Advanced Sewing, Decorative Sewing Techniques, & Embellishment
Ashfield Community Center, Ashfield, MA
Small Details. Big Impact.
A 3-Day Hands-On Creative Workshop with Donna Cash
Limited to 6 students for maximum personalized guidance.
In this three-day custom pillow design workshop, you’ll design and sew 20-inch pillow fronts using color blocking, curved seams, quilting, fabric origami, and other creative details. By the end of class, you can expect to have five to six pillow fronts, depending on your pace. You’ll finish them as complete pillows at home.
You don’t need to arrive with every design figured out. I’ll show you how I develop ideas, choose details, and decide what to try next.
Fabric shopping list
Bring 4½ yards total of 54-inch-wide home décor fabric:
Choose solids, prints, or a mix. Fabric remnants are welcome, too. If a print has a large repeat—or you simply want more room to play—bring a little extra fabric. Inspiration has a way of growing! Choose fabrics that are comfortable to fold, piece, and stitch; upholstery-weight fabrics may be too bulky for some designs.
Optional embellishments and inspiration
You’re welcome to bring buttons, beads, ribbon, fringe, tassels, braid, or decorative zipper tape that works with your fabrics. You don’t need to buy every item or decide how you’ll use it before class.
If you’re designing for a particular space, bring a photo of the room for inspiration.
SCHEDULE
DAY ONE — Transform Fabric with Seams, Shape & Stitching
- Create bold color-blocked designs with curved seams, tonal and contrasting fabrics, and unexpected proportions.
- Transform a simple solid fabric with quilting and decorative topstitching.
- Create dimension through fabric folding and origami techniques.
- Discover how the front and reverse sides of fabric can become part of your design.
You’ll create three pillow tops: a color-blocked pillow top with curved seams, a dimensional fabric-origami pillow top, and a custom-quilted pillow top.
DAY TWO — Discover the Power of the Details
- Turn ribbon, decorative braid, and zipper chain into striking design features.
- Add texture and interest with beads, French knots, and hand stitching.
- Use zipper chain to create a stripe, frame an overlay, or even form a dimensional flower.
- Combine remnants and limited yardage to create intentional, one-of-a-kind designs.
- Learn the 60–30–10 guideline for balancing fabrics, colors, and design elements.
- Develop your eye for knowing when a design needs one more detail—and when enough is enough.
You’ll create two pillow tops: using the techniques I’ve demonstrated, you’ll experiment with fabric combinations, piecing, layering, and unexpected embellishments to create two unique designs of your own.
DAY THREE — Bring Your Ideas to Life
- Pull together your favorite techniques and design ideas from Days 1 and 2.
- Consider proportion, color, texture, placement, and embellishment as you plan your design.
- Work alongside me as I help you refine your ideas, solve design challenges, and make confident creative decisions.
You’ll create your final pillow top: a custom design of your own that brings together your newfound skills and creative point of view.
You’ll leave the workshop with five to six unique pillow tops to finish into pillows at home, along with teaching samples, new techniques, and ideas you can keep using long after our three days together.
Build Your Skills. Create with Confidence.
You already know how to sew. Now it’s time to strengthen your skills, learn professional techniques, and gain the confidence to create work you’re proud of.
With hands-on guidance every step of the way, you’ll learn, practice, ask questions, and discover what you’re capable of creating.
Your next beautiful project starts here. Reserve your seat today.
SUPPLIES & TOOLS YOU WILL WANT TO HAVE
- Fabrics listed above
- Fabric remnants you’d like to incorporate
- Thin batting for a quilted pillow
- Thread to coordinate with your fabrics
- Optional embellishments
- Stabilizer, if you want to use it
- A room photo, if you have one
- Notebook or sketchbook and pen or pencil
- Fabric scissors and thread snips
- Pins or sewing clips
- Seam ripper
- Measuring tape and clear ruler
- Fabric marking pencil or chalk
- Hand-sewing needles
- Your sewing machine and its accessories.
Bring your own sewing machine.
Bring your fabrics uncut. We’ll plan proportions, placement, and cutting together. If you get stuck or feel unsure about trying something new, I’ll be right there to help you work through your design.
By attending this workshop, you agree to allow Designs by Donna to take photos or video of you for marketing and promotional purposes.
What takes a beautiful pillow from ordinary to bold, stunning, and one-of-a-kind?
Often, it’s not the fabric alone. It’s the details.
A beautifully placed curved seam. An unexpected combination of fabrics. Texture created with stitching. A zipper used as an embellishment. A few carefully placed beads. Even a treasured remnant that becomes the inspiration for something completely new.
In this three-day hands-on workshop, I’ll teach you how to use these small details to create unique custom pillow tops with personality and impact.
I’ll also take you inside my creative process. I’ll share what I’m looking at, what I’m thinking, and the questions I ask myself as an idea develops into a one-of-a-kind pillow design. You’ll see why I might turn a fabric, introduce an unexpected seam, add texture or embellishment—or decide the design is better without one more thing. My goal isn’t for you to design like me. It’s to help you develop the confidence to explore ideas and make creative design decisions of your own.
But what you learn doesn’t stop with pillows. The techniques you’ll practice—creative piecing, color blocking, quilting, topstitching, fabric manipulation, layering, and embellishment—can be adapted for bedding, home décor, handmade gifts, and future sewing projects long after the workshop ends.
The pillow is where we begin. The skills are yours to keep.
BEFORE / AFTER
Is This Workshop for Me?
If you’re a DIY sewing enthusiast, home décor maker, or workroom professional, you’re welcome here. You don’t need professional experience or advanced design skills, but you should be comfortable using your sewing machine and have basic sewing experience. Confident beginners are welcome. I’ll demonstrate the techniques step by step and be beside you to guide, troubleshoot, and encourage you along the way.
Come visit my training studio down south! I host this exact hands-on custom pillow masterclass right here in the Atlanta area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can’t Join Me for This Workshop?
You Can Still Learn With Me.
If a three-day hands-on workshop isn’t right for you right now, you can still learn with me from home.
Inside the Designs by Donna Membership, you’ll find step-by-step classes, practical resources, weekly Live Q&A, and a supportive community to help you continue building your skills and confidence.
