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Short course

French Couture Jacket Short Course

Book course
<p>French Couture Jacket Short Course | On campus</p><p>Image: Debra Drake (Course Tutor)</p>
Developed with the intermediate level sewist in mind, the French Couture Jacket Short Course offers an excellent introduction to couture sewing techniques.
Next start months
June 2026
August 2026
December 2026
Tutor(s)
Debra Drake
Price
From £1600.00

Course description

Course overview

The French Couture Jacket is a heritage garment that many students and amateur sewists aspire to produce. It is a wardrobe staple with a deceptively simple shape hiding a multitude of couture techniques.  

Students will work on creating a lined couture jacket using the classic Chanel short length (just above the hip) with hook and eye closings. Beginning with the creation of a toile, before moving on to cutting the tweed, quilting the jacket to create body, ironing to create shape, as well as several couture stitching techniques to further refine their piece. Genuine Linton Tweed will be available to make your couture piece and is included as part of this course.

During the course, students will be encouraged to explore their own creativity by adding elements of their choice such as fringing, gimp braiding and/or the addition of pockets. Students will gain insight into the work and inspirations of Coco Chanel and the hand sewing techniques developed in the ateliers of Paris.

There is an expectation for the group to complete a certain point each day, therefore there may be a need for hand sewing outside of class in the evenings and before the next session.

This course is supported by Linton Tweed, Carlisle.

Who this course is for

This course is ideal for creatives and sewists who enjoy a challenging project.
Students should be of intermediate level and confident users of a sewing machine to get the best from this course.

Key information

Topics covered

  • Foundations of couture sewing
  • Creating a toile
  • Cutting fabric, iron interfacing
  • Sewing princess seams on bodices and closing front seam on the two-piece sleeve
  • Using pressing to create shape in a garment
  • Assembling onto a bodice
  • Couture sewing techniques and finishing
  • History of Coco Chanel’s influence on fashion

Genuine Linton Tweed will be available to make your couture piece and is included as part of this course. Linton Tweed is a prestigious British textile manufacturer based in Carlisle, Cumbria, renowned for creating high-end, innovative and luxurious tweed fabrics for top fashion houses worldwide since 1912. The company is famous for its long-standing collaboration with Chanel (since 1924) and for specialising in intricate, colourful and textured boucle fabrics.

Learning outcomes

  • Making a well-fitting toile
  • Transferring adjustments to a pattern from information gleaned from the toile fitting
  • Gaining insight on how to create structure and shape through quilting and pressing
  • Using two different types of couture stitching techniques
  • Inserting a sleeve into a close-fitting bodice
  • Adding pockets using ‘invisible’ stitching
  • Creating fringing using tweed
  • Digital badge and certificate of attendance
Materials

  • 1 pair of tailoring scissors
  • 1 tailor tape measure
  • 1 needle kit
  • Tailors Wax
  • Notebook and pen

Tutor

Debra Drake

Debra Drake is evangelical about dressmaking and has a successful studio in North Wales: ‘Sewing with Style’. Her mission is to demystify design to those who come to her classes. Debra’s specialist subject is Coco Chanel and the classic French Couture Jacket. Debra has developed her own pattern specially for the class. Debra strongly believes the following:

• We each have it in us to create something beautiful and truly unique.

• We should create clothes fit our bodies rather than change our bodies to fit our clothes.

• Creating helps us take a break from the ‘real world’ where we enter ‘flow’ and lose track of time due to being so engrossed in what we’re doing.

• That we should purchase sustainable fabric as much as possible: either from off-cut warehouses or from UK/Ireland manufacturers such as Linton Tweed.

Debra lives in Llanfairfechan, Conwy and is married with a teenage son who says that he is not embarrassed by her or what she wears.

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