Beginner Machine Sewing

From tangled thread to a finished zipped pouch in a day

New Brewery Arts runs its beginner sewing workshops out of the Scissors Studio, one of several working craft spaces inside the old brewery buildings on Brewery Court. Tutor Lauren Holloway, a designer-maker who works in sustainable fashion accessories, takes small groups through a full day on the machines rather than a rushed evening session.

The day covers threading and operating a domestic sewing machine, straight and edge stitching, inserting a zip, and boxing corners to give a bag or pouch its shape. Cutting from a simple pattern and troubleshooting common machine problems are worked in too, so mistakes get fixed on the spot rather than taken home unsolved. Everyone leaves with more than one finished piece, working through both a drawstring bag and a zipped pouch using fabric supplied by the studio. Bringing a personal machine is fine for anyone wanting to get comfortable with their own, but New Brewery Arts has machines set up for anyone arriving without.

Six hours is enough to go from never having touched a machine to sewing a zip in cleanly.

Saturday 26 September 2026 · New Brewery Arts, Brewery Court, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 1JH · Starts 10:15am