It’s interesting to hear what you did on your workshop Roger, thank you.
Can I ask how it works when people bring their own machines? I did a sewing day with a friend a few months ago (just for fun, a day of child free sewing), she brought along an ancient old beast of a thing that charged off at full speed with when she so much as looked at the foot pedal. The machine had other issues (it probably needed servicing) so all in all she didn’t enjoy it as much as she might have otherwise. It was a world away from the experience that you can have from a nice well-behaved modern machine! I know that you should be able to sew on anything, but I thought if I was in control of the type of machine used then I could provide a better experience. On the other hand, in the area that I live in some people interested in learning could well have bought a machine that was the price of a small car.
With the ‘BYOM’ I did, the teacher asked me a few questions about it (conversationally) over email, I was very straight forward about the age and oddness of the machine, but at least knew the model. Checked I had a manual too. I think she did a minimum amount of research on it to check it wasn’t anything too wild and woolly. When I arrived she had a machine set up in her workshop that I assume was for in case mine was a nightmare
Primarily she worked from the manual, in terms of how to get a stitch or effect or thread the machine (a bit different on an older slant-o- matic) but used her experience to adjust tensions (bottom and top, I’d been sewing School trousers most recently and the thread was sturdy! ) stitch length (per inch) and to check the quality of the stitching, and of course how to apply the techniques.
She did decide to do the day as a one to one, because it wasn’t a machine she was familiar with.
I did read her website ahead of enquiring I was looking for experience, examples of what she made that sort of thing. She had several aspects to her site: tailoring and alterations, regular sewing clubs, quilt and chat clubs, and a range of classes, ie all make a skirt, or bring your stuck sewing project, own patterns, overlocking days too, and a few 2day workshops too around quilting or finishing a complete project. She also sold some pdf guides she had put together and fabric packs to support them and packs for specific courses she ran.
I sew for fun, and to keep machines, and hadn’t had any formal training since high school (terrible) so I wasn’t fussed about formal qualifications I wanted a route into better sewing.
Hope that helps