taken a live class in about 5 years. It's been all books, and reading blogs and sewing discussion boards since then, and then experimenting on my own.
I would still be open to taking classes, I just haven't come across the right combination of time/price/topic/fits in my schedule recently.
I learned from my mother at home. I learn a few new things every now and then (or more often, most likely) from the blogosphere or books.
I definitely like learning from books. Though I do bookmark helpful blog posts and refer to them sometimes, I really like having the diagrams and steps written out in books. Usually I get sewing books used, so they aren't terribly expensive, and I lately I have only been buying ones that are recommended by other bloggers, so I have been pretty happy with the contents. Though if the books aren't great I suppose I could always sell them. I haven't been reading them as much as I want to (though I think it is mostly because I haven't been making things where I need to master new techniques lately), but I like having them there when I need them. It is especially useful to be able to look up things when I am using Burda or Patrones patterns and the instructions are terrible.
I would be interested in taking a class, but I haven't found any in the area that fit the time/cost/usefulness categories. I have considered some of the online courses, but haven't really had the time to watch any lately, so I haven't ever bought one. Something I would consider for the future, especially if I see good reviews on other sewing blogs.
My mother taught me when I was little - I followed up later with classes and books and blogs - but the foundations came in early childhood.
I took one sewing class a million years ago, and didn't go to all the classes. I learn from books and magazines mostly, although I am now watching some videos and have taken a couple of Craftsy courses. They were good, but maybe a little too basic for me. Like the previous writer, I have a lot of sewing books and I love to just sit and read them like a novel.
I buy books second hand too. Most that make it into the second hand market are very lightly used. I also like recommendations from other bloggers.
Wow, I really missed the boat with not having a mom to teach me, I think. My mom has always been pretty crafty, but not a sewist. I didn't start sewing until much later.
I had a private teacher for awhile, but have been mostly self taught since then. I kind of use pick and choose from the internet. I have not tried craftsy at all yet. There is a varying level of true teachers there. I did take a class from Kenneth King once and he was amazing. And now I am taking a college draping class. Love it.
Love this post! I've been very hesitant to call anything a tutorial, I see it more as tips of what one can do, and "here's what worked for me". I try to never say "Do!", but "I did" =)
I could have filled out a number of the choices in the poll; my mom taught me the basics as a child, home ec gave me some confidence in the skills mom had given me, I then figured out a lot on my own. When my basic skills and my imagination/trial and error-method fell short, sewing books and some blogposts/tutorials gave me what I needed to take my sewing to another level. Just this week I've started my first ever craftsy-class.
One thing I've found is that there's a thousend way to do most things, and usually I read up on something in different forums and medias before I decide which technique to attempt first. For example, I'm about to make my first ever men's dress shirt, so I've read all of Peter's posts from his sewalong, I've read David Coffins book and I'm taking the Craftsy class "Tailoring a classic shirt". I'll look through it all, and then decide what sounds like good advice to me.
I think that had I lived in a city where sewing classes in person were offered, I would have prefered that. Alas, the only thing available in my little town is beginners classes. I did take one of those when I was starting on a winter coat a couple of years ago, since it was supposed to be adoptable to the individual, but soon realised I knew as much about sewing as the teacher and we had vastly different ideas of what was "good" sewing (she was all for speed and simplicity, I tend to be more into technique and attention to details).
I'm hoping to take a more advanced summer class in a bigger city next spring though =)
My neighbor thought me how to follow a pattern eons ago. The rest of my learning came from wherever I could get it : pattern instructions, books, tutorials, magazines, online classes, tv, name it, i've used it.
There is always someone somewhere doing things differently that I'll be able to use. The learning for me is just as much fun as the sewing, I love the lightbulb moments that come from the right tip.
I've bookmarked Peter Lappin's shirt sew along, and I refer to it every time I make a shirt. I can't seem to learn how to put on a collar and stand, or clean finish a yoke, but I can follow these instructions easily. Thanks Peter!
I learned in Home Ec, but I didn't have the best teacher. From there I learned some in college but they only had one construction class so I just made a lot of things in order to teach myself. Probably the hard and long way of doing it, but oh well!
Peter is a wealth of great info, isn't he?
The lightbulb moment is the best, isn't it?
I totally agree with you about my hesitancy to label anything a tutorial. Near to where I live there are only basic classes, too. Thankfully, I do have some more advanced options near my office.
You may want to check out Off the Cuff (off-the-cuff-shirtmaking.blogspot.com) - for additional shirt making resources and tutes from a professional.
I'm glad you mentioned pattern instructions - so often we bash them, but I've had some very good learning experiences with them, too!
It seems like whether we start with a teacher or class or mom, we all end up doing a lot of self-teaching. Maybe this is why Craftsy and other platforms seem to be booming. I agree entirely that there is a varying level out there. I'm thinking very seriously about college classes, too. Glad to know you are enjoying it!
It would be hard to learn without actually doing. As I think about it, there really are two pieces to the puzzle: knowledge and execution.
