6-week sewing and dressmaking course | Wednesdays, 7pm–9pm
28th October–2nd December 2026 | €180
Wild Ireland Haberdashery, Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare
Maximum 6 people
Would you love to make your own clothes, improve your dressmaking skills, or finally get to grips with your sewing machine?
Make It! is our new six-week Wednesday evening sewing and dressmaking course at Wild Ireland Haberdashery in Miltown Malbay. With a maximum of just six people, the classes are small, friendly and relaxed, with plenty of individual help while you work on a project suited to your own experience and ability.
You don’t need to be an experienced sewer to join us. Complete beginners are very welcome.
What can I make?
This is predominantly a dressmaking course, but everyone doesn’t have to make the same garment or work at the same pace.
If you’re completely new to sewing, we’ll start you with a simple apron. You’ll learn how to set up and use a sewing machine, sew accurate seams, finish raw edges, hem and press your work and develop the basic skills you’ll need before moving on to dressmaking.
If you already know your way around a sewing machine, you can bring a dressmaking pattern and project of your own, or choose from one of the tried-and-tested patterns we use in our dressmaking courses.
And if you can already make clothes but would like to improve your skills, you can use the six weeks to build a portfolio of dressmaking techniques, working on skills such as:
- inserting different types of zips
- seam finishes
- pockets
- collars
- hems and other garment-finishing techniques.
We’ll help you choose the route that’s right for you.
Bring your own pattern – or let us help you choose
You’re welcome to use a suitable commercial paper or PDF sewing pattern. If you’ve bought a PDF pattern, we can print A0 sewing patterns here at Wild Ireland Haberdashery, so there’s no need to spend an evening sticking dozens of A4 sheets together.
Your chosen project does need to be appropriate to your level of experience and to a small group class. If you’re considering something particularly complicated, please have a chat with us before the course starts and we’ll help you decide whether it’s suitable.
One small but important exception: please don’t bring magazine patterns that need to be traced from a multi-pattern sheet. They’re perfectly good patterns, but finding and tracing the right size from those densely printed sheets can consume a surprising amount of valuable sewing time!
Mixed abilities – how does that work?
Make It! is suitable for complete beginners as well as people who already sew.
Because everyone may be working on something different, this isn’t a class in which the tutor stands at the front and everybody completes the same step at the same time. You’ll receive demonstrations, advice and individual tuition as you need them, while also spending time working independently as the tutor helps other members of the group.
Keeping the class to a maximum of six people means everyone gets help, while still enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and shared experience of sewing alongside other people.
Complete beginners will receive extra guidance while learning the basics and will start with our introductory project before moving on to dressmaking.
Course dates and booking
The first Make It! Wednesday evening sewing course runs for six consecutive weeks:
Wednesday 28th October
through to
Wednesday 2nd December 2026
Classes run from 7pm to 9pm, giving you 12 hours of sewing and dressmaking tuition over the six weeks.
The full six-week course costs €180 and must be booked and paid for as a complete block.
Complete beginners should attend from the first week. As the course builds from week to week, we cannot accept new participants after Week 2.
Places are limited to just six people.
Whether you’ve never threaded a sewing machine before, have a dressmaking project you’ve been meaning to tackle, or simply want to expand your sewing skills, come and spend your Wednesday evenings actually making something.
