Workshops & Retreats

Our Wilderstitch workshops unfold at Forge Coffee, tucked into the rolling Oxfordshire countryside. And when we fancy running away from ordinary life altogether, our sewing retreats take us across the Channel to beautiful old châteaux in France, for a few glorious days of stitching, feasting and château life.

Dick and Angel Strawbridge outside Château de la Motte-Husson, from Escape to the Château.
Vintage-style table laid with sewing materials, tea and homemade treats for a Wilderstitch sewing workshop.

A little château history

Wilderstitch has always had a bit of a weakness for old houses, antique textiles and the sort of sewing that feels as though it might have been discovered in a forgotten drawer.

I was lucky enough to take Wilderstitch to France for Escape to the Château DIY, where I held a five-day sewing retreat at a beautiful château with its wonderful owners, Mariam and Jono.

For five glorious days, we stitched heirloom dolls around the château table, disappeared off to local brocantes in search of old lace, buttons and tiny treasures, then brought our finds home and worked them into our sewing.

It was everything a Wilderstitch retreat ought to be: beautiful surroundings, slow stitching, old French treasures, good food and the delicious luxury of having nowhere else you needed to be.

Vintage table setting with china, flowers and fairy lights for the Wilderstitch Snowdrop Mouse sewing workshop at Forge Coffee in Oxfordshire.
Vintage château table setting with china, flowers and fairy lights during a Wilderstitch sewing retreat in France.