The Northern Stitchery

24/08/2026

It's not too late to sign up for the first of our autumn workshops, 'Introduction to Dressmaking'. This is a 3 week evening class where you'll learn all of the skills you need to start dressmaking, and come away with a fabulous pair of pj bottoms (or shorts), to wear at home.

We have a couple of spots left on our course starting 1st September, but if you can't make that one or you're more of a morning person, you can sign up on 21st September for our daytime course instead.

Www.northernstitchery.co.uk

21/08/2026

'Make the Buckthorn Tote', is now sold out! Dont worry if you wanted to join us on this ona as there are more dates planned for the new year, so keep an eye out on here or sign up to our newsletter for details.

For anyone who has signed up to the course, please check your emails as you should have received some detailed information about materials. If you haven't got this, please get in touch as it's really important that you buy the correct fabrics for the class.

Looking forward to seeing some great Buckthorns in September!

20/08/2026

🧶FABRIC & YARN SWAP🧵
Give your stash as new lease of life and join us for our first ever Fabric & Yarn Swap in September. Swaps are a simple and sustainable way to repurpose unwanted fabric, yarn, haberdashery and other crafting supplies, plus you can chat with others in our crafting community, and raise money for charity too!

🕣11am til 2pm
🗓️Saturday 26th September
📍St Wilfrid’s Community Centre (where the Repair Cafe is held)
🎟️£3 entrance fee (from The GreenHouse or on the door) to cover room hire; any profits will go to St Michael’s Hospice

✨How does it work? Bring some, take some!

➡️Bring clean, usable fabric, yarn and haberdashery you no longer want; only bring things that another crafter would be happy to receive.�⬅️Take home some new-to-you crafting supplies: try to take roughly the same amount as you brought ☺️�
I’m sure you have lots of questions, which we’ve tried to answer in more detail online, including what you can and can’t donate but here are a few of the most commonly asked:

* Can I donate in advance?
Yes - in fact that would be very helpful! Please bring your donations to the GreenHouse on North Street anytime before the ay of the event. You can also buy your entry ticket at the same time

* What if I only want to destash?
If you don’t want to take anything away with you, you’ll still need to pay the entrance fee (so you may as well have a look around!) and bring ONLY one bag of donations. The earlier you can bring this, the better, so we can offer it to the widest range of people.

* What if I don’t have anything to donate?
That’s also ok - but we ask you to come along from 12.30pm onwards, to give those who have donated first chance to rummage first.

More faqs here: https://www.thegreenhouseripon.com/event-details/fabric-yarn-swap

Cohosted by The Northern Stitchery The GreenHouse, Ripon and Saint Michael’s Hospice Charity Shops Saint Michael's Hospice

09/08/2026

Well, this was a bit of a special one! I was commissioned by our friends to create a bespoke handmade waistcoat for the groom to wear on his wedding day 🎊

The waistcoat was made using the family tartan, royal blue complementary lining, and delicate silver buttons with a celtic pattern chosen by the client.

It was so special to be asked to contribute to Angus and Josie's very handmade wedding (check out the handmade bouquet), and I absolutely loved making the waistcoat. It re-ignited my passion for formal tailoring, as well as testing my love for pattern matching to the max - have you ever tried a welt pocket using tartan 🫠🤯

I was so pleased with the outcome. And just over 6 weeks ago, I had the privilege of seeing Angus wearing it on his special day 🤩🥰

19/07/2026

Furniture repairs can feel a bit daunting given the size of the object and thickness of the fabrics being worked on, but they don't have to be, and once your equipped with some knowledge, they can be a fairly straightforward fix. This sofa belongs to one of my students and it needed to be repaired after a mouse decided to chew through the front corner and one back panel next to the zip. Once she had found a replacement fabric, I spent a couple of sessions working through best methods of repair and I here are the results. The fabric is such a good colour match, that at a glance it's hard to notice the repair.
If you have something that needs to be repaired, here are my top tips to get you started:

🧵Tips for repairing your upholstery

If your original fabric isn't too damaged, use it as a template for the repair

Make sure you use a heavy duty needle size 90 or 100 to get through all of those layers

Buy a heavier weight thread for strength eg. Gutterman Extra Strong Thread, as regular thread can easily snap

Baste layers together first to keep everything in the right place

Try to match the stitch length used originally (which tends to be longer than the usual 2.5

Take it slowly and go over any stitching that will get lots of wear and tear

GOOD LUCK!

09/07/2026

Summer make 2/34,000, and I'm loving it! As anyone who makes clothes knows, it takes time and often is a labour of love, but such a joy when you really like what you've made.

The pattern is the by . It's an old one but had been on my list for ages and didn't disappoint. I used some fabric from my stash (I can't remember what it is or where it came from),and think it's a good match. The pattern has 2 side splits, which keeps it breezy in the hot weather and a tie back to give shape at the waist. I think this one will be on high rotation this Summer 🌞⛱️😎

08/07/2026

Last night marked the final group class before the Summer holidays begin and what a class it was! These students worked so hard perfecting their stitching, mastering machine issues and created some beautiful work (with pattern matching to die for), it's hard to believe how far they've all come in 3 weeks! Congratulations ladies 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🤩

29/06/2026

25/06/2026

Check out these 3 beautiful versions of the Jalie skirt made during our 'Skirt Workshop' ! I love how unique and different each one is - they are wonderful examples of how personalities are reflected through the clothes that we wear. Ideal garments for this warm weather too😎

More coming up on the French seam finishing - they really are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside

If you missed this course, we're planning another 'Skirt Workshop', in the new year, so keep your eyes peeled or sign up to our newsletter.

17/06/2026

There's some brilliant work to be seen at YSP at the moment, especially if you're into textiles, found objects and heritage (like me). The day was made even better being able to share it 💗