Get your clothing alterations done at The Mending Lab!
Monday, 22 July 2019
The students of our Certificate IV in Clothing Production (MST40216) are given the opportunity to develop their sewing skills and experience further by working in The Mending Lab at Wodonga TAFE.
In this lab real clients are invited to come along and bring their items they need altered or mended for the students to work on. Under the guidance of their teacher, Deidre, the students assess the item and provide a quote for cost of the work required.
Upon agreement of cost by the client, the students begin working on the garments, all of which are assessed by Deidre prior to being given back to the owner in its repaired form.
Some of the more common client requests are simple garment mending tasks such as replacing broken zippers, restitching buttons, taking up hems or taking in clothing. However, there are always some interesting projects to extend students skills further with requests like restoring decorative cornelli braid trim, adding elastic sleeves to a top to give it a more modern look, repairing denim jeans with patches and full restoration of lace on a blouse.
Fashion can be an expensive outlay for a lot of people and oftentimes you just have that very loved coat or pair of work pants that you cannot find an affordable replacement for. The Mending Lab solves that problem for you! So bring your items in for assessment if you would like affordable mending options.
“The Mending Lab concept gives students some great opportunities to extend their practical experience,” Fashion Design & Clothing Production Teacher, Deidre Liston, explains.
“The Mending Lab gives students in our Certificate IV in Clothing Production the opportunity to work directly with customers. They apply their skills to clothing repairs and minor alterations. This gets our students directly involved in assessing the extent of repairs required, and working out the actual work needed for alterations, and then quoting costs with clients. It also helps our students gain knowledge around the true cost of what is involved in sewing repairs and alterations.”
“Whilst we do work directly with real clients, it is important for people to remember that this is a training environment. The students do their best to meet the needs of the clients who bring in items, but patience is a key requirement here as well.”
The Mending Lab will be open every Thursday from July 25 until 5 September, 1pm – 2pm in the Fashion Lab at Wodonga TAFE, McKoy St Campus (upstairs of building C). No bookings necessary just show up during opening hours and discuss your mending requirements with our student team.
Wodonga TAFE is the only regional provider of the Certificate III in Clothing and Textile Production and Certificate IV in Clothing Production in Victoria. So for fashion enthusiasts wanting to turn their passion into the possibility of a career you needn’t have to relocate to the city. You can gain industry standard and professional skills right here in our beautiful country setting.
If you would like to know more about our clothing production courses and see upcoming enrolment dates for 2020, please visit our website www.wodongatafe.edu.au or call 1300 698 233 to speak to one of our customer service team members.