Coat Making Weekend Retreat - October 2024

Our October Coat retreat is now FULL. Sign up for the Waitlist HERE.

Is your goal to finally sew a coat or jacket in 2024? Do you have all the supplies for your dream coat but need help getting started? Are you worried you don't have the proper skill set or won't know what to do if you get stuck? Join us for our first Coat Making Weekend Retreat at Makers Hideaway! 

Gather your pattern and supplies and join us for a weekend of coat sewing with our local sewing expert and coat-maven, Karen Dolen (@intostitches). Enjoy 2-1/2 days of uninterrupted sewing time to tackle a dream project. Karen will be available throughout the weekend to help with your coat construction and offer design suggestions to help make your coat truly one-of-a-kind.

Throughout the weekend, Karen will also share demonstrations of some of her favorite coat-making techniques you might want to incorporate into your project, including perfect collar and lapel corners, fool-proof welt pockets, bound buttonholes, shaped buttonholes, and more!

While this isn't meant to be a fit class, Karen will be available to help make slight fit suggestions and help set you up for success in creating a coat you can wear and love. She recommends completing a full or partial muslin of your coat pattern to bring to class to help save time and let you dive into sewing your final coat that much faster!

And the best part? We'll take care of all the cooking and cleaning! You get to enjoy a weekend free from day-to-day responsibilities and focus on relaxing and spending time with fellow coat sewists!

This is an all-inclusive sewing weekend escape! It includes shared luxury lodging, food + drinks + snacks, and instruction from our sewing experts. Bring yourself, your sewing machine (if possible), and the coat project(s) you want to work on and enjoy a weekend full of sewing!

The Style Maker Fabrics shop will also be open throughout the weekend if you need additional supplies or other projects.

Retreat Dates:

Thursday, October 17th thru Sunday, October 20th, 2024

Location: Makers Hideaway retreat center, Stanwood, Washington

• Roughly one hour North of Seattle.
• Fifteen minutes from Smokey Point (I-5 exit 206)
• Convenient from Stanwood or Everett train stations or Everett's Paine Field Airport (PAE). There is also a local shuttle from SeaTac Airport (SEA) if needed.

Registration Includes:

• 15 to 30 min Consultation with Karen BEFORE the Retreat to Talk About Your Plans and Ideas
• 2-1/2+ Days of Uninterrupted Sewing (see tentative schedule below)
  
• 3 Nights Accommodations at Makers Hideaway + All Meals, Beverages, and Snacks
• Welcome Gift Bag
• Exclusive Discount for the Style Maker Fabrics Shop to Use During Your Stay
• Sewing Machines Available On-Site (Limited number)

Tentative Schedule:

Other Info:

Have any dietary restrictions? Want to room with a friend? Need transportation from a local train station or airport? We'll do our best to help meet all of your needs. We'll be in contact with each attendee in the weeks leading up to the event to make sure everything is in place for a worry-free weekend!

Instructor Bio:

Karen says, "I began my sewing journey at the age of eight (over 57 years ago) and it was love at first stitch.

In 1974, while working on my degree in Fashion Merchandising and Textiles, I bought my first sewing machine, an Elna SU, on a layaway plan. The sewing machine shop hired me, and I began my fist “industry” job selling sewing machines and teaching customers to use those new machines. Two similar jobs followed, one of which also involved making draperies. After discovering that sewing for homes was more profitable than sewing for bodies, I began my own custom interior business, working for decorators in the late 70’s through early 90’s.

Circumstances changed and I found myself entering the commercial finance industry in 1994, where I remain today. Throughout all the changes I never stopped sewing for myself.

I made my first coat in high school and have been fairly obsessed with them ever since. I currently have around 40 coats/jackets in my collection, ranging from Chanel style jackets, leather moto’s, and Burberry trench copies. These days you will find me sewing on weekends and any other free time I can find. Sewing allows me to set day-to-day life aside and mix my love of fabric, fashion, style, into one-of-a-kind pieces that I love wearing as much as making."

Karen can be found at on Instagram @intostitches.

Cancellation Policy: For cancellations made on or before 10/1/24, there is a $50 processing fee. For cancellations made after 10/1/24, 50% of the registration fee will be refunded.