Sewing Cafes in South East London

I've been back to work for a whole month now and my precious time for sewing has taken a knock back so I've not got anything to show yet but hopefully I can share the 2 quilts I'm working on soon!

So in the meantime I thought I'd do a bit of signposting and make a list of the sewing cafes and workshop places that are springing up across South East London. I'm sure there are lots more so I'll keep adding them as I come across them! Let me know if there are others I can add too.

SewOverIt is in Clapham has a great range of classes, with more being added all the time. It also has a cafe and allows you to book time to use machines whilst enjoying some lovely cafe. All of this and a great stock of fabrics and haberdashery bits. It was here that I did my fantastic Machine Embroidery class in January.

Seweastduwlich in East Dulwich is just round the corner from me and I've popped into the shop many times. They now offer workshops to make cushions and dresses as well as knitting and crocheting.

Others I've come across but not been to... yet:

The White Room in Crofton Park. Has machines you can book by the hour or block with a spot of tea and workshops including hat making. They also offer useful sewing machine repairs and servicing. Must pop in soon.

Stag & Bow in Forest Hill.  Has a shop, workshops and takes design commissions - phew! Currently they have lots of amazing discount offers when you book more than one workshop, making it even easier to try all those new crafts you've always wanted to master!

Sewing Time in Blackheath. Has a great range of workshops, courses and clubs. Not strictly a cafe but a place to go for support, learning new skills or making some friends and joining in! 

Miss Libby Rose in Greenwich. Again this isn't strictly a cafe but has a great range of classes which include beginner sessions and sessions especially tailored for children.

Crafts Bee in Beckenham. Offers a huge range of courses and workshops including sewing from pattern cutting and corsetry!!

And across London:

London Sewing Workshops in Bethnal Green
The Create Place in Bethnal Green
Saturday Sewing Sessions in Chelsea
The Papered Parlour in Clapham
Our Patterned Hand in Broadway Market, Hackney
Ray Stitch in Islington 
The Sewing Rooms in Putney
Earl Grey and Rose in Streatham
Cheekyhandmades in Walthamstow
Homemade London in West End

Building Blocks

Two new babies and a first birthday all in the same month so throughout March I've started a factory line in Building Blocks. Each set has 6 blocks and each side has a different fabric. I used a mix of spots, plains, elephants, floral and patchwork mix.

By cutting each side the same size of the finished blocks I ensured that the finished block will be snug. I ordered the foam from Ebay and cut it into squares with an electric knife - huge fun, but best done when the kids aren't around!

I machine stitched five pieces together and sewed two complete sides and an inch of the other two sides of the final piece. Then I trimmed the corners and threads, flipped the squares the right way round and squeezed the foam into place. The final edges were finished by hand sewing in a matching thread.

More Pom Poms

Do you remember making pom poms when you were a kid? I do. And the recent popularity of huge paper tissue ones lead me to go back to those original pom poms to decorate a gift. It was also a great activity to do with Finn. We found this lovely film on youtube so Finn (and me!) could see what we needed to do and we were away! We especially enjoyed the haircut stage!

Boys Scrappy Abstract Quilt

This is for a new baby boy all the way in Holland! I used a mix of blues, greens and purples with some lovely boy motifs - rockets and robots! Just the right size for a pram, a play mat and later a great memory!

The back is made from a solid piece of blue stripe and the binding is white cotton, creating a lovely frame.