Upcycle Sewing

Fridays from 3:30-5:30 pm session 1 & Thursdays 6-8pm Session 2

Summer 2023 Session 1 June 16th - July 14th & session 2 July 21st - August 18th

Instructor: Christine Knobel

Upcycle Sewing

Give a funky and fresh revival to your once loved threads. Each 5 week course focuses on transforming garments you cannot bear to part with into pieces you’ll want to wear everyday. Students will bring in garments to update their looks through upcycling. Garments can be blended together, altered and embellished, or completely transformed into new pieces. Students will consider constraints such as fabric quantity, material type, and garment condition when creating their new designs.  

Results:

One - Two Upcycled garments each session

Textile Art

Curriculum:

  • SewingTechniques with a focus on garment Construction

  • Sustainability Practices

About the Instructor

Christine Knobel Christine works as a freelance designer, seamstress, and instructor in the Northern California Bay Area. She teaches fashion and textile courses at the University of California, Davis in the Department of Design. Christine has also worked as an instructor at Arizona State University in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. She led courses in pattern drafting and draping, fashion collection development, and fashion capstone projects.

While at UC Davis for her M.F.A., her thesis focused on fashion sustainability. She studied dyeing methods, textile life cycle assessments, and ultimately dove into biotextile design. Her work there led her to Make: where she's been sharing her research on kombucha textiles and cosplay. As a fashion designer she's worked professionally in pattern drafting, loungewear design, textile print design, and with private clients for cosplay design and construction.

Her cosplay work has been featured by Marvel Comics, and seen on such sites as Vanity Fair, LA Weekly, and the Daily Mail UK. Christine has a passion for fashion, from fiber, yarns, textiles, to the rich history of the garments we wear. 

Photo of Christine Knobel who is our Sewing and Pattern Making Instructor

Rave Reviews!

About The Sewing Room

At THE SEWING ROOM we specialize in Apparel Sewing and Fashion. Our instructors have experience with garment fit, construction, design in both the fashion industry as well costuming. Our Fashion Studies Program is an accelerated Fashion program for Middle, High School & Adult Students. In this semester long program, students learn the fundamentals of Fashion Design while being taught & mentored by industry professionals.

Through this program, students build a strong foundation of fashion centered skills while building their portfolio(s) and preparing for deeper study.

Jennifer Serr Owner and Lead Instructor at The Sewing Room, had a career in the fashion industry for two decades before opening shop. Jennifer is also Owner and Lead Designer at Bonjour Teaspoon Patterns - A sewing pattern company specializing in "Classic Style for the Modern Girl & Her Doll". She is also AUTHOR of the Book Sewing Camp Power.

"I started teaching students and about fashion and sewing almost two decades ago. I knew what it was like to have a burning passion to create well fitting, beautiful clothing, and wanted to share my skills and expertise with like minded people. Because I started sewing and designing when I was 7 years old, I know that there are very few boundaries for what drives a person to pursue a calling. Sewing and Fashion are my favorite things and I'm excited to share this expertise and passion with those who consider it their passion as well!"