Essential Manufacturing Skills: Mastering Textile Construction Techniques

Date and Time

Start Date: 2nd April 2025

Time: 09:30 - 15:30

Your Price: £205.00

Details

An Essential Sewing & Making Skills Course for Teachers of GCSE & A Level Fashion & Textiles for both Art & Design and D&T.

In Partnership with Design & Technology Association, this is a new course from the Textile Skills Centre hosted at D&TA Centre in Banbury and with support from Janome UK.

This is a totally practical day learning and practicing a variety of sewing and making skills and threading and trouble shooting sewing machine faults. 

This course is open to teachers, technicians and support staff in the textiles classroom.

This course is aimed at D&T and Fashion & Textiles teachers who are either new to teaching, support staff such as classroom assistants and technicians, or those who want to learn and add to their existing skills.

Learn and practice essential manufacturing skills that will enhance your teaching.

Develop learning from KS3, creating independent, confident and enthusiastic learners at KS4/5, giving them the technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.

Gain knowledge and skills that will enable you to teach students to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.

Acquiring new skills and knowledge to give you confidence in your teaching.

What to expect on the day:

• Learn and practice a range of sewing tasks, such as different seams, freehand embroidery, hems, and finishes.
• Start to develop a sample book of stitch and finishing examples to use as a resource in the classroom.
• How to thread a domestic sewing machine and overlocker and trouble shoot common problems.
• Experiment and understand how to sew using different types of fabrics and their properties and suitable stitches/finishes.
• Learn and practice simple making skills including sewing in a zip, bagging out, binding and finishing techniques.
• Techniques and processes across all areas of study incl. simple patterns, making and finishing.
• Make a simple product(lined tote bag) from start to finish, that can be transferred into the classroom.

Links to KS3-4 D&T Specifications:

• Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
• Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.
• Select from and use specialist tools, techniques, processes, equipment and machinery precisely.
• Select from and use a wider, more complex range of materials, components and ingredients, taking into account their properties.

What you take back to school:

• A fabulous sample book jammed packed with examples to use as a classroom resource.
• Develop best practices in teaching and learning and be able to use these to create a dynamic course that is fast paced and engaging.
• An awareness of available resources to support/expand your existing practice.
• Make secure decisions and save time with gained knowledge and experience.
• Plan the future with confidence.
• Continued professional development.

What is special about the Essential Manufacturing Skills Course?

The Essential Manufacturing Skills face-to-face course is an experience that delivers textiles and fashion skills, knowledge and understanding. It is a great learning environment which allows you to gain new skills and techniques, showing how these can be incorporated in lesson plans and delivered in a fun, inspiring and engaging way. You can ask questions direct to the course developer/leader, practice skills, create classroom resources and network with other teachers.

Course Leader: Dawn Foxall

Dawn Foxall has 35+ years’ experience in the textiles and garment industry including design consultant, schools presenter and resources developer for EMTEX; Fashion lecturer and programme developer at various UK Universities and FE colleges; course presenter for D&T Association, Key Stage Developments (KSD), SFE and other course providers.

Dawn was a co-founder of Liv.co.uk (2006-2014) , where she managed design, buying and sourcing from Fairtrade, organic suppliers in India and Egypt. She has since worked with brands such as LUSH Soaps and Weleda, sourcing ethical products and consulting for young designers and start-ups. In 2017 she launched her own knitwear brand FOXOLOGY designing and producing sustainably sourced collections.

In 2015 Dawn set up the Textiles Skills Centre (formerly ‘Academy’) supporting textile teachers, delivering workshops and events. She continues to teach pattern cutting at various education and commercial establishments, as well as for Textiles Skills Centre and also drafts patterns and consults for industry.

COSTS & BOOKING VIA CADEMY: £ 225 / DAY  (+ Cademy Fees)

We are able to give a discount for those that qualify for this course. Please contact dawn@textileskillscentre.com for more information.

Further information will be sent to the 'booker' and the 'guest' attendee nearer to the time of the event.

It is VERY important that your school finance officer supplies your full name and PERSONAL SCHOOL EMAIL, so that we are able to send you joining instructions and further details. If we only receive the ‘school office’ email address, we have found that this delays information getting to you, or information is not passed on. 

Refreshments will be provided throughout the day, but you need to bring a pack lunch.

If you have any queries, please email us at: info@textileskillscentre.com, and include your phone number and/or email so that we can contact you easily.

Address

The Design and Technology Association, 11 Manor Park
off Jugglers Close
Banbury
Oxfordshire
OX16 3TB

Prices include VAT at the appropriate rate where applicable.

Back to events