Learning to Love Your Overlocker - with Master Technician Kate Marra

✂️ Master Professional Finishes   

• Date: SATURDAY, December 12^th
  
• Time: 10am – 3pm
  
• Duration: 6 hours
  
• Format: In-person, hands-on workshop. Maximum 9 students.
  
• Location: 92 Leveson St, North Melbourne
  
• Skill: All Levels 

 Best suited to 

Designers, makers, and home sewers who want to move beyond basic overlocking and master high-end, ready-to-wear internal finishes.

 You will learn

To decode machine tensions, master differential feed, and execute complex industrial techniques including rolled hems, curves, and sharp corners.

It is also a great chance to be around like-minded people, swapping information and stories while building your technical sewing knowledge.

Overview

In this class, you will learn to stop fearing the threads and start commanding the machine.  

The Overlocker Edit is a one-day intensive designed to transform your relationship with your most powerful studio tool. We move beyond the basics to unlock the "secret weapon" behind every high-end garment: the flawless internal finish. Across 6 immersive hours, you will decode the architecture of the stitch, turning frustration into fluid precision.

What you will learn

By the end of the class, participants will be able to:

• Command Your Tension: Learn to balance 3 and 4-thread formations for bespoke stability and never fear a puckered seam again.
• The Differential Secret: Master the physics of fabric stretch to eliminate wavy hems and "lettuce edges" forever.
• Intricate Architecture: Confidently navigate circles, curves, and sharp inside corners with industrial-level speed.
• Signature Finishes: Utilize rolled hems and tape insertions to give your handmade pieces a "bought-in-Paris" durability.
• Troubleshooting Authority: Gain the "insider's eye" for machine components, allowing you to fix issues in seconds.
• The Perfect Seam: Achieve surgical accuracy on everything from delicate silks to heavyweight knits.

Materials needed

• Your own overlocker -in good working order (having your machine serviced before class is advisable to avoid disappointment, if it’s not working properly you will not get the most out of the class)
•  Foot control
• Accessories i.e. screw drivers, tweezers etc
• Rolled hem plate (if required to achieve a rolled hem on your machine-mostly older models, newer machines have a built-in adjustment a slide adjustment on the needle plate which is built in)
• Spare needles – the correct system for your machine.
• Instruction manual
• 4 spools x good quality overlocking thread (4 different colours works well to help understand the stitch formation – if your overlocker has coloured threading paths try to match those colours i.e. orange, blue, red, green)
• Scissors
• Pen

What's included

• The Black Book: A comprehensive 24-page technical workbook/instruction manual with diagrams.
• The Specimen Kit: All technical fabrics and materials needed for your sampler library.
• Access to industrial-standard machinery and professional troubleshooting tools.
• Light refreshments.

Spots are limited - Book now!

Inclusivity Statement

The Pattern Making Class welcomes participants of all backgrounds, identities, and skill levels, including trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals. We strive to create an inclusive and supportive environment for everyone