Sewing parties aren’t just your grandma’s sewing circle. Once a venue for grandmotherly gossip and craft fair creations, sewing circles are getting a facelift by a new generation of blog-reading DIYers. Today’s creative crafters have modernized the traditional sewing circle as a trendy way to show off creative flair, from creating Japanese-style floor cushions for the home to handbags with vintage fabric. (Guess what else is back? Why preserving food is trendy again.)
Instead of meeting at home, friends and neighbors are hosting sewing parties at contemporary sewing studios across the country. Lupine Swanson, partner and co-owner of Modern Domestic in Portland, Oregon, and her partners were quick to notice the trend, and created a workspace so crafters can sew with high-quality tools and equipment.
“We wanted to create something clean and modern that caters to the DIY generation who are very well represented on the Internet but very poorly represented in the actual store and retail experience,” Swanson says. “There’s an aesthetic that’s related to our generation; it’s not plastic-covered tissue boxes anymore; our generation has picked up DIY and ran with it and made it even more special and unique.”
Along with classes ranging from cable-knitting and modern quilting to silk screening and sewing pajama pants, Modern Domestic hosts a weekly Friday Night Sew-cial where customers can spend $10 for three hours of open sew time with friends and fellow domestic DIYers … and they are encouraged to bring their beverage of choice!
“People come with friends and there’s usually a group from the Portland Modern Quilt Guild that come once a month and all kinds of other little groups and individuals that can come and not necessarily organize the party, but they can come be a part of it,” Swanson adds.
Decorating your home on a budget? Read this before you start.
Sewing parties are trendy again
By Kristy Alpert
Sewing parties aren’t just your grandma’s sewing circle. Once a venue for grandmotherly gossip and craft fair creations, sewing circles are getting a facelift by a new generation of blog-reading DIYers. Today’s creative crafters have modernized the traditional sewing circle as a trendy way to show off creative flair, from creating Japanese-style floor cushions for the home to handbags with vintage fabric. (Guess what else is back? Why preserving food is trendy again.)
Instead of meeting at home, friends and neighbors are hosting sewing parties at contemporary sewing studios across the country. Lupine Swanson, partner and co-owner of Modern Domestic in Portland, Oregon, and her partners were quick to notice the trend, and created a workspace so crafters can sew with high-quality tools and equipment.
“We wanted to create something clean and modern that caters to the DIY generation who are very well represented on the Internet but very poorly represented in the actual store and retail experience,” Swanson says. “There’s an aesthetic that’s related to our generation; it’s not plastic-covered tissue boxes anymore; our generation has picked up DIY and ran with it and made it even more special and unique.”
Along with classes ranging from cable-knitting and modern quilting to silk screening and sewing pajama pants, Modern Domestic hosts a weekly Friday Night Sew-cial where customers can spend $10 for three hours of open sew time with friends and fellow domestic DIYers … and they are encouraged to bring their beverage of choice!
“People come with friends and there’s usually a group from the Portland Modern Quilt Guild that come once a month and all kinds of other little groups and individuals that can come and not necessarily organize the party, but they can come be a part of it,” Swanson adds.
Decorating your home on a budget? Read this before you start.