Sewing Community Article in Sewing World

February 11, 2017 by Charlotte 4 Comments

I have an article in the current issue of Sewing World Magazine, exploring the sewing community and how to get involved.

The full article includes practical tips for participating in the sewing community, but I thought I would share the introductory paragraphs here, which explore my own feelings about being part of this community:

I can honestly say that being part of the sewing community has changed my life. Growing up I always had good friends, but they were a select group – now I have friendships and connections with a huge, worldwide, community. The current age has been called the age of loneliness, due to our increased social isolation, but online communities – like the sewing community – create a connectness, which crosses boundaries of geography, age, and – to a lesser extent – language, gender and socioeconomics.

The opportunity to communicate with a diverse community of (mainly) women, in an atmosphere that is supportive and inspiring, has made me more confident. Like many bloggers, I began reluctant to take or post photos of myself online. Now I’m posting photos and videos regularly, because I’m inspired by others who are doing that and enjoy joining in. Plus, company is important to creativity. Without the opportunity to share what I make with others, and be inspired by them in return, I would have less motivation to create, and to try new things and keep challenging myself. I’d definitely still be sewing, but I doubt I’d be pushing myself to sew jeans, or lingerie. Seeing the beautiful projects fellow bloggers are making motivates me to have a go too.

Of course sewing is just the start – it’s the something in common to bring together a diverse community. It’s the thing we can draw around, which is representative of much more we have in common – creativity, a love of textiles, a desire to make things with our hands, and to understand how they are made.