Chapter 1: What inspired Heidi Higgins to start teaching sewing?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk with Aviva Insurance.
If you've ever been interested in designing your own clothes, but you weren't sure where to start, then our next guest might be able to help because I'm joined by fashion designer Heidi Higgins. And Heidi, you're very welcome to the show. So this is a new, relatively new thing that you're doing now, running these classes and retreats for people about sewing. Yes.
Yes. So I suppose about three years ago, I decided that I wanted to teach sewing. Well, it's been something that I wanted to for a while and pass on the skills that I have. So I contacted my local ETB, Leishan Offaly ETB, and I just said to them, I'm looking to do some sewing classes. If you ever have interest in that area, let me know. I'd be interested.
So they called me back straight away and I started teaching some sewing classes with them, with the community education team.
Chapter 2: What types of sewing classes does Heidi offer?
And it's just been brilliant and it kind of grew legs and grew legs. So there was just more demand and we brought on level three sewing classes, QQI level three sewing classes. And now we're teaching, I'm teaching the level five QQI fashion design award, which is just brilliant. So you're teaching fashion and design and also you are teaching beginners. aren't you? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
So it's all different types. So we have total beginners come into me or people who have a little bit of skills come into me. There's loads of different options there because I always say that to people when they see the kind of fashion design world, they automatically think, well, it has to be, you know, I'm very serious about going maybe for a career in that area.
That's not necessarily the point. We have total beginner classes right up and there's lots of different options within the fashion design as well. We have pattern drafting, so creating patterns from scratch. We have a garment construction, which is obviously the sewing. And then there's a design element, learning about design skills and things like that.
So like next year, for example, I will be teaching the full time PLC course. And they're the students that are mostly coming from Leaving Cert, wanting to maybe go on to study fashion in college. And they'll do the course with me full time.
Chapter 3: How can beginners get started with sewing?
And then I will have a part time group as well. And I love my part timers because...
the part-timers for me are the people who can't you know commit to a full-time course they want to maybe do a morning with me once a week or something like that they're maybe have kids that are in school and it's great they can do it in the morning and they're home by two o'clock or they've maybe retired and they want to have something you know to like an interest that they've had all their life that
There's no time to pursue it now.
You brought in some of the things that you make and that you teach people to make. And I see a skirt there. That's a child's skirt on top. So I look at that and I think, oh God, I'd never be able to do that. Oh my God, absolutely no problem. Because everybody starts with, and I told this story before when I was in chatting to Anton one morning about in second class making a pillowcase.
Like everybody starts with the pillowcase, don't they?
Yeah.
Well, you see, I never did a pillowcase because I never had home economics when I was in school, in where I went to school. They didn't have it. So I always did little sort of doll's houses or doll's dresses. So even when people talk to me about, I want to be a beginner and, you know, I've done, I'm like, we're going to do fashion.
OK, so I always start off with fashion accessories because people expect me to be doing fashion because that's... the area that I've come from. So you aim high with them? Yeah, absolutely.
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Chapter 4: What are the benefits of joining a sewing retreat?
So like, for example, I had a sewing retreat. So besides from teaching with Leash and Offaly ETB, I do weekend sewing retreats. So about once a month I do a sewing retreat in Tipperary, where I'm based. And it's just brilliant. So yesterday I had a group of 10 ladies with me, some of them who had never sewn before and some of them had done a little bit years ago.
And they made the most amazing fashion accessories over two days. Like they were so surprised. But when you have a teacher there that has it all planned out, you know, step by step,
I suppose, yeah, because I think maybe we overestimate how difficult it is and it looks like an insurmountable challenge. And we're all so used to going in and buying our clothes now that once you think about it and break it down in that way, maybe it isn't such a big hill to climb.
No, not at all like we do. I have a dress here with me, which is one I do over a weekend sewing retreat as well. And there's no zip in it. It's a fabulous piece. Like it's a real beginner's project that you start with. This is the black dress with the flowers on it. This one here is my leopard print. Leopard print. Yeah. So we do it in a dress or a top.
People can make it in whatever size they want. But that has all sorts of tucks going on in the sleeve. And looks complicated. There's side pockets. There's the works.
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Chapter 5: What projects can beginners expect to make in sewing classes?
It's all there. But it's so achievable. Like, you know, and that's what I'm always saying to people. Even if you just come and get the basics right, the fundamentals with somebody, you know, especially in a class setting where it's all laid out for you, then it's easier for you to go on to the likes of TikTok and Instagram and follow videos that are there.
