Hi my costuming and sewing friends! As life changes in its ebb and flow, it has come time that I close the online Historical Sewing School with the sewing classes I’ve taught and hosted since 2012. It has been a great JOY to walk with you in your sewing and crafting over the past couple decades. My heart has been filled seeing your progress, your beautiful projects, and sharing the highs and lows of our creative art.
Last day to enroll in current classes is July 31, 2025.
The School site will be closed September 1, 2025.
Current classes still open for enrollment are:
Ribbon TrimsHand Stitches for 18th Century SewingBustle Day DressRegency Corset & ChemiseDirndl Sewing Workshop
If you are enrolled in any other class NOT visible on the site, you will still have access until September 1st. Simply login with your Teachable account to access class materials. Be sure to save the PDF lesson handouts! Those are yours to keep. Videos are not downloadable and only viewable on the School site within the class lessons.
Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your sewing journey! Many blessings to you. And may you continue to sew and create to bring beauty to our world.
Much joy and peace,
Jennifer
P.S. This Historical Sewing blog is NOT going away! It will be up indefinitely to continue to inspire and host resources for those creating 19th Century costumes – and even modern ensembles inspired by historical fashion.
P.P.S. The Etsy shop will be closing at the end of 2025. Heads up! If you want to grab a handbook like the Corded Petticoat Workbook or others, do so before the end of the year. Thank you for your patronage and support.
I just saw that you closed all your classes. And I am selfishly sorry about it!! I finally have time to dive deeper into historical sewing and you were the one way back when ( before a housewife destroyed everything !! Like everything sewing and regency collected books. Ugh..)
Again..selfishly sorry.
I do understand that life can just hit you out of nowhere and mess with your life plans. And I am (not selfishly) sorry, that whatever your personal situation(s) prevent you to continue to help SO many of us, I do hope for you, your physical, emotional and mental health or whatever you need to focus your energy in, that it will get better and easier for you.
Social media and classes are exhausting, no matter how fun it is.
The energy you put in for years is deeply appreciated, I just wanted you to know that.
But your health is paramount in your life.
As they say; you do you! You don’t need anyone’s permission ( I know you know that!) Nor do you owe anyone an explanation.
I landed here because I was looking for the regency corset and chemise class.
Then I saw it was closed down.
Then I read that you withdrew from almost every other platform and the class wasn’t that important anymore.
I too had circumstances where I could only do the minimum to just make it to the next day.
It was nobody else’s business why, but the expectations on my time were out there.
So, as a former ‘client’ and huge fan of all your makings and tutorials and tips and blog writing,
this is a really long way of telling g you THANK YOU for all your hard work and bring joy back to some projects that might have been frustrating without your help.
Thank you, Jennifer!
And all the best wishes to you.
Sincerely,
Carola
Thank you for your very kind note, Carola! It is much appreciated. I am doing very well and am still sewing through quilting and personal wardrobe pieces (not costumes). Many blessings to you as well. ❤️
I missed the handouts on the ribbon folding class. I’ll miss the dirndl class. I often go back and review it.
I found out about your classes going away too late to register for the dirndl class. Do you know of anyone with similar information to what you shared in that class? I’m wanting to make a Halloween dirndl, but I want to mix historical and modern elements.
Also, I had scrambled to watch all the videos from the hand swing and ribbon trim classes. I downloaded the handout in the ribbon trim class but I haven’t had time to read over it. Do you talk about how to wash these? I live in Texas where it regularly gets up to about 600000 degrees with 10000% humidity (only a slight exaggeration, lol!) Because of this I need to be able to fully clean whatever I’m wearing. I’m also rather clumsy and I can guarantee that I will sit on something or drop something on my clothes, so washing will be necessary.
I’m so glad to see that your blog is remaining up, I was so worried that all that information would be lost. I wish you luck on the next stage of your life journey. Thank you for all you have contributed to crafting and sewing!
Hi Rebecca. The classes will be up until mid-September, so there’s still a little time left for reviewing. (And there’s 3 handouts in the Ribbon Trim class – be sure to grab all of them!
As for cleaning… If you need to wash the garment I suggest after making the trim to simply hand baste it to the garment so it can be easily removed for washing. If the ribbon trim itself needs cleaning, gentle hand wash is best, of course, and according to the fiber content of the ribbon.
