TEXTILE TOURS

Fun and informative textile adventures for curious and creative makers.

Join us on one of our textile tours to visit fabulous fashion venues and galleries, take part in inspirational workshops and discover our favourite fabric and haberdashery sources.

UPCOMING TRIPS

LONDON 19th-20th June

Join us for 2 days of textile inspiration in London. On day one we'll visit the sumptuous Leighton House and learn all about one fashionable Edwardian woman's wardrobe. After lunch we'll get practical with workshops on pattern-cutting and embellishment inspired by what we've seen. Day two is all about shopping! We'll take you to our favourite secret fabric spots including a private visit to an exclusive couture supplier usually not open to the public and a North London warehouse full of hidden treasure.

**SOLD OUT** Click the link below to register your interest for future tours

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE WAITLIST FOR FUTURE DATES

PARIS 14th-18th October

Join us for 4 days of textile adventure in Paris. We'll share our favourite designer textile sources, visit fabulous fashion venues and galleries, and host inspirational workshops with loads of tips and tricks to make the most of your finds.

More details coming soon

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What's included in our trips

MUSEUM VISITS

We love a good museum! All our tours have a specific theme and are often inspired by current exhibitions. Where possible we organise personalised private visits with specialist curators and guides. Tickets and tours are included in the package.

BESPOKE WORKSHOPS

All our tours involve practical making sessions linked to the theme. These might cover pattern-cutting, design, fabric manipulation, embroidery and any other specialist techniques that inspire us along the way!

SHOPPING

Guided shopping tours will help you discover new places to find fabric and haberdashery treasure. We will be on hand to help you make bold choices to best suit you and your sewing plans. Alice is a trained style and colour consultant and expert in buying just the right amount of fabric so you can purchase wisely. Where possible we will organise private shopping visits and special discounts.

CONVIVIAL CONVERSATION

It's always fun to meet fellow makers - a highlight of our tours is always making new like-minded friends to engage in endless textile talk. We make sure everyone feels welcome and included and group members often keep in touch and go on to organise future adventures together.

FOOD AND DRINK

After all this culture, education and shopping you'll need some refreshments! Tours usually include a mix of hosted group meals/drinks as well as a chance to explore on your own - for which we will provide a curated list of recommendations for local delicacies.

ACCOMMODATION

If required accommodation will usually be included in the tour package price. Our preference is for four star characterful boutique hotels. Where accommodation is not included we'll provide suggestions at various price points.

TRANSPORT

Transport to and from the tour location is not included. All transfers during the tour will be included.

Your tour guides

  • Alice Prier, Designer, Teacher and Pattern Cutting Expert

    Alice is a designer, pattern-cutter and teacher, with over 35 years experience working in the fashion and home sewing worlds. After training and working as a theatre designer for 10 years, she set up a made-to-measure studio in London's West End, which specialised in creating stylish outfits for savvy city women based on personal colour and style consultation. Since 2010 she has been the resident pattern-cutting tutor at Ray Stitch in Islington, as well as hosting sessions for institutions such as the V&A museum, London. In 2018 she set up Alice & Co Patterns with her daughter, creating a range of PDF patterns and online classes including the year-long course 'Behind The Seams: A Pattern Cutter's Guide to Fashion History. Whenever she can, Alice likes to travel the world seeking design inspiration and adding to her ever growing fabric and haberdashery stash! 

  • Jane Taylor-Bouvard, Textile Historian, Conservator and Maker

    Like many of us, Jane learned to sew at her grandmother’s knee and fell in love with historical costume during visits to London’s  V&A costume court in the 1960s. Following a career in finance she returned to her love of textiles, re-training as a textile conservator in 2001. She has studied at The Royal School of Needlework, and qualified in both Haute Couture and Decorative Embroidery at Lesage, Paris. Since 2021 she has been joyfully collaborating with Alice & Co Patterns adding pattern cutting and design to her repertoire. Her insight into conservation practices versus make-and-mend techniques gives her a unique perspective which fuels her current passion for helping like-minded makers to create their own well-fitting, timeless wardrobe. 

TESTIMONIALS

  • Hanne - Paris, November 2023

    "I can thoroughly recommend the Paris Textile Tour with Alice and Jane. We were looked after from start to finish and the exhibitions they took us to were excellent. It was great to be shown very special sewing related shops and to spend the week with other like-minded people. Alice and Jane gave us several really interesting workshops. I learnt a lot and had a great time.

  • Julia - Paris, November 2023

    "I thoroughly enjoyed my week in Paris with Alice and Jane. I was a little anxious about spending a week away with a group of sewists I hadn’t met before, but I needn’t have worried. Our common interest gave us so much to talk about and visiting some wonderful exhibitions and shops I wouldn’t have otherwise known existed with a group of like minded people was truly a treat. Highly recommended."

  • Kaye - Paris, November 2023

    Whether you're a seasoned stitcher or a curious beginner, this tour is a fantastic way to immerse yourself in the world of sewing and to meet new people who have the same interest as you! The tour itself was so well-organized and informative and I always felt so looked after. What really impressed me was that Jane was there to facilitate and translate conversations with the ateliers in the Dior gallery, I was particularly interested to talk technicalities of the internal workings of a jacket with them!
    Each stop offered something unique, our tour of the fabric quarter was incredible and featured visits to a couture atelier, an haute couture shop selling deadstock fabric plus a specialist haberdashery. Again, Jane and Alice were on hand to help with fabric choices and translation. Alices incredibly knowledgeable of pattern cutting ensured we bought just the right amount of fabric!
    Our hotel was just perfect, a stone’s throw from The Gare De Nord. The rooms were comfortable, breakfast was delicious, and we were able to use their private drawing room for our evening events including workshops on pattern cutting and creative textile techniques.
    Overall, I highly recommend this tour to anyone with an interest in sewing. It's a fun and inspiring way to connect with other sewing enthusiasts, learn something new, explore your creativity, and discover new resources for your sewing projects.

Register your interest

If you'd like to hear about future textile tours click below to sign up to our email list.

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