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While needlecrafts have never been off the radar, the 1940s were probably the last big sewing renaissance. It was the last time young women had a strong purpose to pick up the needle and thread -- until today.
As today's young women grab their dressmaking shears, tape measures, and skeins of embroidery floss, they're sewing for victory too: a victory against ready-made, throw-away culture. Many are deeply influenced by their mother or grandmother's generation -- but they're taking sewing and making it their own.
A Sewing Renaissance
Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood
Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood was always curious about those tech podcasts her husband was listening to. One day, he suggested that she make a podcast about crafting. So Ackerman-Haywood, a Michigan journalist who writes frequently about art and craft topics, started CraftSanity in 2005. Her podcasts feature discussions with crafters all over the world. "Everyone has a great story," she says. "It's a great way to talk to the movers and shakers in the craft world, plus, it has really inspired me to stay focused on my own projects." Her podcasts have an enormous following: At first, she was thrilled to reach 100 downloads; now, she gets in the thousands.
Ackerman-Haywood is a self-described crafting junkie, but she especially enjoys sewing and crocheting (she set herself a goal of making a new apron every week for a local TV segment she tapes-so far, so good, even if it means a few late nights before the taping). She's also a mother of two daughters, and is thrilled when her daughters show interest in crafting.
Jenna Lou Dauer
Sometimes her friends call her "the world's youngest grandmother" because she takes such pleasure in the domestic arts like sewing, baking, and gardening, but that doesn't bother 21-year-old Jenna Lou Dauer, who started Jenna Lou Designs in 2006.
Dauer, who lives in southern Minnesota, is having the time of her life selling her striking hand-made bags, sewing patterns, and other items on Etsy.
Dauer may be young, but she's full of creative energy and business savvy-and although she's part of the generation that came of age on the Web, she's astute enough to see that while technology is moving us forward, it's also making it possible to take a step back make more mindful choices. "People are sick of cheap items made and imported for pennies, and they're getting smarter about where their money goes," she says.
"I feel very lucky to have become part of the indie craft movement. It's an indescribable feeling to get feedback directly from the consumer and the acceptance for careers like mine has never been broader."
Kymy Johnson
Kymy Johnson, who runs the blog Everything Your Mama Made, fondly remembers tagging along with mother and grandmother to craft bazaars, and hearing the familiar refrain, "we could make that."
Now, Johnson, a mother of three (2-year-old twin girls and 4-year-old boy), in Whidbey Island, Washington hears herself saying it too whenever she sees something interesting made from fabric. She grew up being crafty, but turned to sewing again as an adult to soothe her soul. "When I got a divorce and was a single mom, I used it as a way to deal with my kids going to visit their dad," she says. Now, the soon-to-be-remarried mom squeezes sewing projects into naptime and works on her wares late at night.
Her newest interest is repurposing old clothing, what she calls "upcyling." T-shirts, thrift store finds, clothing from yard sales-it's all fair game, and provides fun (and inexpensive) fabric for recreating something new. Johnson, who is just 25, dreams of starting a sewing-related business eventually. "It seems like a whole new generation wants to learn it, which excites me," she says. "I just hope that I can teach and inspire others like my grandmother did for me."
Amy Karol
Amy Karol comes from a long line of crafty and talented women, and has been sewing as long as she can remember. Fabrics were a playground growing up, and she continues to make things for one simple reason: "Because I can," she says.