For a mash-up for Halloween dirndls, check out Rare Dirndl’s blog.
Blessings to you for all your future sewing endeavors!
So many, including myself, have been blessed by your Historical Sewing site. I have taken several courses, bought workbooks, and have learned so much along the way. Thank you so much for sharing your passion for historical sewing and willingness to make the blog and articles available for those of us learning the fundamentals and the helpful hints you have shared. I remember one of the first images I saw that drew me to your website was the 1876 Wedding Cake dress. WOW! And, you continued to create new historical outfits, each one stunning. Thank you again, for all of your encouragement and instruction.
Like a few others, I just found this site and am sad to see the classes ending!
I have a few questions about the dirndl class:
Skill level: How advanced is the content? I’m a beginner (used a sewing machine once years ago, some hand sewing, lots of textile crafts, watched my mom sew). I’d thought of this as a “someday” project—if I watch the videos before 9/1, will I still get something out of them?
Videos vs downloads: Is the main difference just the visual demos? How much will I lose when the videos go away—especially as a beginner who may not know what to note?
Resources: Do you know if the resource links are likely to stay useful for a while? I’ve noticed similar projects often have a lot of link turnover.
Questions later: Would you consider answering questions later (by email or at set times)? Totally understand if not, but figured I’d ask!
Thanks for all your hard work and any answers you can share!
Hi Amy.
1. I’d definitely say it’s an intermediate to advanced sewing class. You would absolutely get knowledge out of the videos.
2. I don’t have as many download PDFs for this particular class. One would need to take good notes and save the links offline. I created this class very video heavy.
3. I’ve already corrected a few links that were broken in the Dirndl history section. It’s the internet, so yes, as you know, links will fail and notice may not be given beforehand.
4. Yes, I’m available for questions via email to all my students. This will be open-ended until this blog site is closed (no timeline on that!).
Cheers ~Jennifer
Thank you for all the time and effort you have given to the historical/period sewing community. Your presence and classes will be sorely missed by all of your followers. I send blessings and best wishes for the next chapter in your life. I recently purchased your “Regency Chemise & Corset Class”. I absolutely LOVE the “Bridgerton” Netflix series and am so looking forward to making some Regency dresses. I did some digging around your blog and found a posting that stated …. the next class will be opening in September 2015…. Obviously, I missed out on purchasing the class. There weren’t any links to click on, so I wasn’t sure if it was an online/Facebook group type of class. QUESTION – Is there any way for me to purchase the class via Teachables (so that I can download the PDFs and text for each class. If I am able to purchase the class via Teachables I would also be able to view the accompanying videos and take lots of notes (I’m a visual learner). Fondest Regards,
Thank you, Nancy. It was indeed a blessed time of my life – to share my passion for historical costuming and sewing with others for many years.
As for the Regency Corset class (and others), due to Teachable’s up-sizing/downgrading adjustments over the last year or two, I made the decision in early 2025 to be on the plan that only allows for 5 published classes. I had to make the difficult decision of which classes I continued to offer for enrollment. The Regency Dress Class was one (of the 18 I had!) that got cut. There is no space available to make it possible to enroll again. I am truly sorry for this disappointment. And greatly appreciate your continued support.
~Jennifer
I just found this post through FeedSpot and am devastated that I didn’t know about you earlier! I spend most of my time in digital marketing education and methods nowadays, but sewing has always been therapy! Have you considered private YouTube videos that only your students have the links? OR, You could also post to Skillshare and Udemy and continue to make a passive income from your content. I have been exploring different ways to teach my skills online and will be happy to share what I have learned. Your knowledge is too valuable to lose!
I have hosted online classes since 2012, and have been on Teachable since 2017. It’s time for me to close down the active classes due to a variety of personal circumstances. This blog site will remain up indefinitely.
why is the sewing school closing
It is time.
After Septemper 1, 2025 will there be a way to access the videos?
Highly unlikely as I don’t have a way to allow people into the hosting site with support from my end. I don’t want my intellectual property running rampant over the internet. Please watch any class videos again and take good notes. Also, download all lesson PDFs as they contain detailed written sewing instructions and photos.