May is here… and we’re stepping into something special. For the next four weeks, we’re moving through centuries of dress, not as historians, and not as beginners…but as makers looking deeper into our craft. From 17th century structure to the shifting elegance of the 1910s,this month is about understanding what came before us, and recognising just how much of it still lives in the work we do today. 🗓 The journey through May: We’ll move week by week through four distinct eras: - Week 1 — 17th Century Structure, stays, and extraordinary foundations - Week 2 — 18th Century Panniers, silk, and theatrical construction - Week 3 — Victorian Era Silhouette, corsetry, and industrial dressmaking - Week 4 — 1910s The softening of structure and the edge of modern dress (My favourite era eeekkkk) Each week, we’ll open conversations, share resources, and explore what these eras ask of us as makers. 🪡 Before we begin… Historical costume has a way of doing something quite particular. It slows you down. It sharpens your eye. It asks more of your hands. And often… it reminds you why you started sewing in the first place. It reminds us of where our craft has come from.. 💬 Let’s open the month properly: I’d love to hear where you stand with historical work: - Have you ever made anything historically inspired, or fully accurate? - Is there an era you feel drawn to (or completely intimidated by)? - Do you approach historical costume for accuracy, artistry, or inspiration? - Or is this a part of sewing you’ve never explored… yet? Wherever you are, you’re welcome in this conversation. 🧭 A note from me You don’t need to “know” historical costume to be part of this month. This isn’t about getting everything right. It's about noticing, questioning, and expanding your understanding of making. If your sewing has ever felt a little… flat, this kind of exploration tends to shift things in ways you don’t expect. I’ll be here through the month, as always, not to teach, but to help guide when things get stuck.

Whilst I'm sewing, my eldest daughter is making an avocado cushion. She's mentioned her stuffing, and my brain just could not remember what it was called!! Just shows, if we don't use a material, haberdashery item, sewing style or discipline for some time, we can forget .. I've made props, costumes, pillow and much more with wadding. So, what do you call it? Drop your answers in comments, let's see f it has a different name in different countries 👇 This is what the group is about, remembering, learning, educating, nurturing our love around sewing 🪡

Good morning, sewers! 🖤 Midweek, and I have a job for you. I'm building our collective Little Black Book, and we need your best-kept secrets. You know the ones. The supplier you almost don't want to share because you love having them to yourself. The online shop you bookmark on every device. The haberdashery you'd genuinely travel for. The place that always has *that* fabric when nowhere else does. I want them all. Here's what to drop in the comments: 🔗 Supplier name (and link if you have it) 📍 Where they're based — UK, EU, international, online only? ⭐ One line on why you love them — quality, price, unusual stock, exceptional service, all of the above? It can be fabric, lining, interfacing, boning, trimmings, millinery wire, buttons, thread, notions — anything that makes your work better. Niche and mainstream both welcome. If they deserve to be known, put them here. ———————————————————————————— And speaking of things worth knowing about… I'm announcing a discipline and subject focus for the whole of May, something we're going to sink our teeth into together as a community. 🪡 But first, I want to hear from YOU. Is there something you've been longing to learn more about, explore deeper or finally get your head around? A technique, a discipline, a construction challenge? Drop it below alongside your supplier recommendation, or just shout it out on its own. I'm listening, and your answers might just shape what's coming… 👀 Now, who are you sending us to first for the Little Black Book? ⬇️

Good morning, makers! 🪡 The atelier is open, the kettle's on (the Yorkshire tea isn't soaking in today), the week is full of possibilities, and I am SO ready to see what this community gets up to over the next seven days. Before you thread your machine, pick up your needle or unroll a single centimetre of fabric, I want to know what's on your table this week. We're doing something a little different from today. This week, we're holding each other accountable. So tell me where you are at: ⟶ What sewing project are you STARTING this week? ⟶ What are you in the middle of and WORKING ON? ⟶ What do you want to COMPLETE before Friday? Drop your answer below, as specific as you like. Not just "a dress" but "the silk organza sleeves that have been staring at me for two weeks" 😄. The more honest and real, the better. We're a community of serious makers, we can handle the truth of the to-do list! I'll be back on Friday to check in and celebrate how far we all got, progress, detours and happy accidents included. —————————————————————————————————— Also… 👀 I have something exciting coming in May. A theme that I think is going to absolutely light this community up, and I genuinely cannot wait to share it with you. Stay close, stay engaged, and keep your eyes on the notice board. The first hint is coming very soon. Happy sewing, Claire Amelia 🪡 Now, tell me what's on your table! ⬇️

Hello & welcome in. 🧵 I am so grateful you are here. This is a space I have wanted to create for a long time, somewhere that finally feels right for makers like us. A place that doesn't start at the beginning. A place that meets you in the beautiful, complicated middle of this craft we call sewing. Whether you are a dressmaker, a bridal maker, seamstress, a tailor, a corsetiere, an upcycle maker, a costumier, furnishings.. or someone who crosses every single sewing discipline day, this studio is yours. The Atelier Hub was built on one simple belief; that sewers grow best when they grow together. That when we share our knowledge, our discoveries, our creative crises & our wins across every discipline, the whole community becomes richer for it. This is not a teaching space. There are no tutorials here, no step by step guides, no back to basics but we can share our sewing techniques to support growth across our disciplines.. What there is, is a room full of serious, passionate, experienced makers from all over the world, & me standing alongside you as your sewing ally whenever the project gets hard, the client gets difficult or the creative well runs dry. I have been sewing for over 20 years. I am still learning. I suspect you are too. That is exactly why we are all here. Now it's your turn; come & introduce yourself 👇 I'd love to know: 🧵 Your name & where you are in the world ✂️ How long you have been sewing 📌 Your main discipline or the one you are most curious about right now 🌟 One thing you are currently making or dreaming of making There are no wrong answers. There is no judgement in this studio. The studio is open. Welcome to your sewing crew. 🧵 Claire Amelia Founder, The Atelier Hub