coffee and dye nuts

This last weekend I taught a class at Made Sewing Studio, a new business in the Greenwood neighborhood in Seattle. At Made you can sign up for all sorts of classes in sewing. I’m their new dye expert and look forward to teaching classes every month or so.

As well as classes, you can also pay an hourly rate to use the sewing machines, sergers, cutting tables and there’s always someone there to help out with questions and advice. And, as of this weekend, you can also pay the hourly rate to use their dye studio.  I literally christened it this weekend when a container of boysenberry dye slipped out of my hand and splashed the newly painted wall. The dye studio is a great resource for people who want to dye fabric but don’t have the space. The dye room is small but they have a big padded table that’s perfect for printing or working on yardage.

I taught my first class there this last weekend on low-water immersion dyeing and low-tech shibori techniques. I only had three students but they were all great and it was actually good to have a small class while I get used to teaching in a new space.

Because we were doing immersion dyeing and everyone went home with bundles of wet fabric, a one-day class could be unsatisfying because there’s no “reveal.” My brainstorm for this workshop was to have a Sunday morning coffee hour. It gave us a chance to regroup in a more social setting and play show and tell. It was really nice to sit back and look at what everyone had made, talk through processes, and address questions in a relaxed atmosphere.