Hand-Sewing Basics with Taryn Hipwell

In this hands-on workshop, Taryn will guide you in creating your own Fancy Fanny Pack or T-shirt Tote while learning essential sewing skills that also translate directly to clothing repair. Perfect for beginners or anyone looking to improve their hand-sewing abilities, this workshop blends creativity with sustainability by showing you how to turn old garments into something fresh and functional.

We will practice 5 sewing and mending techniques:

• Running Stitch – for strong seams (and hemming pants)
• Whip Stitch – for patching and joining edges
• Scissor Work – for cutting and reshaping (like removing sleeves or creating tote straps)
• Sashiko – a Japanese decorative stitching technique for durability and style
• If time allows, we’ll also cover sewing on buttons, giving you an extra skill to use on both your fanny pack/tote and future clothing repairs.

All basic materials (fabric, thread, buttons, pins) will be provided. We will supply the materials. You are welcome to bring a t-shirt or woven fabric for the project. For first-time sewers, we recommend starting with natural woven fabrics (like light twill, men’s shirting, or cotton sundresses), or cotton jersey, as polyester, slippery knits, and some stretch fabrics can be trickier to handle.

By the end of the session, you’ll not only walk away with a custom fanny pack or tote, but also the confidence to mend and maintain your wardrobe—making bold, meaningful changes in how you approach fashion while reducing waste.

Taryn Hipwell is a global speaker and healthy fashion consultant with over a decade of experience teaching upcycling. She helps brands and future designers adopt best practices in transparency, circularity, and sourcing cleaner fabrics and raw materials. Taryn is the author of How to Shop for Shi(f)t and founder of Beyond the Label, launched with TEDxLA to reveal the hidden health, social, and environmental costs of fashion.

She teaches hand- and machine-sewing at The Things Lab, serves as the Florida Community Organizer for Remake, and won the Sustainable Expert Award at the 2024 Mana Fashion Awards. She has most recently launched the Beyond the Label - Healthy Fabric Library at the Frost Science Museum. Taryn has spoken to more than 10,000 students at 30 leading fashion schools and universities worldwide—including FIT, Parsons, NYU, UCLA, and YOUNGA, the first global youth takeover of the United Nations—on sustainability, transparency, circularity, diversity, and toxins in fabrics. 

The Things Lab is supported in part by Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.