The Importance of Sewing Skills in Fashion and Design Education

When students go on to higher education, they should feel confident that they’re chosen subject will educate them on the full range of topics included in that field. When it comes to fashion and design, the practical craft skills needed to put together a garment are just as critical as the vision. 

With many students coming out of education and courses in fashion and design lacking practical skills, investing in quality machinery is vital to the students, their skills and how they progress. So, in the name of fashion, how important is it to involve the practical skills within these courses and what are the views of the students on this?

Being Stitched Up

Imtaz Khaliq, bespoke tailor, designer, and teacher believes the dual label of designer and tailor is crucial, and she Is not alone on her opinion. With a multitude of skills and a huge experience behind her, she says that too many students are coming out of university and college lacking practical skills; however, she also says this is not their fault. She has found that many people are coming to her for her skills in teaching as well as her practical tailoring skills.

Fashion students who have realised that their studies have sadly not taught them the basic practical skills they need to work in the industry, as well as graduates struggling to find jobs, are making their way to Imtaz’s studio seeking to learn even basic techniques, such as simple sewing.

Consequences

Skillfast, the sector’s skills council for fashion and textiles has been reporting that young people are finding it difficult to get employed within the UK fashion textile industry. Its chief executive, Linda Florence has stated:

"The UK model for competitiveness requires highly skilled people with a broad range of practical talents, but the education and training system just isn't delivering enough of them, and employers are increasingly concerned."



UK Graduates

The UK turns out 3,000 textiles and fashion graduates every year from universities, though employers are saying that these individuals lack the ability to turn a drawing board design into a real-life item. Imtaz Khaliq commented, saying:

"It's pretty poor that these students are paying fees on courses that are not providing them with the skills they need to work in the industry, (…) and when they are getting into the industry, it's sending them back out to get the training."

When it comes to many design courses, students are told that their designs will be manufactured and created by other people with other relevant degrees, which is, in fact, not factually correct, and by having the practical skills you can make yourself much more desirable to an employer.



Our Education Services

The course leader in Fashion at Sheffield Hallam University, Lesley Ann Campbell gave us some feedback about our education services:

“The friendly, approachable and wealth of industry knowledge of the team at Stocks convinced me to select the company as a supplier to the new fashion degree at Sheffield Hallam University. Their support and back up has been exemplary and I would recommend them to anyone wanting to purchase sewing-related machinery and accessories”

Here at Stocks Sewing, we currently work with universities who take pride in educating their students in the practical skills of sewing and embroidery, and with embroidery being a part of many curriculums, machinery is necessary.

We offer educational rates and discounts for bulk purchases on some of our makes and models to make sure you can supply your education establishment with the best machinery possible for your students. We also service the machines to make sure there is nothing stopping the students getting the best education possible, and going on to their dream position within the industry.