Susan Khalje Couture Sewing School

Two weeks ago, I was fortunate to be able to participate in Susan Khalje’s Couture Sewing School at The Sewing Workshop in San Francisco.  Before participating I had quite a few questions, so I thought I would answer them here for anyone else who may be interested in attending.

How was the class overall? Would you recommend it?

I loved it, and highly recommend it! 

I learned a great deal in the class- not only from working on my own project, but also from seeing and hearing about everyone else’s. The classroom at The Sewing Workshop is the perfect size for everyone to be able to keep tabs on other people’s projects, and you can easily pop over to someone else’s station when a technique that you are interested in is being discussed.

Also, Susan is an excellent teacher. Aside from being a couture expert, she is lovely and patient, and she never lets you feel silly for not knowing something, even something very basic (like, ahem, where bust darts should really go).  She is also very funny and full of interesting stories and experiences, so class was always fun. 

Do you have the skills necessary to participate?

I asked myself this question for several years before taking the plunge; as it turned out, I need not have worried. There were people in the class at all skill levels, including a woman whose previous sewing experience was limited to having taken a class to make a kimono style bathrobe. Everyone did just fine, and since each person is working on a different project, you will never hold up the rest of the class if you get hung up on doing something.  Also, the other students were very non-judgmental; each person had different knowledge and a different skill set, and everyone was very supportive.

Who takes the class?

The students in the class had varied backgrounds.  Two were design students, but most (including myself) were simply interested in taking their sewing skills to the next level. 

About half of the students were local to the San Francisco Bay Area, the rest came from other parts of the US and abroad. Some traveled quite a distance!

For  most of the group this was the first time in the class, but there were a few students who had taken it before.  Since you work on a project of your choosing, you could easily repeat the class and learn completely different skills each time.

What sort of projects do people make?

Half of the fun of the class is seeing all of the other students’ wonderful projects!

Some projects were more simple, some were more complicated. I made this lace shell- it is very simple, but to make it properly takes time and attention to detail (I am still finishing it!).  Other projects included a trench coat, a cropped Chanel-style jacket and dress (the dress was partially completed at the start of the class), a pieced jacket, a velvet peplum skirt, a funnel neck top and skirt, a cape coat and several different styles of dresses.

How does the class work?

Prior to the start of the class, you select a pattern/project to work on during the class.  I found it helpful to run my pattern options by Susan- some of my choices were better suited than others for the class.

Also prior to the start of class, you make and fit a muslin according to Susan’s directions, which you will receive when you enroll.  I found it helpful to watch the muslin sections of Susan’s Couture Dress class on Craftsy, but this is obviously not a must;  if you are inexperienced making or fitting a muslin don’t worry about it- just do the best you can.  Some of the muslins in the class fit perfectly and some needed work; Susan will help you as much as you need.

On the first day, the class started with everyone sitting in a circle introducing themselves and talking a little about why they participated in the class and what project they were planning to sew.  Then muslins were reviewed one-by-one (this was done as a group, which was very helpful to people like me who have little to no fitting experience!) and Susan made necessary changes to each muslin and gave each student direction as to next steps. Once lunchtime hit, the group carpooled to Britex to buy fabric, with a stop for lunch on the way. On returning to The Sewing Workshop, we got down to work on our projects, and from there on out we simply worked on our projects with Susan’s supervision, assistance and advice.

Other things to know-

• Expect to do a lot of handwork, which is common in couture sewing. The only machine-sewn seams on my project were at the bottom of the armscyes- about 16 inches total of machine sewing. 

• If you take the class at The Sewing School in San Francisco, sewing machines are provided, but there are only four or so of them. If you think your project will involve a lot of machine sewing, you may wish to bring your own machine if you can swing it. Having said that, there was never more than a brief wait for a machine during my class, and everyone was very cordial about sharing them. 

• Keep in mind that you will probably want to use lovely fabric for your project, and budget accordingly. Our class took a trip to Britex in San Francisco to shop for fabric for our projects, and while Britex has fabric at all cost levels, you will spending roughly 50+ hours on your project, so you should splurge for something special if you can. Also, you will be constructing your project under Susan’s watchful eye, so you needn’t worry about spending a lot of money to make something that ultimately doesn’t work out. 

• If you take the class in San Francisco at The Sewing Workshop, you can drive or take public transportation. Although there is no dedicated parking lot, the students who drove never seemed to have any difficulty finding parking and spaces were often available right in front of the building. 

• If you live in the East Bay, you can take BART, and then get on the 31 Balboa MUNI right outside of the BART station at Market and 5th. The bus stops at Balboa and 21st (the address of The Sewing Workshop), and the ride will take you about half an hour. Be warned that this bus does go through the Tenderloin; if this bothers you, you may wish to find another route. 

• Lunch is not provided, but small groups of students in my class got together and went to grab a bite each day. The Sewing Workshop is in a residential area, but if you walk two blocks back behind the building to Geary, there are plenty of great lunch options, as well as a Starbucks and some small grocery stores.

More later on my class project!