, but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to confidently hem those jeans or at least get that big button back on to your winter coat? Learn some basic skills from a real fashion designer, Chicagoan Anastasia Chatzka, who will teach you how to use a sewing machine, attach buttons and zippers, and even read a sewing pattern. No experience is necessary to start. If you get the hang of it, Chatzka also offers advanced classes in tailoring, knitwear, and streetwear.
City Colleges of Chicago offer an array of both in-person and online instruction designed for adults who need affordable professional certifications, GED courses, and also . . . stepping. You can still get in on, a late fall offering at Daley College that will teach you the basic moves and flair of stepping—a partner dance form created in Chicago and often performed to R&B music.
Self-defense isn’t just about knowing a martial art—in fact, skills like risk assessment, positioning strategies, and verbal tools are essential to navigating crisis situations. The people at Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense Center teach the “five fingers” approach: think, yell, run, fight, tell. These strategies can also lead to better awareness and communication skills within all your interpersonal relationships. Training is available to people of all genders ages 12 and up.
Two-hour workshop, future dates Sat 10/8 4-6 PM and Fri 12/9 6-8 PM, $50 , 1220 W. Belmont, 773-472-7663,