The Big List of Online Sewing Classes for Beginners & Beyond
Sewing classes are one of my biggest motivators, whether they’re in-person or online.
Working in-studio with an instructor, you can master hands-on tasks that are challenging to accomplish on your own, such as fitting patterns or padding a dress form to match your shape.
Online courses are ideal for learning the fundamentals. Virtual classes give you time to practice and master a technique, whereas in-person classes can feel rushed, given the time constraints. I learned how to sew with stretch fabrics from a Craftsy course, and I added hand sewing to my arsenal with the help of Susan Khalje’s online videos.
No matter how long you’ve been sewing, there’s an online class that will take your skills to the next level.
Learning to Sew
Craftsy: Startup Library: Sewing
In this course, Sara Alm guides you through the basics: essential tools and materials, choosing patterns, and cutting and marking fabric. She’ll walk you through the process of making a tote bag and a dress (patterns not included).
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 5.5 hours
Threads Magazine: Teach Yourself to Sew
Watch five seasons of beginner videos that cover fabrics, sewing darts, finishing seams, and fitting patterns. Your Threads membership includes delivery of Threads Magazine.
Threads membership cost: $7/month
Get to know your machine with this free 1.5 hour course. Learn how to wind a bobbin, thread your machine, and how to sew straight lines, curves, and corners.
Cost: Free
Length: 1.5 hours
The Thrifty Stitcher: The Ultimate Beginners Sewing Course
Claire-Louise Hardie, a professional costumer and a sewing producer for The Great British Sewing Bee, will teach you how to sew with her online beginners course.
Cost: £45
Length: Unknown
Tilly and the Buttons: Make Friends with a Sewing Machine
17 videos show you what to look for in a machine, how to sew seams with confidence, and how to troubleshoot common issues. You’ll sew a scarf to practice your skills.
Cost: £29
Length: 17 videos
How to Use a Serger
Sergers sew and finish a seam in one step, speeding up the sewing process and providing a ready-to-wear finish. Sergers are especially useful for sewing with knit (stretchy) fabrics because a serger seam is able to stretch with the fabric.
Sew Over It: Intro to Overlocking
With this online course from Sew Over It, learn how to clean and thread your overlocker and how to finish your hems.
Cost: $55 to purchase or $21/month for access via Stitch School
Length: 53 minutes
Practice nine types of stitches and create a serger stitch book that you can reference again and again. You’ll build your skills by making an exposed zipper bag, an ombré ruffled apron, and a striped knit scarf.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 4 hours
Fabrics 101
Fabric School: Understanding Textiles with Mood Fabrics
Benjamin Mach, two-time Project Runway contestant, takes you on a figurative walk through the aisles of Mood Fabrics in New York City in this one-hour course.
Cost: $29.95 to purchase or $7.95/month for access via Creativebug
Length: 1 hour
Learn the difference between woven and non-woven fabrics and analyze fibers: natural and man-made, plant-based, and animal-based. Discover how to use fabrics as a source of inspiration to create your designs, and see how different fabrics behave when draped on a dress form.
Cost: $59.99 or $21/month for access via Udemy
Length: 1 hour
Sewing Clothing
Closet Core Patterns: Learn How to Sew Clothing
Three patterns, in print or PDF, are included with this comprehensive course: a classic A-line skirt, a top and dress, and pants and shorts.
Cost: $79 (includes 3 sewing patterns)
Length: 8.5 hours
Sew Liberated: Learn to Sew Your Clothes
Independent pattern designer Sew Liberated offers a series of courses to help you build your wardrobe. Projects include pajama pants, the Nocturne top, a tunic, leggings, and a dress. Classes are sold individually and include a sewing pattern.
Cost: $149 for each course (includes sewing pattern)
Length: Unknown
Learn to Sew is designed for women who have no prior experience, who have never touched a sewing machine before. You’ll make an A-line skirt, pencil skirt, and a t-shirt.
Cost: $397
Length: 9 videos
Seamwork: Learn to Sew Clothing
Sarai and Haley of Seamwork teach you how to sew a jacket and a dress. 12 videos, a workbook, 2 sewing patterns, and 3 months of Seamwork community membership are included.
Cost: $299 (includes 2 sewing patterns)
Length: 12 videos
Sewing with Knits
Learn how to sew with stretch fabrics, no serger required.
Sew Over It: Intro to Sewing with Knit Fabrics
Tackle sewing with knits using two Sew Over It patterns: the Emma dress and the v-neck Alice top. You can purchase the class individually, or access it with a Stitch School subscription.
Cost: $82 to purchase or $21/month for access to Stitch School (includes 2 pdf patterns)
Length: 1 hour
I learned to sew with knits by watching this online class taught by Meg McElwee, the owner and designer of Sew Liberated. You can download five patterns, including the comfortable and flattering surplice dress.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month (includes 5 pdf patterns)
Length: 6 hours
Creativebug: The Isla Dress and Top
Rae Hoekstra of Made By Rae patterns will walk you through sewing her Isla pattern (not included with your class purchase).
Cost: $19.95 to purchase or $7.95/month for access via Creativebug
Length: 35 minutes
Susan Khalje Couture: The Wrap Dress with Ann Steeves
Ann Steeves, owner of Gorgeous Fabrics, and Susan Khalje, show you how to sew a wrap dress using Vogue Pattern V2040 (not included). Purchase the course or join Susan’s sewing club to watch.
Cost: $50 to purchase or $25/month for access via the Sewing Club
Length: 10 chapters
Making Lingerie
Alison Smith School of Sewing: Bra Construction
Understand how to sew three styles of bras (patterns not included) in this nearly-4-hour course. Alison has been teaching bra construction for over 20 years.
Cost: £40
Length: 3 hours, 40 minutes
Cashmerette Willowdale Bra Sewalong
Make a bra that fits a full bust. The Willowdale is designed specially for larger busts in band sizes 28-54 and cup sizes C-J. Purchase the course or get access in the Cashmerette Club.
Cost: $30 to purchase or $16.25/month for access via Cashmerette Club
Length: Just under 4 hours
Alison Smith outlines what patterns, fabrics and notions are best suited for lingerie. She walks through how to stabilize, cut out and seam a variety of lightweight, slippery fabrics and how to incorporate lace into your lingerie. You’ll also learn to create straps and how to hem lingerie fabrics with confidence.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 2.5 hours
Closet Core Patterns: Learn How to Sew Lingerie
Download and print PDF patterns of the Celine Bralette and Anaïs Undies to create matching sets or individual pieces. This class will show you how to sew two styles of bralettes and two styles of underwear.
Cost: $69 (includes 2 patterns)
Length: 5.5 hours
Couture Sewing
Give your garments a high-end finish by employing the same time-tested techniques used by Dior and other couture houses. Couture sewing involves putting time and care into your garments — no shortcuts here.
Sew Over It: Intro to Couture Techniques
Finish your seam allowances by hand, understand when and how to use underlining, and try different ways of sewing a dart. Buy the class individually or join Stitch School for access.
Cost: $64 to purchase or or $21/month for access to Stitch School
Length: 3 hours
Watch Susan Khalje sew a dress using couture techniques from start to finish. Over the course of 15 lessons, you’ll learn how to cut your fabric, how to thread trace your seam lines, and how to apply underlining.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 7 hours, 44 minutes
Craftsy: Couture Dressmaking Techniques
Stabilize neck edges and shoulder seams so they never stretch. Create shaping using slashed, balanced and contoured darts. And stitch crease-free princess seams and luxurious hand-finished necklines.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 3 hours
Fitting Sewing Patterns
Since all of our bodies are different, a sewing pattern likely won’t fit right out of the envelope. Fitting often involves sewing a muslin (known as a toile in the UK). This is a simplified version of your pattern sewn in muslin or another low-cost fabric to evaluate the fit. Muslins are mock-ups and are not meant to be worn as garments.
Some techniques, such as those taught by Palmer/Pletsch and Joi Mahon, aim to minimize the number of muslins required to achieve a flattering fit more quickly.
Cashmerette: Fitting for Curves
In this workshop, learn how to alter your patterns for a curvy body. You’ll assess which alterations you need, measure your muslin for adjustments, and then alter your pattern pieces. You’ll also learn four types of full bust adjustments.
Cost: $65
Length: 21 videos
Craftsy: Easy Fitting the Palmer/Pletsch Way: Shirts & Tops
Fit your pattern by wearing the pattern tissue on your body. You’ll start with choosing your blouse size and prepare your pattern for tissue-fitting. From there, you’ll move on to fitting and learn tricks to fit yourself without a sewing partner.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 2 hours
Palmer Pletsch also hosts live zoom classes.
Craftsy: Fast Track Fitting with Joi Mahon
Joi Mahon teaches you how to measure yourself and compare your measurements to the pattern to determine the changes needed for a flattering fit.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 3 hours
Lynda Maynard fits dress muslins on three women and shows you how to assess fit issues by observing the muslin. Watch how adding and subtracting from one area improves the fit in other areas.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 4 hours
Seamwork: How to Fit with Confidence
During this class, you’ll sew a muslin to diagnose fit issues and learn how to lengthen and shorten patterns, how to increase and decrease width, and how to adjust darts.
Cost: $49 to purchase or $16/monthly for access with a Seamwork membership
Length: 10 hours
Pattern Making / Pattern Cutting
You don’t need to limit yourself to commercially available patterns. Make your clothing designs a reality by drafting your own patterns. A note on terminology: pattern making/drafting is referred to as pattern cutting in the UK.
Brooks Ann’s Prep School for Custom Sewing
Design, draft, and sew your own custom-fit clothing. All students begin with the Skirt Skills course, where they create a skirt block and design and sew a custom-fit skirt. Skirt Skills alumni can then progress to Brooks Ann’s tops and pants courses. Although the videos are pre-recorded, classes take place during a 28-day period, during which you’ll have access to office hours with your instructor.
