Textiles Masterclass
We are offering 6 masterclasses with Sarah Ames and Maggi Toner-Edgar. A specific programme for textile design and art to enable you to take your hobby or passion to the next level. This course is designed for textile designers, embroiders, dressmakers, quilters, and makers who would like to develop their ability to make artistic creations. Enhance your design, stitch and embroidery skills, some basic skills are required.
Dates: Course begins March 21st - Aug 15th 2026 – 6 taught sessions over a 6 month period
Time: 10-4pm 3rd Saturday of each month. See Schedule below.
Price: Full Masterclass = £435 (OR Pick 3 of the main sessions for £250).
Venue: Recreate and Make Workshop 102, Main Street, Cockermouth. CA13 9LX. Tel 01900 550045
Group: The group sessions are small, average class number is 6, to ensure you get the personal support you need.
The programme encompasses:- Surface Decoration or Stylish Making (using stitch to enhance craft pieces or clothing). Stitched Art Textiles (using stitch as a mark making tool to create an artistic piece). Including access to all tools and machinery needed in the workshops. We will also provide free all basic materials/haberdashery/paper and file pads
Course outline
1) Introduction to Drawing and Design: 10 - 4pm Saturday 21st March
Spend an enjoyable day finding your own style of drawing and personal mark-making. Discover techniques such as contour drawing, continuous line drawing and working in new or alternative ways.
Explore Collecting, Using Colour and Co-ordinating textures and ideas as a means of gaining inspiration for design.
2) Have Fun with Acrylics. 10 - 4pm Saturday 25th April
We will spend the morning mark-making with paint and playing with colour and composition. Your tutor for the day will be Alison Marrs who starred on the Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the year, 2026.
These two sessions are the beginning of your personal journey, a springboard to producing successful designs, through collage, drawing and experimental painting and sketching.
3) Plan, design and begin to sample 10 - 4pm Saturday 23rd May
Develop your ideas, working by hand or using the sewing machine to create an art textile samples. Become more familiar with your own or our machines. Explore techniques for free machine embroidery and embellishment. Push your own boundaries through a range of sampling processes to inform your final piece.
With the emphasis being on your own skills development, we will introduce the day with a demo which you can follow up by either sampling or focus on the progression of your own plans.
4) ‘MAKE’ Choices and Create: 10 - 1pm First Saturday of the month choosing two from June, July to August.
As part of the masterclass offering, you can have access to two Saturday morning ‘Make’ sessions through June - August. These are an opportunity to continue your work with tutorial support.
5) Stitching Stories: Hand or Free Machine Embroidery.
10 - 4pm Saturday 18th July
Become more confident using hand or free-machine embroidery methods and/or the embellisher for applique to create your designs.
Decide whether your work will enhance personal Style: eg:- craft interiors or clothing.
OR whether it can be shaped into an artistic piece with personal expression.
Your work could become a 3D sculpture or be on any base layer for example a quilt, a piece of clothing or a framed canvas, you can play with imagery to create a textured composition, express emotions, tell personal stories, or unique visual ideas in cloth and stitch.
6) Celebrate with Cake! 10 - 4pm Saturday 15th August
Complete your piece of textile art, incorporating your own personal ideas, colourways, textures and imagery expanding on your repertoire of techniques. This final day will involve sharing what has been achieved so far and exploring ideas for the future. Learn how to finish off professionally and present for exhibition or sale.
Including access to all tools and machinery needed in the workshops. We will also provide free all basic materials/haberdashery/paper.
Also check out other Arts events in Cockermouth, Workshops in Cockermouth, Fine Arts events in Cockermouth.
