Sister Sewists of Black Sewing Network

Stitch Please

Episode • Oct 25, 2023 • 17m

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Black Sewing Network

Black Sewing Network is a platform that celebrates and amplifies black voices in the sewing community. We host daily sewalongs on social media that encourage and motivate members of the sewing community to sew daily!

Lisa Woolfork

Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory, and American slavery. She is the founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers on Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville, Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Insights from this episode:

Brittanie and SheShe’s sewing journey and in Black Sewing Network
Brittanie’s goal of learning, to basically understand what she’s doing. Her approach to developing her skills, being strategic and choosing who to learn from
SheShe’s habit of “over consuming” and her goal of passing on her knowledge to others, in the easiest possible way
Brittanie and SheShe’s current products when sewing
The difference between hoarding and provisioning
Insights about whether to choose the design or the fabric first
“Knit Fabric” as a textile
Lisa talks about her two upcoming books; a book about “Black Stitch Liberation” and a book about where certain fabrics came from
Brittanie and SheShe uncover the Black Sewing Network story
Some final words of wisdom

Quotes from the show:

“Once you have your machine and you take it out of the box, first of all take it out of the box, don’t waste that money; because if you’re not gonna take it out of the box, you shouldn't have bought it. There is no such thing as a “beginner”. You will forever be a “beginner” if you never try, you have to try. It’s a whole community that will literally walk you through the project step-by-step. We have set up work of one hour to eleven hours on live, we’re not gonna leave you. Take it out of the box, we got you.” – Brittanie, Stitch Please, Episode #203
“Start somewhere! Find somewhere to start. It’s like if you have a mess in your house, focus on one thing and start there first and then tackle a little at a time. And don’t try to think you can do everything, starting off at the back; because then you’re gonna get overwhelmed, and when you get overwhelmed, you just wanna quit. So, find somewhere to start and start there.” – SheShe, Stitch Please, Episode #203

Resources Mentioned: