Lauren and Vanessa Master the Hostess Apron: Make It

Back in November, we at The Make Den were lucky enough to have two fabulous instructors join our team! Lauren and Vanessa have been a blast to have around the studio and have already taught a ton of students how to sew.

Both Lauren and Vanessa started as Make Den students who excelled in all of their classes. Before they started teaching, we hung out to go over one of our favourite sewing projects – the hostess apron! The video tutorial “Make It: How to Sew an Apron” was an excellent resource to help them master this cute and impressive project.

The makers had a choice between two styles of the apron skirt. Lauren opted for pleats, while Vanessa decided on gathers. Both yielded excellent results!

Mitered corners can be tricky, but with the help of Woven Wolf instructor, Darcie, and a bit of teamwork, the end results were crisp and clean.

Darcie led us step by step to create a couple of gorgeous, handmade garments. These lovely ladies are now protected from spills and splatter in the kitchen. Making all their culinary adventures worry free, and stylish!

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Me Made May 2017

If you were keeping an eye on our Instagram account over the month of May you would have seen some of the beautiful and one of a kind handmade projects made by our staff and students. If you didn’t get a chance to check it out – no sweat! We’ve compiled all the wearable beauties here.

We recently got some adorable fabric in from Hoffman California Fabrics at our Bloordale studio. Inspired by the fabric, Darcie (Woven Wolf and Make Den instructor) made this incredibly cute and summery button up. She also added some very sweet pearl snaps and pleats!

Those flamingos and pineapples make us want to kick back by a lake, with a cold beverage, and an empty schedule.

We are always in awe of Make Den instructor, Alysia’s ability to create flawless garments so quickly. Like this fashionable homage to Star Wars which she finished in the blink of an eye! You can check out more of her work here. The force is strong with this one…

“MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU.”

Our former student, Sin, made this unbelievable paisley A-Line skirt, cleverly using upholstery fabric. The result was spectacular – doesn’t she look amazing? Sin has got a real eye for style, which you can check out on her blog SIN CITY! This skirt was featured in the festive post, “Holiday Glam.”

We are lucky enough at The Make Den to work with some incredibly talented young people, including designer Sara, who has been sewing with us for two years. With her university application portfolio in mind, Sara made this stunning ensemble by repurposing a pair of fishnet tights, and using custom carved stamps to adorn this handmade stretch twill jumpsuit. You can check out more of Sara’s work here.  She is definitely one to watch!

Danielle has become a familiar and friendly face around both of our studios and boy, does she make a lot of clothes! This particular outfit features the Rosa shirt by Tilly and the Buttons, and the Moss skirt by Grainline Studios. Great job Danielle, we can’t wait to see what you make next!

Affectionately referred to as “the wizard” around the studios, Woven Wolf and Make Den instructor, Sarita, can do just about anything. Lately she’s been really into making some sweet matching sets, like this black polka dotted cutie!

With a special event in mind, Milena (our former co-op student) made this pearly satin, nineties inspired set. She drafted and sewed her mid-length skirt in the Make Den’s Intro to Garments course. Milena designed and created the cute strappy crop top on her own! Wherever she wears this lovely outfit, it is sure to turn some heads.

Our favourite neighbourhood barista and former student Alice, made this charming green velvet pencil skirt. We can imagine that this versatile piece will become a staple in her wardrobe, perfect for every season!

We love when our staff learn from one another! Make Den instructor, Theresa sewed her one of a kind leather shoulder bag in our Leather Bags class and whipped up this wonderful floral spring dress.

Olivia, our co-op student with a head for business, and a passion for fashion, recently finished this adorable ruffled skirt for a project on sustainability! Her materials were found in Toronto and New York.

After completing our Commercial Patterns: Choose Your Own course, Rachel had a brand new handmade silky robe to take home. She used Spoonflower’s “Cherry Blossom” satin fabric as well as some intricate lace and piping detail. So luxurious!

After finishing our Tailored Shirts class, David went on to make this very cool sleeveless top for his girlfriend! You can grab the “Sorbetto” pattern from Collete Patterns.

Blind hems are not often the most exciting aspect of sewing, but they sure do create a wonderful result! Tricia’s skirt made in our Intro to Garments course is not only beautiful, but is a blast to frolic in.

This customized leather backpack looks straight out of a boutique! Christina, designed a created this beautiful piece, adding pink pops of colour for the pockets.

Make Den instructor and screen printing expert, Jamie, just finished this impeccable button up shirt after completing our Tailored Shirts class!

We can’t wait to ditch the rain boots and make the switch to some breezy open toed shoes. Check out Namita’s gorgeous new footwear, made in our Sandals class!

Make Den instructor and jack-of-all-trades, Olivia, recently crafted some badass leather accessories. A double belt for herself, and a spikey collar for her pup, Rua.

Collective Conversation on Ill-Adapted Coping Mechanisms’ explores methods of coping with mental illness and hopelessness online. Through the use of social media, the audience is invited to interact with this wearable, creating a conversation of their experiences. Created by Justice Stacey the process involved pattern drafting, sewing, electronics, and programming. To see more of Justice’s cross-disciplinary creative work check out here.

Lauren, Make Den instructor/bombshell has been working on this summer frock all winter and we gotta say – it was worth the wait! She used the Cambie dress pattern by @sewaholic, available on the Woven Wolf.

We’re wrapping up Me Made May with this stunning magenta wool coat made by Vivian. Check out that flannel penguin print lining and those custom penguin shaped buttons!

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Hello World!

Howdy Crafters!  We’re so happy to finally introduce ourselves.  Collectively, we are The Woven Wolf.  We are a crew of DIY-loving ladies and nothing makes us happier than helping our students realize their creative goals. Whether you’re working on your first project, or increasing your advanced skill set, we are here to help! Every student and every project is important to us. We provide serious sewing skills, allowing students to connect with their creativity, to learn and leave with a renewed sense of empowerment and inspiration.

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The Woven Wolf takes years of experience from our team at Toronto’s Make Den Sewing School – and brings it to the larger creative community through amazing interactive online tutorials.

We are making it as easy and fun as possible for people to learn a new skill from anywhere at their own convenience and pace.

Some people feel like sewing is a skill which is out of reach and too complicated to learn on their own. Our goal is for The Woven Wolf to change that, as a fresh, clean and concise improvement on out-dated and confusing instructional videos or books.

Our classes will appeal to anyone from a complete beginner to a master craftsperson with the most comprehensive and relevant online sewing packages available. We provide easy to understand demonstrations and explanations, plus tons of downloadable resources to enhance the learning experience.

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The Woven Wolf brings together an incredibly fun team of skilled craftspeople and industry professionals who have spent years developing our class curriculum and honing their craft.   We have chosen our most popular projects and classes as a jumping off point. Our online platform will be divided into four main categories: MEND IT, MAKE IT, WEAR IT, and QUILT IT! Within that, the tutorials will range from Beginner to Intermediate to Advanced.    We are also offering our incredible selection of Cotton and Steel, April Rhodes, Alexander Henry, Lizzy House and Cloud 9 fabrics for sale online to help you make your video tutorial projects!   Please join us for a crafty date, at your convenience.

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