About — Topstitch Makers Getaway September 10-15

About Your Getaway…

What is a Topstitch Makers Getaway?

Our Topstitch Makers 2024 Getaway is a 5 night / 6 day sewing retreat held at Skyland Camp in beautiful Western North Carolina, September 10-15th, where together we’ll learn about natural dyeing, sew a fantastic shirt and have lots of time to relax and enjoy the surrounding area! Our 2024 retreat has a focus on natural deying, including vat dyeing and bundle dyeing, indigo dyeing, resist blockprint dyeing and shibori as well as learning to sew an intermediate button up top, Helen’s Closet Gilbert Top.

The dyeing sessions will consist of discussion and hands on workshops to learn various dyeing processes.

We’ll also learn about the variety of things that can affect the end color and how you can work towards achieving the color results you’re aiming for. We’ll get an overview of the steps of dyeing including the types of plants used for natural dyeing. After our dyeing sessions with Brittani, Kari will lead sessions on resist blockprinting and shibori.

Each attendee will receive 2 yards of linen fabric that will be pretreated for dyeing during the retreat and we’ll have additional smaller samples of fabric prepared for dyeing to make some smaller projects with them at the retreat.

*Image above of block print resist indigo dyed fabrics that Kari made*

We’ll also sew an intermediate shirt, the Gilbert Top. And of course we’ll have time for open sewing, exploring, relaxing, socializing all while enjoying the beautiful surroundings. It’s such a beautiful area! Most activities will take place on the screened porch of the large kitchen at the lodge, including our hands on projects and meals on the wrap around porch. (Attendees can choose to either sew the Gilbert Top or to do open sewing or simply use that time as free time.)

For the Gilbert Top class and open sewing, Topstitch will bring sewing machines to share but attendees are also welcome to bring their own. Gilbert Top patterns will be provided for each person who would like to participate in the intermediate shirt making sessions.

*Image of the Gilbert Top by* *Helen’s closet*

Where will this retreat be held?

Skyland Camp in the beautiful North Carolina Mountains of Clyde, NC which is a 25 minute drive from Asheville, NC. This is where we had our 2023 retreat as well and it was so amazing, we’re staying there again this year!

When is it?

Tuesday, September 10th - Sunday, September 15th

What is the schedule?

You’ll find the daily schedule here.

Who is hosting this getaway?

Your host is Topstitch Owner, Leigh Metcalf, accompanied by awesome Topstitch instructors, Kari Culberson and Brittani Bumb.

Leigh’s the owner of Topstitch Studio, a sewing studio in Atlanta, Georgia. She’s the author of London Stitch and Knit, a Craft Lover’s Guide to London’s Fabric and Knitting Shops and she also currently writes for Uppercase Magazine. She’s written features on talented, creative people such as Catherine Marie Longtin, Anna Maria Horner, Katie Kortman and Jeffrey Sincich to name a few.

She previously co-hosted a cooks tour of London with ACE Camps and a food styling and photography workshop in the English Countryside with cookbook author and photographer Beatrice Peltre.

Leigh has also hosted to previous Topstitch Retreats, one in 2022 at Sugarboo Farms in North Georgia for a jeans making retreat, and one in 2023 at Skyland Camp in North Carolina for a hand sewing and pattern drafting retreat.

Our instructors are textile artist, designer, sewist and instructor Kari Culberson and sewist, pattern maker and author, Brittani Bumb.

Kari Fisher Culberson is one of the original Topstitch instructors and also the owner and maker behind House Marias, Kari’s amazing textile workroom.

Kari specializes in contemporary hand-blocked textiles and custom soft goods and furnishings. She also has a Master’s in Interior Design from Florida State University. Her trio of design skills lead her to create beautiful, well-made and functional goods for your home.

Kari’s designs are most often inspired by her love of design history and traditional printing methods like block printing. She designs each pattern thoughtfully and carves each initial block by hand from her home studio in Decatur, GA.

Brittani Bumb is also a long time Topstitch instructor and the owner of Untitled Thoughts patterns, a local Georgia sewing pattern brand focused on Parisian-inspired garments designed with a sustainable mindset. Most recently, though, Brittani has published her first novel as well.

Brittani absolutely loves everything about nature. If she could live entirely outside, she probably would. Ever since she was young, clothing seemed to be an outlet for expressing her personality, and when she learned how to sew, nothing could slow her roll! Brittani loves all aspects of natural dyeing—from growing and tending to a dye garden to the emmersive experience of preparing cloth for dye to allowing nature to work its magic to reveal beauty in clolor.

To her, clothing represents a form of freedom and expression of confidence, all of which Brittani wants other women to feel when they sew up one of her patterns.

Brittani also strives to put an eco-green stamp of approval on as many sewing practices as she can. Brittani has a BFA in Fashion Design from SCAD.

What sewing level should I be to attend?
All levels are welcome but if you’d like to participate in the Gilbert Top shirt making sessions, you’ll need advanced beginner sewing skills. The retreat focus is more on dyeing fabrics verses sewing so even beginners will be right at home.

What will I need to bring?

You’ll want to bring anything you want to use when we have open sewing / making times.

If you decide to sew the Gilbert Top, you’ll need your own fabric. You can see the size chart and fabric requirements here.

