In this 2.5-hour workshop, learn the art of chain stitching and create a personalized hand towel or handkerchief featuring your monogram. This relaxing, decorative hand-sewing technique is perfect for gifts, heirlooms, or adding charm to your everyday textiles. We’ll learn how to design a monogram, transfer it to fabric for embroidery, and work to finish the monogram together. Students will take home a needle and choice of thread. This workshop is kid friendly, starting at age 10, and is a great way to learn the basics of this fun embroidery stitch. Attendees will leave with a resource guide to several basic hand sewing and embroidery stitches as well as places to purchase fabric, notions, and supplies in the future. A book list of resources to explore will also be included. Instructor: Haley Houseman What will you learn: The basics of chainstitch stitching and will leave ready to leave your mark on textiles and your KNITTING! What to bring: Nothing. All materials and tools for class are provided. Level: Any. Ages 10+. Prerequisites: None! Date/Time: Wednesday, July 22 from 6 - 8:30 pm. This class will run with 4 to 8 students. About the teacher: Haley Houseman is a lifelong sewist who learned at her mother’s side as soon as she could reach the foot pedal. With a deep family history of sewing, tailoring, and craft education, she brings generations of knowledge to the classroom—along with a love of making that spans projects from her own wedding dress to reupholstered armchairs. Based in Massachusetts, Haley is a writer who explores craft, material culture, and environmental history in her work. She has taught sewing to beginners and returning makers in private sessions, women’s clubs, and workshops at venues like Labor in Vain, and also runs a popular mending pop-up around the North Shore. Her classes aim to demystify the crafts we yearn to learn, and are rooted in both skill-building and storytelling—helping students feel at home with their tools and empowered to bring their ideas to life.
