ALTERATION SURGERY

ALTERATION SURGERY
SAT 12 SEP 2026 / 2 - 5 PM
3-hr session with Dot n Cross

COST: £40 (full price) / £36 locals (TR10 postcode)
DAY: Saturday 12th September 2026
TIME: 2 - 5 pm
LOCATION: The School Room, Art Centre Penryn
SESSIONS: One session (10% off this session if you book both. Use code: SEWING-10)
LEVEL: Beginner + (you should have used a sewing machine in the past)
MAXIMUM PARTICIPANTS: 6

Expand your wardrobe with expert help to alter your clothes and wear them!

Is your wardrobe full of things which need tweaking to make them wearable?
Have you bought something that doesn't quite fit?
Or maybe you need some help with a garment you're currently making?
It may be that you simply have a few things to hem and need some advice on achieving a professional finish.

Whatever the issue, let Helen Shine from Dot n Cross give you some expert advice. 

What will I gain from the session?

• Techniques for improving the fit of ready-to-wear garments.
• Advice on any aspect of a garment you are currently making
• Dedicated time and space to finally alter or mend the clothes you’ve been unable to wear
• 'Tricks of the trade’ to make life easier and help you achieve a professional finish
• Use of our large tables, sewing equipment and six computerised sewing machines for you to use
• We will have time for around 1 to 2 of these alterations depending on complexity:
  • Lengthen or shorten the hem on a pair of trousers or skirt
  • Make the waist smaller or bigger on a pair of trousers or skirt, through the darts
  • Altering a waistband to fit better
  • Narrowing a trouser leg, skirts or dresses
  • Letting out a trouser leg, skirt or dress – this will depend on how much seam allowance you have inside the garment.
  • Lengthen or shorten a sleeve
  • Shaping the body of a dress, top or shirt (to ensure it fits well at the waist and hips)
  • Shortening a top or shirt
  • Altering a neckline
  • Inserting elastic into a waist or into a sleeve hem
  • Garment customising

WHO IS THIS CLASS SUITABLE FOR?

This class is suitable for people who have used a sewing machine before, as we wont have time to teach basic sewing machine use. You should be able to control the machine and sew a straight line, but you may not have any garment-making experience. 

PLEASE NOTE: 

• The amount we can let out a garment relies entirely on how much seam allowance there is inside the garment. If there isn't much, it won't be safe to let the garment out as the seams may split, so we would need to patch in a piece.
• There may be a short wait while Helen gets around everyone’s alteration questions, so do bring any sewing you can be getting on with. If you have major alterations to make, you might not get it all finished in this 3-hr session, but you'll leave with the know-how to carry on at home.

What to bring

• The items to alter and matching thread to use. Alternatively, we have a range of thread colours if you want to use contrasting colours.
• The garment, with the pattern, you are making, if you'd like advice on something you are making from scratch
• Your own machine if you would like to use it (though we do have a machine for you to use), please remember to bring the foot pedal, all attachments and instruction manual.
• Extra fabric for patching in case you'd like to make the garment bigger, but there is only minimal seam allowance.
  
  
  

ABOUT YOUR TEACHER

Helen Shine is a skilled pattern cutter with over 12 years of experience in London’s high-end fashion industry, working with renowned designers like Victoria Beckham, Mary Katrantzou, and Karen Millen.

In 2019, she launched ‘Dot n Cross’, offering hands-on pattern cutting and sewing workshops. Helen is passionate about empowering others to create their own clothes, whether they are aspiring professionals or enthusiastic home sewers, by sharing her industry knowledge and love of the craft.

image above courtesy of Dot n Cross

REFUND/EXCHANGE POLICY

Art Centre Penryn is a small, non-profit organisation and our courses form a really important part of our income, we are therefore not able to offer refunds within 30 days of the course date. We offer the following refund/exchange options:

If it is more than 30 days from the course start date, we can offer a full refund, less the booking fee. Within 30 days days from the course start date, we cannot offer a refund, but we could transfer you to another course, or offer a voucher for you to use to book another course. Alternatively, you could send someone else in your place, please just email us to let us know.

We're sorry, but we are unable to offer a last minute exchange within 24 hrs, or after the course, unless in exceptional circumstances.

Thanks for your understanding.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT COURSES AT ART CENTRE PENRYN HERE