What Supplies do You Need to Teach Sewing and Quilting Classes?

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Welcome to Day 14 of How to Earn $ From Sewing and Quilting! We are looking at Teaching Others How to Sew and Quilt this week, and today we will be talking about the supplies you need to teach sewing and quilting classes.

Yesterday we looked at some of the skills you may need for teaching classes. Today we are looking at the supplies you will need for yourself and for your students.

What Supplies do You Need to Teach Sewing and Quilting Classes?

I’m going to split the supplies you need into two categories – Sewing and Non-Sewing supplies.

1. Sewing Supplies Needed to Teach Sewing and Quilting Classes

Depending on where you are holding your classes, you will need to supply some of the tools for class. The main sewing related things you will be expected to provide are:

• iron and ironing board
• cutting mats
• tables and chairs 🙂
• extension leads and powerboards

If you are holding classes in a shop, then all these things may already be there for you to use. If you have a room set up in your home, then you also may already have a spot for all these things.

This is how I had the classroom set up when I first started teaching in my little shop in our home:

On the day I took this photo, it was a shop day not a class day. So the ironing board was covered with things for sale and the cutting table you see in the front as well. On a class day there was space for four people to set up their machines, the ironing board was free and ready to use, and the table had a large cutting mat on it.

Later I had more tables so I could have up to 8 students in a class, and then I’d get another iron and ironing board in.

You can, but don’t need, to supply your students with rulers. I know that Nora and my friend Evelyn (more about her tomorrow!) have old rulers that they leave out for people to use. I generally tell my students to bring their own rulers, rotary cutters, pins, scissors and other notions that they may need.

If you are holding classes in a hall or community center, it is even more important for you to bring the supplies in the list above, and that your students bring everything you tell them. If you’re at home you can easily lend some of your own tools, but when you are out you can’t. You can of course bring a “tool box” with the basic supplies in case someone forgets something.

2. Non-Sewing Supplies Needed to Teach Sewing and Quilting Classes

You will also need some or all of the following non-sewing supplies to teach classes:

A Computer, Tablet or Ipad to Send Emails and Prepare Notes

Giving your students professional looking handouts is much better than writing something up by hand and photocopying it. If people prefer it, you can also email the handouts to them. I know a lot of people are trying to go paperless these days 🙂 I always like to have a hard copy to hand out, however.

A Camera of Some Sort

It’s fun to keep a record of your classes. Take pics during the class and of the finished projects afterwards. You can email them to students if they ask, but always ask permission before you share photos of people on social media.

A printer

I like to use a color printer to make the handouts look a little bit brighter.

Binder and Dividers

If you are teaching a beginner’s class, you may want to include a binder with dividers as part of the course. Make sure the cost of the binder and printouts are covered by what you are charging for the classes. At the end of the beginner’s course, your students will have everything they have learned in one place… and can add to it as they learn more.

Little Extras

It is the extra touches in classes that make them stand out from the others.

Depending on what the class is, you could have some little gifts, like Judy had for us when we were at her place for a weekend retreat:

For this weekend Judy had a whole bunch of goodies for us in those pretty bags, but for a single class you could have something a simple, like a chocolate bar for everyone, or a small bag of lollies.

I taught a “mystery quilt in a day” workshop once and had a prize for everyone. After each of the steps of the mystery quilt, one person got to choose a bag with something quilting related in it. At the end of the day they all had a finished quilt top and a little gift.

The extra efforts you put into your classes are what makes them fun!

And there you have some of the supplies you need to teach a successful sewing or quilting class….

Come back tomorrow for a very special post  on Teaching Others How to Sew and Quilt – A Little Chat With a Quilting Teacher!

PS Please remember I am answering your comments in the comment section below and not via email like I usually do. Sorry for the hassle, but I am hoping this month we can share ideas!

PPS The main page of this series is here along with links to each post for this series.

PPPS You can download the FREE EBOOK of last year’s series, 31 Days of Quilting UFOs HERE!