Dot n Cross, Penzance (2026)

10/06/2026

Clone your clothes workshops Bristol.

I had a great time last week getting out of Cornwall and heading to Bristol to teach 2 days of workshops. Lots of people had lightbulb moments where something clicked for them to do with pattern cutting and construction. You really can tell a lot from an existing garment, as to what order seams have been sewn, by the way they are arranged. We also discussed seam allowance, grain lines, notches, truing up, sleeve heads and how they relate to their corresponding armhole, ease and lots more!

I am looking forward to seeing these patterns sewn up to make the replica of the existing garment.

Well done to everyone and thanks again to Lydia at Made My Wardrobe for having me. I hope to be back soon!

02/06/2026

Sewing and Pattern Cutting Workshops at CAST in Helston

My summer series of workshops are live and available to book now. I've got lots of different classes available, ranging in abilities and different skills to learn.

I'm Helen and I teach people how to make clothes that fit. I'm a London fashion week pattern cutter, I worked for prestigious brands such as Victoria Beckham, Vivienne Westwood and Karen Millen. I've been teaching home sewers since 2019 and I love passing on industry level skills and techniques, so people can up their sewing skills.

Link in bio for booking, I hope to see you there!

I also teach 1-1 classes at my studio in Falmouth, and I teach more group classes at different venues across Cornwall, in Penzance, Penryn and near Newquay. Check out my website for more info.

01/06/2026

1-1 class to take in a prom dress.

This was a lovely session with a mother and daughter. The daughter's prom is in July and she has fallen in love with this stunning gown. The only problem.... It was the last one in the shop and it was 4 sizes too big...

They emailed me to see if it was something I could help with. I asked to see detailed pictures before saying yes, there are some designs where it's possible to take in by this much, and some that I wouldn't touch with a barge pole!

This one, whilst time consuming, was doable thankfully. First we had to painstakingly unpick all of the lace motifs around the top of the dress and the waist, on both side seams. This took over an hour with two people working on it. Then we unpicked the waist at the side seams so that we could fit the bodice section. We needed to take in 8cm on each side. (Total 16cm). We pinned with safety pins first, then measured everything to be sure. We decided to do french seams, as we couldn't get inside the dress to take in internally, as all the other lace motifs were still holding the inner and outer layers together. We also had to re-angle the under arms so that they matched up again at the side seam. Luckily this will be covered by the lace motifs when we hand sew them back on, so we topstitched this section.

In the next session, we will sew the boning back onto the sides seams, take in the side seam of the skirt and the skirt lining, then resew the waist seam. Finally, the lace motifs can be hand sewn back over to cover the joins.

What a lovely project for a mother and daughter to work on together. And such a meaningful garment to work on! I just know it's going to look stunning.

12/05/2026

1-1 pattern cutting student.

My client wanted to work through some of the block adaptions from the book 'Pattern Magic'. We chose this stretch top. It has a loop of fabric that two bows on the front are passed through, causing the fabric to rouch up. The side seams get eliminated, so the front left and right pieces are grown onto the back pieces, and there is a centre front panel too.

First we drafted the seam lines on the front bodice. Because the garment is asymmetric, we needed work on the full front, not on the half.

Next we stuck the fronts to the back and drew slash lines to add the extra volume. Then we cut into the pieces and opened them up, adding extra length for the ties. We did all these pieces on a half scale block. I'm looking forward to seeing it sewn up!

11/05/2026

An update on the wedding dress 1-1 workshop.
We were working on the skirt, the embellishment at the waist, and developing the sleeve idea.

The sleeve we tried in the main fabric to see how it would look..it looked too heavy as we expected. She will trial it in a fabric that's in-between the two we tried. We've made two sleeve pattern options, one with less volume and less length so it doesn't droop so much over the cuff if she goes for a heavier fabric. And left the organza version as it was if she goes for a fabric similar to organza.

We also wrote detailed construction notes for her to follow when she's making the real dress.

And of course she has a one hour follow up call if she needs any help with the final dress, or if she wants to brainstorm any other ideas.

29/04/2026

Make your own wedding dress pattern cutting workshop. This is a 3 day intensive 1-1 class where you come to my studio in Cornwall and together we develop the pattern for your perfect wedding dress.