We’ve added a Copy Your Clothes workshop to the lineup of activities as well. For this project, you will want to bring a garment you’d like to copy. It’s best to bring 3 options, ideally fairly simple tops, dresses or skirts as options.

If you want to bring your own sewing machine, you can, but we will have enough for each person if needed.

What sewing supplies will you have?

For the dyeing workshops, we’ll have everything you need and will also provide 2 yards of linen fabric for each person.

For sewing, we’ll have sewing machines, irons, ironing boards, and plenty of sewing tools such as scissors, seam rippers, marking tools, measuring tape, tracing paper, needles and thread. We also supply the Gilbert Top sewing pattern. You will need your own fabric for the Gilbert Top pattern.

If you have any top favorite sewing tools, you are welcome to bring them. You’re also welcome to bring your own sewing machine if you’d like to.

What will the food be like?

Skyland camp prepares great homemade meals! They’re used to hosting retreats and weddings, so they know how to make great meals for groups. A menu will be posted closer to the date of the retreat. From a delicious taco bar to a Mediterranean inspired meal, the staff at Skyland will definitely keep everyone well fed!

May I bring my own snacks or drinks?

You don’t need to bring anything, but if you want to you can! We’ll have some wine and beer, but if you have a particular adult beverage interest, you are welcome to bring it.

What if I have dietary needs?

We can accommodate you! All registrants complete an intake form closer to the date of the event and we will gather any information related to dietary restrictions or needs. They camp will accommodate all needs.

What’s included?

We basically pack everything in—your accommodation at Skyland Camp for 5 nights, breakfast, lunch and dinner each day during the retreat, including snacks and beverages, workshops with instructors, instructors on hand for guidance, instruction, a Topstitch goodie bag.

You’ll also have plenty of time for fun and relaxing activities such as swimming in their heated pool, hiking, and exploring places nearby in North Carolina such as nearby Asheville. We also have a full day for free time to explore nearby. If you’ve never been, Asheville is an awesome place to visit! We’ll also supply a list of fun things to do nearby.

Is transportation included?

No, you must make your own arrangements to get to the location and to get around while you are there. The closest airport is Asheville Regional Airport. Quite a few cities fly direct there, but you’ll want to check their website to see if you can fly direct. We’ll provide specific directions to the Camp closer to the date, but it is in Clyde, NC.

What is the sleeping accommodation like?

We have two accommodation options which are both great options!

A shared bunk bed cabin, to be shared with 5 people. The bunk cabins are very large and technically accommodate 10 people but we will have 5 max per cabin. Each cabin has 1 full bathroom inside of it with a shower and a living room as well. Each cabin has a fan and and a heater can be provided if needed, though the camp had perfect weather last year. There is no central AC or central heater in the cabins. The cabins have one outlet so it will need to be shared but there are many outlets in the lodge and club house for charging.

The camp has WiFi and cell service.

The cabins are amazing! They’re not like any cabin you’ve probably ever seen before.

Each bed is a super comfy adult size twin. Details about the cabins.

Single accommodation in the lodge (a room to yourself). In the single rooms, there are twin beds but each person who chooses this accommodation will have single occupancy. Inside the lodge there are shared bathrooms for the 7 bedrooms that are in the lodge. There are 3 showers and 5 toilets total in the lodge. Details about the lodge. There’s an additional bath house with multiple showers and toilets outside the lodge that anyone can use.

What is the cost?

The cost for a shared bunk room, 5 people to a bunk room, + all meals and activities for Topstitch Makers is $2,100.

The cost for a single room (your own room inside the lodge) + all meals and activities is $2,500.

Click here to choose your accommodation package.

Can I make multiple payments for my registration?

Yes! You can make the deposit the third week of February when registration opens and the final payment will be due June 15th.
At checkout you can choose Shop Pay if you’d like, which will allow you to pay in installments for both the deposit and the final payment later, if you would like.

How do I sign up?

Click here to sign up!

What are the COVID-19 guidelines?

All attendees must have COVID-19 vaccinations and have proof of vaccinations. All attendees must provide a negative PCR test no less than three days before Sept 6th. Right now we don’t expect to require masks but you are welcome to wear a mask if you’d like to.

What is your cancelation and refund policy?

If Topstitch is forced to cancel the event for any unforeseen reason beyond our control such as, but not limited to, acts of war, nature, disaster, earthquake, flooding, we will refund your full payment.

We will not issue any refunds unless we (Topstitch) have to cancel the event under circumstances beyond our control as outlined above. You can instead put the payment towards a future Topstitch retreat.

The health and safety of our attendees is our priority. We will allow any COVID-19 related cancelation to put their registration payment toward a future Topstitch Makers Getaway. COVID-19 related cancelation could be due to receiving a positive COVID-19 test result within 14 days of September 10th, experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, or being exposed to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

Do I need travel insurance?

We strongly advise purchasing Travel Insurance. We’re unable to provide refunds for any events related to travel delays or cancelations, such as a flight cancelation, for example. You will need to check with the Travel Insurance company if they offer insurance related to COVID-19 concerns. Here is a list of some options you could look into.

Also, this is a rain or shine event. We plan to do most activities on a screened porch but will move indoors when needed.