A5100 - Upholstery: make your own soft furnishings (beginners)

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Start Date: 21/09/2026      End Date: 23/11/2026        Start Time: 14:00      End Time: 16:30        Hours per Week: 2.50      No of Weeks: 9
Fees:      £180.00 (tuition)     £316.00 (overseas)     £75.00 (concessionary)
Tutor: Sylvia Apperley        No of Places: 5
Shadwell Centre

Course Overview

Course Overview
Would you like to make your own cushions, covers, or soft furnishings for your home?
This welcoming beginner course introduces the practical skills needed to create simple soft furnishings in a supportive and creative workshop environment. You’ll learn how to use a sewing machine safely, work with fabrics, take accurate measurements, and sew everyday items such as cushions and covers.

The course is ideal if you want to improve your home, upcycle furniture, personalise your living space, or save money by making items yourself. With tutor guidance, you’ll practise core soft furnishing and introductory upholstery techniques, including inserting zips, sewing hems, cutting fabrics, and adding simple finishes such as piping.

What will you learn and be able to do?

What will you learn and be able to do?
* Work safely and confidently in a sewing and soft furnishings environment, using appropriate tools, equipment, and techniques.
* Measure, calculate, and cut fabrics accurately, selecting suitable materials for different soft furnishing projects.
* Use a sewing machine and hand stitching techniques to construct items, including seams, hems, zips, and simple finishes.
* Plan and complete a small soft furnishing project, suitable for use in the home, demonstrating practical skills and design choices.
* Use basic technical vocabulary to follow instructions, describe processes, and evaluate your finished work and next steps.
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Entry requirements

Entry requirements
A desire to create soft furnishings.
Prosp User 8

Equipment required

Equipment required
A sharp pair of scissors, Tape measure, pins, note book, pen or pencil, eraser and your own fabrics and haberdashery.
Prosp User 9

How will you know you are making progress?

How will you know you are making progress?
• You will have an ‘Individual Learning Plan’ where the course learning outcomes are shown and where you can set individual learning goals and monitor your own progress against these.
• You will need to evaluate your own progress and manage your time.
• Your tutor will give ongoing feedback and will keep you informed of your progress.
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• At the beginning of the course an initial assessment takes place to identify your level of experience knowledge or current skills.
• The tutor will carry out informal assessments to check your understanding, there is no exam.
• You will complete a self-assessment at the beginning, middle and end of the course and you will participate in regular self-assessment.
• Your tutor will let you know how you are getting on throughout the course, to help you work to your full potential.
• At the end of the course you will receive written feedback.
Prosp User 11

Progress opportunities - your next steps

Progress opportunities - your next steps
Upholstery. You may wish to enroll on other courses held at Idea Store Learning. Please see a course guide for further information or speak with your tutor. Your tutor will support you in researching these and other courses outside of Idea Store Learning.
Prosp User 10

Other info

Other info
To maximise your chances of benefiting from the course fully we expect you to attend all scheduled sessions and that you do so punctually and are ready to start learning at the start of the class.
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Extra Support

Extra Support
If you have declared a learning difficulty, disability or support need whilst enrolling and you require support/assistance in class or to complete your course, please discuss your needs with your tutor at the first lesson.

If you intend to take an examination and feel you have an additional learning need or special requirements, you must declare them to your tutor within the first 2 weeks of your course.

If you are studying in an online group, then you can arrange a one-to-one online discussion with your tutor, after the session, or by email.

Where we aim to make reasonable adjustments to support our learners, please note we are unable to provide any type of in class or in person support if your course takes place online.
Prosp User 14