Hello!
Did May fly by for you as well? I spent a lot of it teaching pattern making, t-shirt sewing, and giving private lessons at Patchwork, as well as puttering in the garden. And, of course, we hosted a fantastic Mother’s Day Extravaganza at the Creative Hive, featuring vendors, tasty treats, and good vibes. I helped many small children make lavender eye pillows!
An assortment of fabric rectangles, a bowl of rice and lavender, a mustard eye pillow with pink and white polka dots, and a tiny vintage sewing machine. An assemblage on one of the sewing tables at our Mother’s Day event.
Maybe you’ve been in the throws of Me Made May! I didn’t ‘participate’ in any official capacity this year, though I certainly wore a lot of handmade clothing. I have, however, enjoyed seeing your items made from Blueprints patterns pop up in my feed during the month!
June is approaching rapidly and I’ll be spending the last week of this month exploring Barcelona with my family. I’m very excited! I’m looking forward to seeing lots of Gaudi, visiting La Boqueria public market, eating lots of tapas and seeking out locally made handcrafts. Happy for any and all city recommendations!
Last but not least, I have a small assortment of classes this month and next, including my first ever hybrid class (meaning, you can join us if you live elsewhere!) as well as some special events for Pride month!
In this newsletter…
June/July Classes ✤ Pride Events ✤ Body Neutrality ✤ Fashion Fictions ✤ A favorite Spring playlist!
June/July Classes
I’ve got a few fun classes coming up in June/July and I’d love for you to join me!
Make a Quilt - $160
4 Wednesdays 10am-12pm// Starts June 7th
Learn the all the skills to make a simple baby quilt. We'll discuss a few common quilt blocks and how to sew them, combining the layers, quilting, and binding. This class is suitable for all levels, though you'll need to know how to use a sewing machine. Take our Learn To Sew: Throw Pillow or a 1 hr private lesson and you'll be all set with the skills you need to take this class.
Make Your Own Patterns (Hybrid) - $160
4 Tuesdays 7-9pm // Starts June 13th
Make your own patterns is running again in the evenings! This is an introductory course in pattern making. Learn the basic fundamentals of taking a pattern block and turning it into a unique clothing design. Students will leave this class with a custom designed pattern and a foundation for developing their own designs.
This class is available as an Online Hybrid! Remote students will join via zoom for the first two sessions. The second two sessions will be a combination of asynchronous worktime and half-hour individual meetings to review and troubleshoot patterns.
If you’re a newbie and interested in learning the basics, check out our monthly Learn To Sew: Throw Pillow Workshop ! You can also learn how to use your Serger in Serger Skills or work on a project of your own choosing in Open Sewing Studio.
Pride Events & Classes
June is Pride month and I’m delighted to host a few classes & events for LGBTQIA+ folks at Patchwork this month (and hopefully going forward!), especially as a queer business owner!
An assemblage of floral fabric, a button up shirt with collar decoration, thread, ribbon, and the back cover of Femme in Public by Alok Vaid-Menon, one of my queer fashion heroes.
Queer Sewing Circle - $10-50 donation
Sunday June 18th from 1:30-4:30
This workshop is designed for those interested in shopping for, altering, sewing, and/or designing clothing that fits both their body and their gender identity. In this casual afternoon sewing soiree, we'll discuss the historical intersections of gender and fashion, share tips for shopping for your shape, and explore techniques for clothing alterations. This workshop is open to sewists and crafty folks of all levels, though some experience using a sewing machine is recommended. Participants will spend the afternoon developing new projects, getting help with current projects, and socializing with other queer folks who love to sew!
Queer Craft Night - Free
Thursday June 15th at 7pm
Sandwiched in between our usual Community Craft Night every other Thursday is a special craft night for LGBTQIA+ folks and allies! Bring a handheld project and meet other queer crafty folks.
Body Neutrality
A close up of a hand resting on a stomach in a brown sweatshirt and green t-shirt. The person is laying in the grass.
Running a space dedicated to sewing clothing means I’m no stranger to the range of ways that people perceive their own bodies. We all have tons of hang ups about our bodies and clothing can sometimes exacerbate those woes, even when we sew our own clothes.
One philosophy I’ve been enjoying sharing with students lately is that of ‘Body Neutrality’ rather than ‘Body Positivity’. Body positivity can often feel tough to muster and it can make us feel bad when efforts at self love and celebration fall flat. Body Neutrality suggests that we simply be neutral about out bodies: accept them for what they are and what they can do, how they move us through the world, and how they don’t have to be perfect or loved all the time.
Maybe body neutrality is the approach you need in your life too! You can read a very thoughtful article about it here.
Fashion Fictions
A close up on a rack of shirts on hangers in various prints and colors.
I recently learned about a project called Fashion Fictions, a worldwide collaborative project based out of the UK that imagines alternative fashion worlds. From their website:
“Fashion Fictions brings people together to generate, experience and reflect on engaging fictional visions of alternative fashion cultures and systems.
Through these activities, we gain new perspectives on challenges, possibilities and pathways for change in the real world.”
I love the imaginative and utopian nature of this project. You can learn a bit more in this introductory video or browse their website and their various projects. There are ways you can get involved remotely, like hosting activities using their framework! I’ve been thinking about ways to host one of these projects at Patchwork. If you’re intrigued, let me know and we can talk about organizing an event!
This Month’s Studio Playlist
Click here to listen on Spotify (or use the embedded player below!)
This month we’re revisiting a Spring favorite (since I didn’t have time to make a new one). I love it lots and I hope you enjoy it too!
I hope you enjoyed this newsletter! Feel free to share with a friend.