I have taken Brooks Ann’s skirt and tops class and loved them both. Enrolling in Skirt Skills marked the beginning of my journey in sewing clothing that fit me well. Join Brooks Ann’s email list to be notified when Skirt Skills enrollment opens.
Cost: $395 (Skirt Skills)
Length: 28 days; 15+ hours (Skirt Skills)
Kate, the owner and instructor at Project Patterns, works in the UK fashion industry as a pattern cutter. She offers courses in pattern cutting essentials and on how to draft your own bodice and trouser blocks. Most classes are pre-recorded, but she hosts live Zoom classes on occasion, so I recommend signing up for her email list.
I have taken several of her pattern cutting essentials courses and found them invaluable in helping me to understand how patterns work.
Cost: Prices vary by course; Introduction to Pattern Cutting is £60
Length: Varies by course; Introduction to Pattern Cutting is 2 hours
Craftsy: Next-Level Pattern Drafting from Ready-to-Wear
Have a favorite store-bought garment? Learn how to make a pattern from it, without damaging your original.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 2 hours
Take live online classes with sewing instructor Lynda Maynard. Classes are offered on a set schedule (note that Lynda is in the U.S Pacific time zone). Course length ranges from 4-8 weeks.
Cost: Varies by course; generally $295
Length: 4-8 weeks
Tailoring
Tailors make custom-fit garments, often jackets and pants, using hand-sewing techniques.
This UK-based tailoring academy offers a one-year online class in tailoring that students can take from home. Delve into the methods used by Savile Row tailors and make your own bespoke jacket.
Cost: £1,895
Length: 34 weeks
Rory Duffy: The Making of a Savile Row Coat
A step-by-step video series from Savile Row trained master tailor Rory Duffy shows you how to make a handcrafted coat from start to finish.
Cost: $5 for each video
Length: 55 videos
Craftsy: Tailoring the Classic Blazer
Professional costumer and patternmaker Steffani Lincecum demonstrates how to add padstitch hair canvas and muslin into your garment to reinforce stress points and add structure. You’ll add wigan to hemlines and sleeve cuffs for a crisp look and keep shoulder seams from stretching with twill tape.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 4.5 hours
Craftsy: Essential Guide to Tailoring: Construction
Alison Smith shares how to insert sleeves, sew collars, and upgrade the elegance of jackets and coats with a melton undercollar.
Other classes in this series: Structure & Shape and Finishing (each about 2 hours long)
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 2.5 hours
Bag Making
Craftsy: Design Your Own Handbag
Learn professional tips to plan your bag’s shape, choose fabrics, and how to add finishing snaps and straps. Brett Bara provides you with a basic handbag shape that can be adapted into a variety of styles.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 4 hours
Creativebug: Bag Design Workshop
In this three-part master course, professional bag designer Nicole Mallalieu guides you through the bag design process from concept to construction. Learn how to break down three-dimensional bag shapes into two-dimensional shapes and create your pattern pieces. A muslin mock-up will ensure that your bag pieces fit together before you cut into your fabric.
Cost: $39.95 to purchase or $7.95/month for access via Creativebug
Length: 2.5 hours
Craftsy: 20 Essential Techniques for Better Bags
Lisa Lam reveals the pros and cons of different interfacings, interlinings and linings, and shows you two handy methods for sewing lining into your bag. You’ll conquer skills for zipper installation and find out how to create two pocket styles.
Craftsy membership cost: $11/month
Length: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Historic Costuming
Master hand sewing for 18th-century sewing, and create a regency dress and other historical garments.
Cost: Varies by course ($79 for Regency Dress)
Length: 5 modules (Regency Dress)
Christina Cilano: Historical Couture
Classes are taught in-person in London or live on Zoom. Sew a corset, an 18th-century gown, or a regency dress. Construction techniques are modern, not historical.
Cost: £220 for the Regency Dress course
Length: 3 weeks for the Regency Dress course
Sew your favorite Sense & Sensibility Pattern with their video workshops. Videos are self-paced, and you will have one year of access.
Cost: $40 for the Regency Gown course
Length: 3 weeks (Regency Gown course)
Starting a Sewing / Pattern Making Business
Become a sewing pattern designer! Learn how to draft, modify, grade, tile, market and sell your digital sewing patterns using Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. Students must have knowledge of pattern drafting before enrolling in this course.
Cost: $429 for the Pro Plan
Length: Takes 3 weeks to 3 months to complete
Creative Live: Fast Start Your Crafty Accessories Business
Turn your knack for making crafty accessories into a business. You’ll take a behind-the-scenes look at a thriving accessories business as you learn the ins and outs of selling online and in stores.
Cost: $29 to purchase or $29 month to access via CreativeLive subscription
Length: 2.5 hours
Angela Wolf: Start an Alteration or Custom Apparel Business
Angela Wolf will teach you how to create a business plan, set up your space, and develop a successful pricing plan.
Cost: $149
Length: Unknown