We start with toiling the bodice to ensure that fits really beautifully. First in Calico, then in a toiling fabric that's much closer to your chosen final fabric. We refine the fit as we go along, and keep tweaking the pattern until it's right.

With this client we then went on to the sleeve pattern. We made a bishop sleeve and tried it out first in organza as we wanted to add a new texture. Later in the process we tried it in the self fabric but I think we want something half we between the two!

Next we work on the skirt and the cuff. I'll post more pictures to show the development of the design!

15/04/2026

1-1 trousers block course. Final week.

We managed to get the final toile from the block pattern fitted and finalised pretty quickly. There was just a quick tweek at the hip.

Then we went on to designing a new pattern, using the block. She wanted to work on a barrel leg design, so we traced out the front and back leg pattern from the block and got to work. We lowered the waist by 4cm at the front curving up to 1cm lower at CB. Then we took off at the sides, 2cm at the waist and knee, to 4cm at the hem. Then we drafted the side panel that would add the barrel shape, adding more at the knee. We drafted the pocket, yoke, waistband and fly pieces. Then we traced everything off, trued it up, added seam allowance and cut out the pattern pieces. She's now off to toile it up, so hopefully we'll get an update on how they look!

If you'd like to learn to draft your own trousers using your block that is fitted to you, I am now booking into May and June for 1-1 classes at my Falmouth studio.

27/03/2026

Stitch Festival round up.
What a week! I really hit the ground running exhibiting at my first Stitch. I chatted non-stop all day, every day, gave out almost 1000 leaflets, and sold 7 places on my November and March retreats!

There were so many unexpected conversations - I talked to a lady about diving off the coast of Cornwall when she was in her 20s, I had people offer me suggestions for venues for my retreats, I recounted the tale of how I was in labour when I was fitting my sister's wedding dress, and finished the fitting and had my baby 2 hours later!

Of course I also talked about my sewing and pattern cutting workshops and my retreats in Cornwall. A lot of people were interested in my 'make the pattern for your own wedding dress' 1-1 class, which is very exciting. I met a lot of people that were also there from Cornwall that didn't know of my classes which was great to reach a new audience.

The response to my newly launched pattern cutting retreats in Cornwall was phenomenal. I was blown away, and have sold out my November 2026 retreat and only have one space left on my March 2027 one! I am speaking with the venue in the hopes of adding more dates soon and also to add a shorter, 3 night stay due to demand.

I went to Stitch with the aim of not just telling people about my retreats, but also really listening to what people would like to learn from a professional pattern cutter. As such, I've got lots of ideas bubbling away for what comes next.

Thanks to everyone that took the time to chat with me, I really did enjoy chatting to every single person. Ultimately, 'chatting' was what I was there for!!

Images:
1. Me having a cup of tea on the morning of the last day
2. A time lapse showing how the chat was non stop!!
3. My stand for the 4 days
4. A gorgeous mother daughter duo with jackets they'd made that the daughter had painted designs on the back - gorgeous!

19/03/2026

Wow, I've finished my first day at the Stitch Festival. Thanks to everyone who came to chat with me on my stand. I don't think I've ever talked so much in one day in all my life! Not entirely sure how my voice is going to last the 4 days...

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, if you're visiting please stop by stand H1 for a chat and a biscuit. And to show me what fabric you've bought!

12/03/2026

Workshop at in Bristol!

Hello all, I had the idea to do a bit of a mini 'pattern cutting workshop tour' of sewing spaces around the South West and South East in June to teach at some different venues..sometimes you just gotta get out of your usual space and go to new places.

I'm really excited that the first one will be at Lydia's gorgeous studio Made My Wardrobe in Bristol. Lydia holds a very special place in my heart as I taught with her over 8 years ago at her old space in London, as my very first workshop. And funnily enough, it was this exact workshop - making a pattern from a beloved garment.

I'll be there on Friday 5th June. I've just heard from Lydia that 4 of the 6 spaces have already sold, and you've got one more day to make use of the Early Bird discount, head to her website to book!

Dot n Cross

10/06/2026

02/06/2026

01/06/2026

12/05/2026

11/05/2026

29/04/2026

15/04/2026

27/03/2026

19/03/2026

12/03/2026

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