They are more solutions then tutorials. I have a problem, I found a solution, here is how I did it, hope it's useful.
I used to say tutorials, but I don't anymore, there are so many ways of doing the same thing... And yes Pam is a pro and her tutorials are priceless.
I've learned with every method, so far. I've taken classes in person, online, at FIT, with design professionals, read books, taught myself, and experimented, too. I've done them all. And it isn't just the teacher - it is the right student for the right teacher, too! I have been willing to invest more time and effort than most would probably want to... I am a sewing fanatic, after all! But really, there has been a sort of teaching explosion, for sure... but I think it exists because the market for DIY is just SO huge! Gotta teach if you wanna sell products, right? Every teacher is tied to another business somehow, usually. I'm all for anything that inspires and delights people. Let's keep those creative juices flowing! Personally, I want to cover my sofas. That's a bit like eating an elephant, right? One bite at a time...
I think we got the same email to instruct a webinar. :) I had the same reaction as you did and I felt that I just wasn't experienced enough to offer tutorials. I like to share what's worked for me, but not in a way that makes it official. I was actually able to help a friend out with a tricky pattern she was working on, which made me realize I knew more than I thought!
I learned to sew in a classroom space for a little under a year and then the rest of the time I've learned through blogs, books, and tips I've seen along the way (you're not the only one who didn't have a sewing mom!). Some of my favorite tutorials come from Tasia at Sewaholic.
Forgot to mention, I like the green skirt with the belt in the top photo of this post. Probably won't pose like that on my blog if I end up replicating it though. ;)
Love this post! I learned by watching my mom sew when I was little, but I don't think she really had the patience to actually teach, because I was given many sewing books as a teen, which I never read because they were boring. I have learned a tremendous amount from sewing Vogue Designer patterns since the 80's. Actually, I think that's where most of my sewing "teaching" has come from: following great instructions in those patterns. As I've gotten older and more curious about perfecting a technique or nailing that just-right look of a certain part of a garment, I've acquired two or three specialized sewing books - not a lot because I know I'll never read them, or, more precisely, never implement most of what's in them. They are more of a reference library for me. Just a funny little trivia about my sewing journey: I was NOT ALLOWED to take any home ec classes during high school because I was already making my own clothes - mostly from Vogue patterns - and it would have been too easy a credit for me. From my current point of view: I'm a skilled seamstress when you talk about construction techniques, but I am on a very steep learning curve around fitting. I would love the opportunity to take sewing classes just for the fun of sewing in a community, but I live too far away from my city's "design centre" to do it weekly, so I follow blogs and continue reading instructions or referring back to my reference shelf. But whenever I do take a sewing class, it will be chosen based on the years of experience and the reputation of the teacher. The explosion of classes and teaching is great - I think everyone should know how to sew a basic garment of some sort - but I personally would only sign up for a class where I'd be learning from a seasoned expert, not someone who sews at my level or a newbie.
I bet we did get the same email. And you sum up my point well: I'm not experienced enough to make an "official" tutorial. Tasia does have some good tutes, doesn't she?
You are absolutely right about their being a real market for teaching DIY and, perhaps, not enough teachers. (IMHO, this is how I ended up being asked to teach.)
Exactly! Tutorial sounds so definitive.
I've always got a stack of books and patterns on the night stand.
Good point about deconstructing RTW - I did a fair bit of that early on and it was definitely a learning experience!
What an awesome teacher! You know, I feel like I have holes too. Sometimes I think I'd love to do a sewing class that would go from the basics all the way through to couture, just so I'd know that I have a solid foundation in the basics and then advanced knowledge. It's hard to know if your habits are good ones when you are in part or in whole self taught.
Oooh, really good questions. I have certainly seen good and, ahem, less good teaching (and patterns, for that matter). Having said this, I'm still really happy to have all the resources available to me. I do think you have to go to the internet with a buyer be ware attitude. Read a lot, then consider which technique or course seems best. But I'd rather take the good with the bad than have limited access to everything.
I know you have! And you aren't the only one who's said to me that they've experienced "less good" teaching. But I agree 100% about the availability of resources. I think it must be tough for the newbies who aren't able to discriminate between good or hack technique as easily as someone who's been sewing for a few years.
I generally think of the expansion in teaching as a good thing because there are new avenues for teaching and learning. One of my favorite new things is online classes. I think it's so great that people everywhere have access to excellent resources anytime.
However, I think businesses that provide education need to be more cautious about the instructors they hire in 3 key areas, 1. instructor's experience with the topic, 2. instructor's ability to teach the topic, and 3. instructor's overall personality and ability to get along with others. I'm sad to say I've been in classes before where the instructor didn't know anything about the topic at hand, knew a ton about the topic but just couldn't teach it to the students, and/or was really mean and unwelcoming.
I think it takes a special personality to be a good teacher and with the increased interest in learning, I think businesses are not being as careful as they should when hiring teachers.
I love taking classes, and for me, one of my favorite things is connecting with a great teacher over a subject that I'm interested in.
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