Confidence Kickstart

I recently took part in Isobel Moore‘s Confidence Kickstart class and, unlike most of the other classes I’ve signed up for, I actually followed along as the lessons were released rather than leaving it as something to get around to. Admittedly part of that was out of necessity as the class was free and only available for the duration, but I actually did the work and didn’t just watch the videos which is something I’ve done with many other time-limited classes.

Izzy described the course as “the perfect way to loosen up, experiment, trust your sewing machine, and yourself” and, having completed it, I am happy to say that is an accurate description.

I have had my little Toyota sewing machine for years — I used to use it to make hammocks and hides when we had our pet rats — and I have wanted to use it for more arty pursuits. I did make a fabric landscape back in 2020, which worked well, but the only time I’ve tried to use it with paper before was not a success.

The first task in the class was to get to know our sewing machines: read the manual and actually try out the functionality. I have referred to the manual before but only ever looking for a particular piece of information and skimming over the rest. I have to say that I am a lot more comfortable with the machine after working through Izzy’s checklist.

The one thing I was less comfortable with was not knowing what the end result was going to be. We started with one piece of paper and one of lightweight card and each lesson added some more colour or fabric or stitching and only at the end did we know we were making a little booklet. Not that I would have done anything different if I had known at the start. And I really do appreciate the desirability of being able to play and not being so focused on the end result. But part of me still really wanted to know what we were doing…

All in all, a very satisfactory few days of learning and play. Izzy is currently planning on running this class again in the autumn and if you have any interest in using your sewing machine in mixed media work, then I would definitely recommend it.