Sewing: Garment As Personal Archive with Hadley Clark

Class Description: This course presents a unique opportunity for those interested in exploring the potential of material reuse and the principles of fine garment construction. Students are encouraged to bring their own woven fibers from home, such as bedroom or kitchen linens, garments, and remnants from previous projects, etc. By using these materials, students will have the opportunity to add new layers of meaning, personal history, color, and memory to their new garment creations. Aided by demonstrations of technical garment construction and ongoing conceptual discussions, participants will gain a wider range of skills to bring discarded soft objects back to life through intentional acts of personal growth. Classroom instruction will include machine-sewing, fine garment finishings, hand-sewing techniques, and application of provided paper patterns to garments. By the end of the class, participants will not only have created a unique and meaningful garment but also gained valuable skills that they can apply to future textile endeavors.

Price: $299

Days: Saturdays, Sept 5- Oct 10

Time: 9am-12pm

Location: Warehouse, Fiber, Sewing Room. CAMPUS MAP

Instructor: Hadley Clark is a studio artist creating handmade wearables and floor-based sculptural pieces that explore material reuse and natural dye processes. Trained in Fashion Design at The New School | Parsons Paris, she worked for Tillman Lauterbach, Diane von Furstenberg, Ugg, and Ghada Amer before redirecting her skills toward sustainable studio art. Her work has been exhibited globally, including at the Hammer Museum Restore (Los Angeles), Cumulus International Design Conference (Paris), and Gothenburg Fashion Fair (Sweden). She has completed residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, Studios Inc, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, and Texere (Mexico), with features in W Magazine and Women’s Wear Daily. Believing that craft education is a crucial form of material stewardship, Clark shares her specialized garment construction and dye techniques through public workshops at the Penland School of Crafts (NC), the Nerman Museum of Art (KS), and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (TN).

Eligibility: Age 18+.

Supplies: Students should bring their own textiles to work with to create their new works. All material should come washed and be WOVEN fabric. You can bring old garments, household linens, fiber scraps, etc. We will not be working with knit as our garment patterns are specifically for woven material. The more, the better, as the course plan will be to make a full garment and another small project. Students should come to the class with their own sewing kit:

STUDENT Sewing Kit:

Fabric Shears

Paper Scissors

Hand Sewing Needles, a variety is good

Sewing Pins - recommended

Pin Cushion - Magnetic preferred & recommended

Seam Ripper

Measuring Tape

Sewing Machine Thread, a variety of colors

Sketchbook Pencils or Pens for note-taking and personal reflection

*Helpful but not required:

Fabric Snips to use while sewing

Parking: Parking is available in any of the (NON-RESERVED) KCAI parking lot spaces across campus. RESERVED spaces are available after 5pm on the weekdays and all day on the weekends. There is also available street parking surrounding KCAI campus. 

Refund: Registered participants can receive refunds to the original payment method (Studio Fee minus Humanitix Fee) up to 14 days before the first class.