Rowena Luke-King

Hand sewing, which is rarely used in the mass production of garments today, remains an essential requirement for anyone looking for work in couture fashion, bridal wear, millinery or tailoring. During this course you will be introduced to different hand stitches whilst creating a reference book of samples on a variety of fabrics. Starting with a simple running stitch, basting stitch and back stitch, you will be shown how to turn up hems with a blind stitch, add backing fabrics with herringbone stitch and mark dart and pocket positions with tailors tacks and tailors loops. You will learn how to hand stitch curved hems, rolled hems and scalloped edges; cover and sew on buttons; attach hooks, eyes and press studs; create eyelets, button holes and button loops;  practice invisible darning and learn how to mend lace. You will be introduced to decorative techniques such as hand tucking, gathered ruching and Russian braiding; learn how to attach beads and sequins and complete the course by making an individual, portfolio piece such as a child’s garment or an item of adult clothing in half-scale. Some students may wish to work on restoring a piece of antique or vintage clothing. No previous experience is needed for this course.

Rowena Luke-King has had an extremely diverse career in design. She has worked as a designer and colour consultant for textile design studios and leading retailers such as Marks & Spencer and NEXT. She has produced collections of clothes, accessories, hand printed fabrics, greetings cards and wrapping papers for a number of stores including Fiorucci and has worked as a stylist in the music industry (stage clothes that she created for 'Adam and the Ants' have been exhibited in the Victoria & Albert Museum). Rowena studied fashion and textiles at Central Saint Martins and is currently involved in sourcing vintage fabrics for the fashion industry.