Intro to Sewing Level 4: Intermediate Garment Skills

You know how to use your sewing machine, read a pattern, and construct a basic project. Now it’s time to add some new techniques to your sewing toolbox.

Intro to Sewing Level 4 is designed to bridge the gap between beginner sewing and more advanced garment construction. Over three weeks, students will focus on three techniques that open the door to a much wider range of clothing patterns: sewing with knit fabrics, installing invisible zippers, and constructing a traditional jean fly.

Rather than making one finished garment, students will create a collection of skill samples. This gives you time to slow down, understand how each technique works, troubleshoot problems, and practice without worrying about getting something wrong on a project you want to wear.

You’ll learn how knit fabrics behave differently from woven fabrics, how to choose appropriate machine settings, and how to successfully attach knit and rib knit bands. You’ll install invisible zippers in both stable and less stable fabrics and learn how grain direction and stabilization affect the finished zipper. Finally, you’ll work through the construction of a traditional jean fly, including the fly facing, fly shield, zipper placement, topstitching, and correct order of construction.

By the end of the course, you’ll leave with a portfolio of samples you can keep as references and, more importantly, a stronger set of garment-sewing skills you can confidently take into future projects.

All practice fabrics, interfacing, zippers, thread, and class handouts are provided.

Prerequisite: Intro to Sewing Level 3. Level 4 assumes students are already comfortable operating their sewing machine and have the foundational sewing and garment-construction skills taught in Levels 1–3.

Class Fee: $175