Make(lounge) do and Mend...

I didn't think it at the time, but I was very fortunate to attend a school that taught us to cook and sew, but if you were also wanting to be an astro-physicist, that was fine too.  It was all girls, and yes - a convent!

I was, in the mid-80's, quite handy with a sewing machine, and I made a mean apple crumble (provided I didn'

t run for the bus with it afterwards) and as part of Textiles (or Needlework

 as it was then) I made a top and a suit.  Not bad for a 13 year old.  I also could speak 2 other languages at a basi

c level, write an essay about the Third Reich, and play hockey and netball as well!!

As with many skills you pick up in your teen years, the sewing kind of fell away.  Not fashionable, no need

, and no time.  I revisited cooking at University - or I would have starved...

When Pete signed his life away to become Mr and Mrs, we were fortunate to be given many John Lewis vouchers, and I ended up buying myself an Elna sewing machine.  It has basically gathered dust since 2003, and has had 2 outings.  1 bad attempt by me to make some curtains

, and Mum used it to sew our living room curtains.

Recently BBC London featured The Make Lounge in Islington, as there had been a rise in the "Make d

o and Mend" philosophy, linked with the Credit Crunch.  My attention was caught by the cushion they made, and made me think, "Hmmm..."

I scouted our local colleges for a sewing course to get reacquainted with my sewing machine, but there is barely anything... and recently I have found that around here it is almost like an underground movement!!  So I kept an eye on The Make Lounge's workshop, and got myself booked on a course for Wed 20th May, 6.30 pm.

Now that was a few days after pounding the highways and byways of London for the Moonwalk, so I hoped I could move by t

his point!  All was well, but the Victoria Line decided to go on strike.  This meant driving in, so I arrived eventually 10 mins late, with

 slightly raised blood pressure, and full of apologies.  Catherine and Lisa, our tutors for the evening, couldn't have been nicer!  Even better, Tea, Coffee, choccy biscuits and WINE was on offer!  Of which I didn't partake... damn tube strike..

Lisa went through the basics of a pattern, what we were going to do for our 3 hour session, which was make a basic cu

shion, out of 3 pieces of material, and a corsage to pin on top.

Once we chose our material from the 

amazing selection, we went through how to pin the pattern on, effective cutting techniques and setting up our machines.  

The 10 strong class set about carefully sewing a straight seam - some for the very first time, and others, like me, 

for the first time in quite a few years!!  After chugging through the first seam, I gained confidence, and Lisa and Catherine were on hand to offer advice.

One important rule Lisa emphasised was pressing the piece to ensure it was flat and the seams were as straight as possible.  This meant pressing the item several times, to ensure the best finish possible.

To create a corsage (flower) to attach to the completed cushion, we chose 5 strips of material that we liked.  You took them one at a time,  folded them over and cut out 2 petals on the piece.  Once unfolded, you had a line of petals joined together.  They were then drawn together and stiched to create a round shape of petals. 

You then piled the 5 separate ones on top of each other and sewed the whole piece together to create a flower.As time was getting on, Lisa showed us how to do this, and I packed mine away and completed it at home.

Finally we were given a cushion insert to put our cover around, and voila! A completed cushion!

I really enjoyed my evening there. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed, and it didn't matter what your skill level was, you certainly left learning something, and a goody to take home!

Great idea for a place to go.  Check out their website on www.themakelounge.com