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Key details

Course area
Fashion and Textiles
Student type
Courses for 19+ students
Course type
Part-time Further Education course
Course level
Level 1
Start date
Thursday 23rd April 2026
End date
Thursday 4th June 2026
Time
5:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Location
Adams Building Stoney Street, Nottingham, NG1 1NG
Fees
£155.70
Pathway
Design and Make Your Own Trousers or Jeans
Course code
Parent course code:C054022 Child course code: Q054023
Apply now

Course introduction

Are you ready to take your fashion journey to the next level? This dynamic five-part Advanced Fashion Course series is designed for adult learners, fashion students, emerging designers, and passionate makers, who already have experience using sewing machines and are eager to deepen their technical expertise using industry-standard methods and heavy-duty machinery.

Each 5-week course is an intensive, hands-on deep dive into advanced techniques in fashion fundamentals, pattern cutting, sewing, jersey, and independent garment development. Taught in focused, skill-building components rather than full garments, the series encourages experimentation, critical making, and technical mastery, preparing learners for professional opportunities, further education, or independent fashion ventures.

All patterns are drafted from personal measurements or block patterns, no commercial patterns used, giving learners the opportunity to gain confidence in product development and eventually apply freedom and skill to take full creative control. Throughout the series, students build a comprehensive technical file: a personal archive of patterns, samples, and process documentation to serve as a valuable reference for portfolios, job applications, university submissions, or future projects.

Who is this for?

  • Confident machine sewers ready to level up.
  • Fashion students or graduates looking for advanced technical practice.
  • Independent designers eager to refine their pattern cutting and sewing expertise.
  • Those with industry knowledge ready to bridge the gap between home sewing and professional fashion production.

Advanced Fashion Recap: Introduction & Foundation

Perfect for brushing up on essential skills, this refresher module revisits key techniques in machine handling, drafting, tracing, lay planning, cutting, and manufacturing. Students will also begin building their technical file, learning how to document their process and samples for future reference in a professional manner.

This course is a requirement for anyone without formal advanced fashion training or experience to ensure a strong foundation for the fast-paced modules ahead.

Advanced Pattern Cutting: Trousers & Denim Drafting

Dive deep into the art of drafting with a focus on trousers. You’ll draft a made-to-measure personalised or industry-standard trouser block and develop this into a jeans pattern with advanced denim-specific components. Students will explore shaping, silhouette manipulation, and design adaptations, as well as gain confidence in technical construction planning. The Individual components and trousers will be manufactured in the following Advanced Sewing workshop.

Advanced Sewing: Denim Construction & Industrial Techniques

Learn how to manufacture like a professional.

In this course, you will learn industrial manufacturing techniques specifically used in trouser and denim production, using specialist industrial machinery. Building on the trouser and jeans patterns developed in the previous module, you’ll construct a final toile sample—a full prototype made from fitting fabric (calico), not final materials.

Throughout the course, you’ll also create a series of independent component samples that focus on denim-specific sewing techniques, including: Run-and-fell seams, Flat-felled seams, 3–5 thread overlock finishes, twin-needle stitching, hardware application (zips, rivets, topstitching, etc.)

This course emphasises technical precision and process over polished final garments. You will leave with a professional-level sample and a set of reference pieces to add to your technical file—essential tools for anyone preparing for employment, further study, or launching their own fashion practice.

Advanced Jersey Construction: Sweatshirt 

Learners will explore key drafting and pattern cutting techniques specific to stretch fabrics, experimenting with sportswear-inspired design principles. You’ll develop a sweatshirt pattern adapted from an existing block.

Using industrial machinery suited for jersey construction, you'll produce a range of independent component samples and manufacture a toile of your sweatshirt draft. This prototype serves as both a learning tool and a technical reference, helping you gain confidence in handling jersey materials and stretch-specific techniques.

This course blends precision drafting with practical industrial construction, giving you essential tools for working with contemporary, performance-driven garments.

Learners must have completed the Advanced Fashion Recap or Advanced Pattern Cutting course, or demonstrate established understanding of pattern drafting in preparation to attending this course.

Learners are expected to source their own materials for the workshop with tutor support.

Advanced Fashion Project: Design and Make Your Own Trousers or Jeans

In this final capstone module, students lead their own independent project from concept to outcome, with tutor guidance and critical support. You will be using the developed trousers / jeans patterns from workshop 2. as a starting point in developing your own trousers or utilise an existing block as a starting point. Whether working in jersey or woven, the goal is to apply all previously learned skills to a self-developed outcome. The outcome can serve as a portfolio-quality sample or stepping stone to your next opportunity.

Learners must have completed the Advanced Fashion Recap or Advanced Pattern Cutting course, or demonstrate established understanding of pattern drafting and garment manufacturing skills using industrials machinery in preparation to be attending this course.

Learners are expected to source their own materials for the workshop with tutor support.

Please note: Due to the high demand of these part time courses, if you start a course but can no longer carry on, you will not be eligible for a full course refund. If you enrol on a course and the start date passes, you will not be eligible for a course material fee refund. If you get remitted fees and attend your course for free, if you do not attend the first two sessions without letting the tutor know or without valid reason, you will be withdrawn from the course. Many thanks for your understanding.

Course information

5 weeks.

College certificate

All participants must demonstrate prior experience with machine handling. This can be fulfilled by completing the Advanced Fashion Recap course, or by providing evidence of existing skills.

Walk away with a powerful technical file, refined skills, and the confidence to move forward in fashion education, employment, or independent design.

You will receive verbal feedback throughout the course.

You can progress to other textile courses at Nottingham College (see course content above).

Careers related to this course

Select career:

Clothing, Fashion and Accessories Designers

Potential Earnings

£64,823.22

Average Earnings

£34,663.37

Source: Office for National Statistics' Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).

Pathways

Art, Performance and Design

People in these occupations create art and fine craftwork, produce and perform plays and motion pictures, and design graphics and other products.

Skills

Active Learning

Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Mathematics

Using mathematics to solve problems.

Learning Strategies

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
View more about this career

Economic data for careers is provided by Lightcast and also available through our Career Coach app. Job postings, employment and earnings information is represented at the regional level for the East Midlands.

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