Workshop Testimonials

Visible mending workshop - Karhina.com

To see workshop dates and book in please go to the Workshops page. Or you can use the contact form to register to be notified of future workshop dates or to discuss times and dates convenient to you for groups interested in booking a private workshop.

Visible Mending

Louise – I am ready to mend the world Such a pleasant and thorough workshop. I could feel all our ancestors in the room cheering us on for keeping the arts alive. You should do it, yup.

Ann-Marie – I really enjoyed attending this workshop. It will keep me going as a new hobby during these quarantine times. I am not a sewer. But just learning simply how long thread should be, and how to easily knot on and off, eased my sewing anxiety 100%. Also how to use embroidery thread for visible and invisible mending. Wow! Really helpful!!! Those were my reasons I did not sew and did not enjoy it. “How do I know it’s not going to come undone? Is it secure enough?” gave me great anxiety. Also learned I’m not “crap,” just “organic,” made it really fun too.

Genevre – Tamara is an excellent teacher, very calm and patient, with so much experience that she is willing to share. I received so much knowledge in addition to the skills that I had anticipated gaining. Tamara provided clear instructions and left me with confidence to take these skills further on my own.

River – This was a great beginners guide to mending! My friend and I had bags of clothes we wanted to get someone to mend for us and I came across this workshop. We were overdue for a catch up so it was a great way to spend some time together and we learnt lots of basics on mending things on garments that we can use in the future and save ourselves money in the long run. Tamaras workshop was great value for money she was very friendly and knowledgeable i would totally do another workshop to upskill in the future. She even let us take home things we would need to get our sewing kits started like thread/needle etc. thank you Tamara.

Jane– Great class. Tamara offered so many hints and tips to make mending so much more interesting. Left feeling totally inspired to tackle anything!!

Lesley – A relaxed and informative session with lots of practical hands on experience and assistance. It was also great to get together with a group of like minded crafties. I’m inspired to get on with a number of projects recovering some of my favourite clothes and to find more projects for when these are finished. Will definitely be back for more sessions to expand my repetoire.

Penny – What a great workshop. I managed to create three new looks from clothes I hadn’t worn in ages. Lots of hints and tips provided by Tamara and great fun experimenting along the way. Great teacher.

Darning and Needle-Felting

Martha – A great class. Learnt so much and now have some great things to wear for a lot longer. Lots of tips and tricks shared making me confident to go on adding lots of bling in the future. Tamara was great and she offered a great afternoon tea too.

Wendy – A very productive and inspirational way to spend time on a Sunday afternoon. Lovely setting and hospitality. My clothes I brought along are now wearable again, with a small amount of extra care. Tamara was very patient, helpful and knowledgeable about her craft. I learnt new ways of mending that I had never heard of before.

Introduction to Hand Embroidery

Shani – Thanks Tamara for a wonderful class. The intensive 6 hour session was what I needed to get started on my embroidery journey; where I learnt more than 12 various stitches clearly, practice them with Tamara and able to ask questions whilst I was there. Tamara was very patient with me. There were also small little “tricks-of-trade” that she shows me, that may not have been easily found in books to online-tutorials. That was very handy. Overall, a comprehensive class, I am ready to start my journey into embroidery.

Julia – My session with Karhina designs exceeded all of my expectations. Not only did I get lots of hands on experience learning the basic embroidery stitches but Tamara was very generous sharing her knowledge of related information- books, web sites, equipment, suppliers – so I can continue to hone my new skills. And we had plenty of laughs. Thanks for a great day. I will definitely be enrolling in her other workshops.

Tamara – Amazing class. Tamara is so helpful. Will definitely be doing another class in the new year!

Cassandra – Cannot recommend this class enough. The teacher is so lovely and patient which made me feel at ease. She is knowledgeable and extremely talented. I will definitely attend more of her classes

Sashiko Patches

AJ – Great afternoon spent with Tamara!  Was wonderful to learn some great tips and tricks to further my Sashiko journey. Tamara also has further items you can purchase on the day!  Thanks again Tamara!

Freehand Machine Embroidery

Sam – I have taken the workshop with Tamara where I learn’t to develop my knowledge of my machine and use it in a creative way to create freehand embroidery.

Victoria – I had never used a sewing machine before and by the end of the day I was creating amazing pictures!!

Make a pair of Recycled Cosy Slippers

Tracy – Seeing how to recycle wool jumpers and old leather coats into fantastic slippers was great. I now have a pair of warm and toasty slippers to wear for winter. 🙂

Visible Mending with Sparkle

Jane – Wonderful class. Tamara is an excellent teacher, so patient, with loads of experience and ideas to share. Great value for money as she had so many bits and bobs for us to use on our repairs. I left with confidence to take the skills I learnt further on my own and will definitely being doing another workshop with her. 

Penny – Loved the idea of adding a bit of sparkle to my jeans. Tamara had lots of samples to show us and some great ideas for each of our items. I haven’t really sewn before but she made it all so easy and had lots of metallic fabrics and threads for us to use. Loved this class :))