Okay…so you made it to the blog page
Hi there; my name is Allison and I’m the founder of the Sewing Society of STL. As this is my first blog post, I thought I would take the opportunity to tell you a bit about who I am, how I made it into the sewing universe, how this sewing community began, and some of my plans for the future. (whew….that’s a lot of things to fit into one blog post!) My forte is creating with my hands, not blogging, so bear with me as I take my meandering spirit and organize it into words.
I’ve been a crafter all my life, like probably from the first time I picked up a crayon or stood still while my mom hemmed a dress for me. Creating is something that I’m never not doing; I’m literally always brainstorming the next project, even when I have 10 already planned. My first memory of going down the craft rabbit hole was while I was visiting my grandma’s house at 12 years old. One afternoon she pulled out a weathered cookie tin filled with tools that were foreign to me: a bunch of metal hooks, some small scissors, a gigantic plastic needle, and several random balls of yarn. I was perplexed and fascinated, and wasn’t prepared for the creativity explosion that was about to happen in my brain. She very patiently sat with me for hours and coaxed my uncoordinated hands to creat slip stitches and crochet chains. Eventually she had to get up to make dinner, but I stayed in that chair for hours while I completed a crochet chain that must have stretched 20 feet. I spent almost the entirety of that week long trip to grandma’s crocheting and although I left with only the basics, my creative self was sparked.
I spent the next several years, and into my adulthood, honing my crochet and eventually knitting skills. After making countless blankets for myself and others, I graduated to clothing, then color work, and finally creating my own patterns. I sold my handmade pieces at craft fairs, I created an Etsy page to sell all my patterns, and I felt contented…..for awhile.
But as you creatives know, we’re always looking for something new to learn.
So after a decade of living and making in the fiber world, my partner gave me a basic sewing machine for a holiday gift (because honestly I’m sure there was no knitting gadget that I didn’t already own) as a simple something different. I remember looking at it in horror and thinking, “oh my god, how does that thing work?” And then I looked at the manual and my eyes crossed and I put the whole thing away. For like 2 years. I know I’m not alone in this; when you become proficient in one craft it somehow becomes harder to start a new one from scratch. That clumsy hands feeling is so ancient and long gone that when your hands don’t know what to do it’s a shock. Fortunately I had a friend that was willing to teach me how to use the machine (what a saint; I remember making her thread the bobbin about 10 times in a row), and after I understood the basics I was off to the races.
I made all the free beginner level patterns I could find on Pinterest: tote bags, pillow cases, aprons, and then zipper pouches (gasp! those took some courage), and finally CLOTHES. And that’s when my creative self exploded. I had recently found out that there was a whole indie sewing world on Instagram full of supportive people that would share their makes, sold their patterns, and encourage each other to do the same. I fell in love with the community instantly and am still smitten. I loved participating in the diversity of ideas and see how garments looked on different bodies. The only thing this community was lacking for me was an in-person experience; I wanted to be able to see those pieces in person and chit chat about bust adjustments and French seams.
So what did I do? I asked my real life friends if any of them were interested in learning to sew or sew projects together. Thankfully I had several crafty friends in my life that were all about getting together to sew…..and so the Sewing Society of STL was born.
It began as a small Facebook group where we would share sewing projects and plans, and it quickly grew into a group that would meet at our local community sewing space, the City Sewing Room, to sew together. Friends told friends about the group, and soon I was teaching people how to sew all manner of things; from bags to blouses. I branched out into Instagramland and was welcomed to the social media sewing world with open arms.
Indie Sew-Alongs are my
FAV
And that brings us up to today. (and if you’re still reading….bless you. I know that was a lot) The Sewing Society of STL currently has around 2700 followers across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads and I continue to host monthly sewing events at the City Sewing Room. This website is the next step for our community, and I’m very excited about the larger platform that will come with it. I will be using this blog space to share what we make together, what I make on my personal time, and as a space for you to connect with both myself and others in our community. Thank you for being part of it, and I hope I get to sew with you soon!