What makes you want to attend a class?

[CocoapuffPuff]

Im talking about Sewing, crafting type workshops, classes, etc.

What is it that makes you decide to attend? Is it price?

I'm trying to establish a crafting and sewing group and classes, and it's getting no response at all, not even a lukewarm one.

2 hour session of Knit, Stitch and Natter, with hot drinks and biscuits. Cost is a fiver per person.

Dressmaking classes with all equipment etc provided and a qualified teacher on hand, big cutting tables, hot drinks and cake. 3 hours for £30 per person.

It's a village location with loads of parking at the building, and I've offered daytime and evening sessions.

Anything strike you as immediately off-putting? I'm really at a loss.

Should I offer specific skill classes? Master zips. Conquer the collar? Perfect hems?

What would you like offered as a class, and what would you be prepared to pay for it?

This is the kind of set up I've tried in the past, so it's really positive to hear that it does work sometimes.
Did you pay upfront or are you paying by the week? I'm not sure if paying as you go might encourage dropping out....

Not sure I’ve seen it mentioned but may be worth engaging with your local Social Prescribers / Link Workers if you’re in the U.K.
I do this role and regularly connect patients to creative / craft type groups to help them reduce social isolation and improve their wellbeing. I’d say for the £5 session more than the more expensive courses, as generally speaking this is within people’s budgets especially if they can dip in and out.
I think in terms of welcoming this crowd it’s about having an encouraging, non-judgemental vibe to the group which I’m sure would be the case 😊
Craft can be a huge boost for people with low level mental health issues and aid recovery, and is a bit less intimidating going to a craft group than say a coffee morning if they are anxious / shy about meeting new people.
Hope that helps.

I tried to set up an evening "come along and craft" group, but it failed because people just didn't turn up reliably and, because I wasn't trying to run it as a business, I didn't want to hire a location and risk being out of pocket when we didn't get enough people attending to cover costs. I looked at a number of local pubs but the lighting wasn't good enough to do yarn crafts with.

I would be most drawn to short courses with a specific outcome, if not specifically project based. eg 3 hours of "Sewing Machine Basics" by a few sessions of "Learn to Make Your Own Curtains" would be a good investment of time and money and save me hundreds of pounds going forwards in life. Same for a short course of "Do your own alterations".

I think you need to decide if you're hoping to mainly educate your attendees, or be a regular social event for them.

This is a great idea. Do you have a local cancer centre, or maybe somewhere for unpaid carers - these kinds of places are often looking for respite and social activities for members.

This time of year a make your own Christmas Wreath is always popular- not just the foliage type but the rag wreaths. I'd be interested!

The advantage of classes for me is that I don't have to prepare anything or take any materials. I'm happy to pay extra for someone take the hassle out. Otherwise everything is at home.

I'm attending a 4 week sewing course atm. £30/ week, 6.30 - 9.00pm. We take along projects and get help with tricky bits. I'm having my first go at French seams.
The timing appealed, as well as the venue. There is little chat, but I like the vibe. Sewing is a solitary hobby, so I enjoy being around people (& having experts on hand). It's aimed at beyond beginners.
I struggle to find courses/ workshops for advanced beginners/ intermediate. I'd love a series of masterclasses - collars, fastenings, FBA/ pattern tweaking. I'd also like opportunities to discuss patterns, fabric choices etc. Quite a lot of my early attempts don't fit, don't suit me or were poor choice of fabric. Totally understandable as a beginner, but feels rather wasteful. Less keen on making a block - I just can't see myself using one. Projects are OK, but inevitably the pattern choice doesn't always appeal.

I would love them at a time that fits with working life- 6pm is in the middle of dinner for my DC. 8pm would be brilliant.

@CocoapuffPuff i have paid up front

I am hoping to start running block printing workshops in the new year but agin they will be printing and taking home a specific item

@MayorOfHuyton 'Rare occasions where I'd have a family emergency or something and literally no time to make a project I'd take the equipment anyway but some of the ladies, despite being very capable, would sit staring into space.'

The only time I ran a workshop, I taught lots of different variations & ideas on a basic theme/technique. I imagined that for each variation, the ladies would first do exactly what I'd just shown them & then be inspired to take it further & try out their own ideas. Nope. Not a one. Despite my encouraging them to be creative, they would watch my demonstration, do it themselves & then sit there waiting for me to show them the next thing. Afterwards, I thought of them as baby birds in a nest, waiting with open mouths for food to be dropped in.😂

That's so interesting. I ran a class in an adult basic education setting, on making Christmas stockings and not one participant followed my instructions.
They had no idea how to make it, but all quite literally ignored me completely, started hacking lumps off the fabric in random places and making whatever the heck they wanted. It was surreal.
I gave up after trying for an hour to bring it back to the intended project.

Brilliant! This thread is really interesting & funny, because I love the quirks of human nature.

