Fernweh UK
Workshop - Design & Sew Your Own Apron
Get to grips with industrial sewing machines and make your very own apron!
Join Laura in the Fernweh UK studio for a hands-on workshop where you'll design and create your very own custom apron using sustainable deadstock fabrics, including denim and waxed cotton. You'll get a chance to work with one of our three industrial sewing machines to craft a durable apron, starting from a base pattern and customising it by adding your own personalized pocket details to fit your needs. The apron will be lined and then finished with adjustable cotton webbing straps.
This is a fantastic opportunity to learn practical sewing skills while creating something stylish and functional - and completely unique! Whether you are a ceramicist, artist, love to cook or garden, this is your chance to create a bespoke apron for your craft, so have a think about what tools you have in mind.
What we’ll cover
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Selecting your Apron from our base pattern, selecting fabric and linings
Cutting fabric - we'll go over how best to minimise waste using lay plans and grainlines -
Introduction to Industrial Sewing Machines - You'll get time to get comfortable with one of my three industrial sewing machines, getting your tension correct and threading up a bobbin and machine
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Basic Pocket - We'll do a demo on basic patch pockets and how to attach them. We'll then move on to pattern cutting your apron pockets based on what they would be used for.
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Attaching Pockets and Straps - We'll sew our pockets and add our straps
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Setting Rivets - We'll also cover the optional setting rivets, to add some extra durability for your pockets.
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Industrial Sewing - We'll cover "bagging out" and lining your Apron. We'll learn the importance of good pressing techniques too. If we have time we may go over an optional advanced technique to grade our seams to reduce bulk.
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-Topstitching - We'll finish with topstitching our apron to create a professional finish.
You'll leave the workshop with a fully crafted Apron, ready for whatever your craft throws at it!
All materials are provided, but if you'd prefer to bring your own fabric, or have fabric you'd like to repurpose, you are more than welcome! Simply contact us in advance to check for fabric suitability and minimum size requirements.
If you'd like to bring the tools you use that would be stored in your apron pockets, or you measure these before hand so you have an idea of what size your pockets need to be.
When? Saturday 22nd February (10am - 4pm)
Spaces are limited to three, as I only have three industrial machines.
Where? Studio 4/5, Unit 4, Deemouth Artists Studios, S. Esplanade East, AB11 9PB
About Your Tutor
Laura from Fernweh UK has been crafting waxed canvas bags and accessories under her slow fashion brand Fernweh since 2014. She has a BA Hons in Fashion Design and has 15 years experience in pattern cutting, garment construction and finishing, utilising industrial sewing machines and 10 years of bagmaking.
You can view more here
https://www.fernwehuk.com/
Workshop is limited to 3 spaces. Suitable for adults.
£150 Per Person.
Create a unique touch to any Fernweh piece, with personalised monogramming. Since all our bags are created in house, we can add a personalised laser etched leather label, with a name, monogram or small phrase, to create a truly one of a kind, special piece.
All our laser etched labels are created in house, which means we can ensure every piece of leather is used, and also means we can minimise waste.
We can incorporate any text/initials to the monogram. Each product has a standard monogram placement but if you would prefer the monogrammed label in a specific place, just get in touch with us via email and we can accommodate this.
Monogrammed Order Process
Bespoke monogramming has a cost of £10 to cover the set up fee. Each product has the option in its listing to add a monogram, select the "Add Monogrammed Label" option of the product you would like, and at check out, in the Order Notes section, leave the details of what you would like monogrammed.
Alternatively, you can email us at fernwehuk@gmail.com
***Please note***
Monogrammed items are always handmade to order and will take 1-3 weeks to manufacture before dispatch.
Monogrammed items are non refundable due to the customised nature of the product.
Monogramming Gallery
Each and every Fernweh piece is designed and sewn with the utmost care and attention in our Aberdeen studio by our founder Laura. We believe in doing things properly, creating well designed products from rugged, traditional fabrics and materials that will last a lifetime. Here's a bit about the fabrics and materials we use.
Waxed Canvas
Waxed cotton canvas is a cotton that has been treated with wax to give a unique, water resistant finish. Over time and use, the fabric will mark and crease, but these markings are an inherent characteristic of the cloth. It means every bag is truly unique, adding to the antique, vintage feel of the product. Each mark becomes a memory of the adventures the bag has been on, continuously adapting characteristics from the wearer, becoming a visual memory of your own adventures. Waxed cotton can be rewaxed again and again, making it a durable cloth with longevity, but being a cotton, at the end of its lifespan it is biodegradable.
Waxed canvas has its history rooted in Scotland, in the North Sea fishing industry. It was derived from oilcloth and sailcloth, which fishermen coated with linseed oil and flax to weatherproof their sails from sea and storm alike. However, linseed yellowed and the cloth would stiffen, and so eventually it was found that coating cotton with wax gave a superior finish, and waxed cotton was pioneered.
The waxed cotton canvas we use here at Fernweh is sourced from Halley Stevensons in Dundee, Scotland, who have been manufacturing waterproofing textiles since 1864. Only an hour down the road from the Fernweh studio, Halley Stevensons are pioneers of waxed cotton and are leaders in waxed cotton innovation and we are proud to support the UK textile industry.
Recommended care:
-As with all waxed canvas products, do not iron as this will cause the wax to melt.- Hand wash only with cold water and leave to dry away from natural light.
- If bag is particularly dirty, use a soft brush to wipe away excess dirt before cleaning, using a mild soap/detergent and cold water on more stubborn areas.
- As with all waxed products, re-wax every 6-12 months to restore waxed cotton to top condition.
- Look out for a re-wax tutorial coming soon to our Journal.
Read more about Halley Stevensons on their website
Leather
We use a mix of oak bark and vegetable tanned leather at Fernweh, vegetable tanned on our labels and oak bark for the straps.
Our leather is sourced from the last remaining oak bark tannery in Britain & uses a slow, zero waste process to tan each hide, which takes over a year from start to finish. Based in Devon, there's been a tannery on the site since the Roman era & it uses a 400 year old water wheel to power the tannery. The hides come from local beef cattle in Devon as a by-product of the meat industry which are then tanned using oak bark.
The oak bark is sourced from sustainably coppiced UK trees (coppicing is a woodland management method of cutting back trees to ground level to stimulate new growth). The bark is ground and mixed with water from the River Coly to create a tannin liquor and the hide is tanned in a pit for 3 months before being layered between oak bark for another 9 months, making the tanning process take a year for each piece of leather. It's simple, heritage process and creates beautiful, long lasting leather with minimal environmental impact, the used bark is even used in gardening!
Learn more about this slow, sustainable approach to tanning leather here
Thread
Buy less. Choose well. Make it last.