Usually what happens with people is they aim a little bit too high at the start. then they get a bit, you know, things don't go their way. So they kind of put the sewing machine back in the press and they don't want to take it out again.
So they start with trying to follow a YouTube video and it doesn't work for them, they get frustrated maybe.
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So like once they learn how to like tread the machine and do the bobbin and do any troubleshooting that might happen, then they're like, oh my God, like even people who were with me yesterday who've done a bit of sewing, they're like, And it's the small things that I learned today, like they're actually the most valuable, like not necessarily the end product that they made.
It was more that little, you know, setting up and stuff that that will be, that was what was challenging them, say, when they were trying to do stuff at home.
Is it all machine sewing that you're teaching?
Yeah, like the odd time I do hand sewing retreats and things like that, we do a little bit of hand sewing in school, but predominantly we're on the sewing machine. Yeah.
So it's not that daunting. In the retreats, is it about learning how to make things or is it about getting away and having a few hours for yourself or is it a bit of both? It's a bit of both.
You know, like, you know, yesterday, just as an example, because I had people with me this weekend, we had somebody who just had a baby. It was her first day away. Now the baby is a good few months old, but it was her first day away from, you know, her young kids. And she just absolutely loved it. The peace. Yeah.
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Chapter 6: How does sewing promote sustainability?
She had her lunch in peace. We sat outside because the weather was so gorgeous for lunch. And, you know, we're up in the middle of nowhere, which is just fabulous. And I have people who've come to me from tip from Northern Ireland, from Kerry, from Cork. They stay overnight sometimes, you know, on the Saturday night.
So they come back on Sunday and it just it's time for themselves as well as obviously learning something new. So it's a real mixture. And it's just lovely to see that, like for me, the retreats feel like no work at all because it's just fantastic. So enjoyable. And you're meeting so many different people.
Will we talk about the skirt there that we were having a look at? So that nice, colourful one, that's a little girl's skirt. Is that a tricky one to make? Like, would you be doing that now on your weekend retreat? Absolutely.
Yeah. So this is a little kids one. The reason I made this one actually was because I did a teen camp last summer. I'll pass it over to you there now. Yeah. I did a teen camp last summer in Thurles and I'm doing one this year in Portlaoise in July for a couple of days. And I have, you know, I'll have students kind of like 12 upwards.
OK, so I had a girl and she was with me and we were making fashion accessories and I kind of said to them, what would you really like to know how to make? You know, is it a skirt or a top or shorts? And she said to me, I'd love to make a skirt.
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Chapter 7: What essential skills will you learn in sewing classes?
So I went home that night and I made this up to show her the next day. And we were doing little projects like we were doing the stepping stone, say, to get to making that. And she just loved it. And it was just, you know, like it's elasticated on the waist. There's fun in it.
We try to encourage them, obviously, about sustainability, maybe cutting up an old man's shirt and just, you know, using fabric like that, especially when they're beginners, that there's no major cost involved. But Clare, like it costs about 120 euro to buy the sewing machine that I use. OK, they're beginner sewing machines. They are fantastic value.
But if you think about how much it costs to buy tablets and phones and things like that, and they get hours of entertainment, like be it kids or adults out of the sewing machine.
You need to know how to use it. And even for doing repairs, like, you know, A lot of people might get to the point where they could make something like this, even though I accept what you're saying, that it is easy when you know how. But even if you're willing to put the hem up on your trousers.
It's funny because I always, so sometimes when I'm promoting like a retreat or we're talking about courses, I'm always saying, you know, it's sustainable and you learn how to do, you know, sew on a button and do a hem and we do all that. OK, but then also I always find time to add a bit of creativity into it. And always at the end, I say to people, what did you love?
I actually loved that I could actually be creative and make something because they didn't believe that they had that maybe in them. They just said, God, if I could just turn off the hem of the trousers now, I'd save myself going up and down to get alterations and things like that. And then they realised, actually, there's so much more in it that they can do, which is just brilliant to see.
So people are kind of coming for that mindfulness as well and getting away from the screen. as well as something so practical, like our grannies and our parents used to do years ago, you know.
Now, Heidi, people are going to want to know how they can sign up for the classes. So is it Heidi Higgins?
Yeah, HeidiHiggins.com or they can look me up then with Leigh Schnafly ETB for the fashion design course there.
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Chapter 8: How can listeners sign up for Heidi's classes?
Heidi, lovely to have you in. Thank you so much for telling us all about it. We're inspired now. We'll be all out getting the sewing machines to try and be more sustainable in what we're wearing.
The Clare Byrne Show. With Aviva Insurance. Weekday mornings at 9. On Newstalk. Conversation that counts.