The idea of slöjd—using natural materials, simple tools, and your innate creativity to craft the things you need and use every day—applies just as much to cloth as it does to wood! In this course we'll build skills for sewing slöjd as you make a kit to hold your essential tools and a custom-fit leather thimble, all sewn by hand. Then you'll use your new abilities to practice mending and simple alterations on garments and household textiles. You'll learn about how fabric is woven (jeans, shirts, coats) or knitted (sweaters, socks, t-shirts) and how to stitch on both kinds of fabric. Tasha will answer your textile-related questions, and you'll leave ready to integrate sewing into your everyday life skills. Consumer culture encourages us to use things for a short while, then toss them and get a new one. Making and mending our own textiles can be a way to choose another path, a way of caring for people and our planet. As part of this course we’ll explore what it means to practice sewing and mending in the modern world, and how we can share these skills with our communities.

You will need the following tools for this class:

• A small sharp sewing/embroidery scissors. If you don't already have one, please let me know, I can bring one for you to keep for a small additional fee.
• Clothing and other textile items that need mending or altering; these can be jeans, sweaters, socks, T-shirts, blankets, and anything else that is made of fabric. You can work on as many items as time permits. *Note: Please bring items clean. Woolens, delicates, and things that are coming apart can be gently hand washed.

All other required tools/materials are provided by your instructor and North House and will be available once
the course begins.

If there is a project you would like to work on in class that needs matching thread, yarn, etc., please bring some
with you. I'll have a variety of thread, yarn, and fabric scraps for practice, but odds are I will not have an exact
match for your project.

You are also welcome to bring any special fabrics, threads, or other materials that you would like to incorporate
into your sewing kit or your mending.