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Fashion & Textiles

Fashion and textiles bring together creativity, craftsmanship and practical skills, allowing you to turn ideas into wearable and functional pieces. From learning how garments are constructed to exploring surface design and textile techniques, these courses offer a hands-on way to understand how fabrics, patterns and textures work together.

Across our fashion and textile courses, you can explore clothes making, dressmaking, pattern cutting, patchwork and quilting, knitting, textile printing and more, alongside more specialist areas such as lingerie and bra-making, darning, visible mending or Japanese Temari ball making. Whether you’re interested in creating everyday garments, developing technical sewing skills, or experimenting with fabric design, these courses cover both traditional methods and contemporary approaches to textiles.

Our fashion and textiles classes are welcoming and beginner-friendly, with opportunities to build skills at your own pace. You’ll gain practical knowledge that can support personal projects, creative expression or further study, while developing confidence in working with fabric, tools and techniques used in fashion and textile design.

Our Courses

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Clothesmaking for Beginners

Learn how to make simple clothes from commercial patterns. You will learn to select your patterns, lay and cut your fabric and construct your garment using a limited range of sewing techniques. You will develop your understanding of how to use a sewing machine.

Monday, 10:00 to 12:30
20 April 2026 – 06 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0389
Tutor: Auda Sakho
Location: Redbridge Institute of Adult Education
Duration: 10 weeks
Full fee: £225
Concession fee: £101

Dressmaking for Improvers

Learn to lay and cut your fabric along with a range of sewing techniques to construct a simple garment of your choice.

Monday, 13:30 to 16:00
20 April 2026 – 06 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0843
Tutor: Auda Sakho
Location: Redbridge Institute of Adult Education
Duration: 10 weeks
Full fee: £225
Concession fee: £101

Clothes Making

Learn to lay and cut your fabric along with a range of sewing techniques to construct a simple garment of your choice.

Tuesday, 14:00 to 17:00
21 April 2026 – 07 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0062
Tutor: Auda Sakho
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 12 weeks
Full fee: £344
Concession fee: £166

Natural Dyes - Indigo

Explore the ancient art of indigo dyeing in this immersive natural dye workshop. You’ll learn how to create and maintain a fructose-based indigo vat, master tie-dye and shibori techniques, and experiment with eco-friendly fixatives. Perfect for anyone interested in sustainable textiles and plant-based colour.

Tuesday, 18:30 to 21:00
21 April 2026 – 26 May 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0708
Tutor: Auda Sakho
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 6 weeks
Full fee: £155
Concession fee: £81

Learn to knit

A 6 week knitting course for beginners covering simple techniques, while exploring colour and texture.

Tuesday, 18:30 to 21:00
28 April 2026 – 02 June 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0760
Tutor: Rosina Godwin
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 6 weeks
Full fee: £155
Concession fee: £81

Sewing Machine Introduction

Spend a day getting to know the sewing machine and how to use it more effectively. Perfect to people who have a sewing machine but not confident in using it.

Saturday, 10:30 to 16:30
09 May 2026 – 09 May 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0056
Tutor: Jill Kennedy-McNeill
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 1 weeks
Full fee: £65
Concession fee: £65

Pattern Cutting (continuation)

Learn the essentials of flat pattern cutting such as laying a block on paper and making pattern adaptions to realise your designs.

Thursday, 18:00 to 21:00
14 May 2026 – 16 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0908
Tutor: Anastasia Kuatkhina
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 10 weeks
Full fee: £295
Concession fee: £147

Introduction to Pattern Cutting

On this course you will be introduced to the fundamental of pattern cutting, with the view to designing and making your own top.

Tuesday, 18:00 to 21:00
02 June 2026 – 07 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0059
Tutor: Rachel Selormey
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 6 weeks
Full fee: £182
Concession fee: £93

Sewing Bee pattern challenge -make a zero waste t-shirt

Learn the component's needed to make a t shirt and with no waste

Monday, 10:00 to 17:00
20 July 2026 – 20 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0820
Tutor: Rachel Selormey
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 1 weeks
Full fee: £64
Concession fee: £64

Patchwork Tote bag

Beginners - Patchwork Tote Bag. For people who are new to patchwork and quilting this course will introduce you to the basics. You will learn how to piece together squares and construct them into a stylish tote bag.

Tuesday, 10:00 to 16:30
21 July 2026 – 21 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0844
Tutor: Zoe Hewett-Dutton
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 1 weeks
Full fee: £60
Concession fee: £60

Introduction to the Sewing Machine

Spend a day getting to know the sewing machine and how to use it more effectively. Perfect for people who have a sewing machine but are not confident in using it.

Wednesday, 11:30 to 17:00
22 July 2026 – 22 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0863
Tutor: Anastasia Kuatkhina
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 1 weeks
Full fee: £50
Concession fee: £50

Natural Dyed fabric to make a romper suit

Over two full days, participants will begin by naturally dyeing their fabric using botanical dye techniques before moving into garment construction

Thursday and Friday, 10:00 to 16:30
23 July 2026 – 24 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0833
Tutor: Auda Sakho
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 2 weeks
Full fee: £109
Concession fee: £109

Visible Mending

Learn basic mending skills, while exploring the artistic potential of repair.

Saturday, 10:00 to 16:30
25 July 2026 – 25 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0840
Tutor: Rosina Godwin
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 1 weeks
Full fee: £55
Concession fee: £55

Beginners' Macrame

Learn the relaxing craft of macramé knotting and create a decorative handmade textile piece.

Saturday, 11:30 to 17:00
25 July 2026 – 25 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0862
Tutor: Anastasia Kuatkhina
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 1 weeks
Full fee: £60
Concession fee: £60

Basic Sashiko

Learn basic Japanese sashiko techniques to add both strength and beauty to repaired pieces.

Tuesday, 10:00 to 16:30
28 July 2026 – 28 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0824
Tutor: Rosina Godwin
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 1 weeks
Full fee: £60
Concession fee: £60

Learn to make a Lone Star Block Design

Advanced - Learn to make a Lone Star Block Design. If you are familiar with the basics of quilting then this course will help you develop your skills and learn how to construct a lone star block design.

Tuesday, 10:00 to 16:30
28 July 2026 – 28 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0847
Tutor: Zoe Hewett-Dutton
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 1 weeks
Full fee: £60
Concession fee: £60

Draping on the Mannequin

Discover the creative technique of draping fabric directly on the dress stand to develop garment shapes and silhouettes.

Thursday, 11:30 to 17:00
30 July 2026 – 30 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0864
Tutor: Anastasia Kuatkhina
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 1 weeks
Full fee: £55
Concession fee: £55

Introduction to Silk Painting

Explore the elegant craft of painting on silk to create unique decorative textile designs.

Friday, 11:30 to 17:00
31 July 2026 – 31 July 2026

Course Detail Enrol
Course Code: AD0865
Tutor: Anastasia Kuatkhina
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 1 weeks
Full fee: £60
Concession fee: £60

Patchwork & Quilting

Learn Patchwork and Quilting through making samples and completing personal projects including both hand and machine stitching.

Tuesday, 10:00 to 13:00
21 April 2026 – 07 July 2026

This course is now full
Course Detail
Course Code: AD0065
Tutor: Zoe Hewett-Dutton
Location: Mary Ward Centre, Stratford
Duration: 12 weeks
Full fee: £344
Concession fee: £166