An In Person Workshop Series with Vanessa Baish 

The form itself is simple: body, placket, sleeves, cuffs, collar. The myriad combinations of detail, from subtle to extravagant, change the fit, feel, and effect of the shirt. 

In this series of six classes, students will work from material decisions through finishing details to construct their own basic button up shirt. Vanessa will cover terminology and sewing techniques—including intermediate sewing machine use and hand-sewing stitches for detail work. 

Students will create a basic moderately fitted shirt with a french placket; long sleeves with a button cuff or short sleeves; a rounded stand collar and optional tie; a yoke; bust darts; and optional pockets. Under Vanessa's guidance, students will also have the opportunity to customize the shape of their collar and add details like ruffles or buttons. Near the end of the workshop, students will learn to add hand-sewn details to make their wearable garments an expression of their hand work and individual creativity! 

Date + Time 

Saturdays from 12pm-4pm ET

March 29th; April 5th & 12th; and May 3rd, 17th, & 24th 

Location

Tatter Textile Library: 505 Carroll Street, #2B, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Materials

All supplies will be provided. You are welcome to bring additional materials (like special fabric or thread) that you would like to experiment with or incorporate.

Scholarships

There is a scholarship spot available for this workshop. Please email info@tatter.org to learn more. 

Our Teacher

Vanessa Baish works in service of learning of all kinds, currently as a lecturer teaching literature at BMCC and in the public programs and exhibitions department of the Brooklyn Public Library. She first learned to knit as a child from her grandmother and learned the basics of sewing in middle school; she returned to both while in graduate school studying literature. Her thinking and making—wearable artifacts to thread journaling—are text/ile expressions of her love of material.