I attended an all-day art/craft workshop which was enthralling & fun all day, except for the woman who arrived & plonked herself down opposite me & announced that it was marvellous to have so many ladies there the same age as her, because she wanted to discuss her menopause - which she did, all day. We managed to mostly ignore her & get on with making little works of art & extending our creativity, to a background of her droning on about hot flushes while she didn't actually produce anything.

You definitely learn a lot about human nature!

I watched two women nearly come to blows over an empty cardboard box, no exaggeration.
Another woman had tears in her eyes one week because she didn't like the colour scheme we were using, she was very upset.

I go to a fortnightly social sewing session for £6/time. It’s not a taught session, just bring your machine and stuff but they also have big tables for cutting out fabric. It’s great fun, we have a natter and compare makes, show each other techniques etc.

I used to go to a knit and natter but there were some questionable opinions being shared and I decided the long drive wasn’t worth it to hear that kind of rubbish.

A friend runs an art club where they have a try at a new technique each session, taught by an artist. It’s in London so they have plenty of tutors available; probably wouldn’t work in rural Scotland! I don’t know how often it runs and how payment works but there’s always a good turnout.

A thing that holds me back from classes like this is that I imagine everyone will be with friends, and none of my friends are very crafty so I’d have to go on my own. Bit of sad admission as generally I enjoy doing things on my own. But anything you can do to make clear that solo crafters are welcome would help.

I go to a weekly 3 hour knit and natter style group, although it's more sewing than knitting. £4 to cover hall hire and tea and biscuits - absolute bargain, really as the chat is great and there's always help on hand. I've paid £70 for a one day course for a specific craft, and 130 for 10 weeks, 2 hours per week at local high school evening class, so a real mixed bag.

Tbh both your options sound great - how's your advertising /social media?

Thanks everyone, this has been really interesting and given me some food for thought. Much appreciated x

For me it must be day time, I won't go to any evening groups.
Also I prefer to pay as you go rather than commit to £25 a month or whatever.
I have tried various craft groups. A knit and natter which was well established and I felt like an unwelcome outsider.
A sewing group. A small group in a studio . I had just taken up sewing so was only a beginner.Everyone took their own thing but there was some direction given and sometimes we all did the same project.This worked well initially as I learned stuff. After a while though it seemed to be just a social group which the host was profiting from.

I like the idea of "make a bag in six weeks" or learn some dressmaking basics.

I find so many of these reaponse so interesting!

I'm a sewist, so rarely do specific classes or courses as they're almost always aimed at beginners, or are making something I'm not interested in.

However, I love retreats and social sews! Take my own stuff, chat to fellow sewists, learn random new things (nice patterns, techniques, machines, fabrics, etc). I've always attended the first of wherever I've gone alone. Doesn't bother me, even if a group is established like the one I just joined. I find most sewists to be really welcoming. I'll always welcome new people and make an effort to talk to them!

The one I've just joined is £10/session for about 4 hours. Covers the hall hire, raffle, the equipment (communal cutting mats, cutting implements, iron, etc) and hot drink and cake options. I loved it and met some amazing sewists!

Timing is always going to be bad for some people. I work condensed shifts so struggle M-Th in the evening as I get up so early. But others don't want weekends, etc. You just have to pick what works for you or has the most interest!

Good luck to you! There need to be more crafty groups, whatever form they might take x

Before investing in a sewing machine I did a one day beginner sewing course.

We learned the basics of using a sewing machine (threading, the various stitches) and then we did a project in the afternoon (making our own tote bag).

That was all really useful and helped me start making things straight away when I bought my first sewing machine :).

Would you mind sharing how much that cost, please? And how many people were in the class?

This is where I did my day course: https://fabrications1.co.uk/classes/ in Hackney.

You can see how much they charge & the various classes/groups they run. It is also a shop :)

@Startingagainandagain thank you for sharing that, looks like a brilliant business.

I'm obviously trying to charge too much, that's clear, but I'm tied to the room costs. Time to consider cheaper venues I guess.

I'll just keep plugging along till I find my sweet spot. It's eluding me at the moment sadly.

Such a funny and interesting post. I came here because I am also wanting to run crafting workshops and wondering:

1. Timings - do people like a half day or full day?
2. Are people ok with a materials fee baked into the price that they take home (e.g an embroidery kit)?
3. How much are people willing to pay for in person vs online. Seems to be that people end up paying almost the same price for online but for the host it's a huge difference when it comes to room hire and liability insurance.

On a personal note - when I attend a craft workshop I want to learn a new skill. I recall a workshop in Salisbury where I did bookbinding where the tutor was actually annoyed that I wanted to learn, because she didn't complete the course description in the time. She had the cheek to say "yes sorry we didn't get to do the skills you wanted, but the other ladies just came to have fun, whereas you wanted to learn". She said it as a rebuke. She wasn't a good person to run a workshop as she was quite bossy and kept telling us off, or rushing me. So one take away is leave enough time for the craft. Stuff takes a lot of time, especially with beginners. Best to under promise and over deliver. If you end up having free time at the end then have a little bolt on skill to teach.