Sewing rebellion: People are leaning toward mending their own clothes during hard economic times

Just as clothing styles come and go, and celebrities are often spotted with their knitting projects in hand, the domestic art of sewing is enjoying resurgence across the country. But whether this trend is the result of hard economic times, a reflection of green living or a bold political statement is debatable.

Whatever the motivation, there is a growing trend toward mending clothes, sewing on buttons, darning socks and otherwise refurbishing clothing.

Sheryl Winschel, owner of Golden Needle, offers classes at her business on South Kingshighway. She said she has noticed an increase in younger customers who come in for information and supplies for mending.

"The big thing is that the younger women, stay-at-home moms ages 26 to 34, are getting back into sewing," she said.

Her store also offers sewing, quilting and embroidery classes. She said she knows of several groups who gather informally to sew and mend.

For classes, students bring sewing supplies like needles, thread, and a sewing machine, but informal mending groups, sewing circles, and similar gatherings are popping up around the country.

A sewing circle might conjure up images of small towns, elderly ladies and simpler times when housewives were at home rather than in the workforce. But this is not necessarily the case. New York is host to one of the best-known sewing groups, a Sewing Rebellion chapter. The group meets in a commercial space near Grand Central Station. There are also chapters in Chicago, Los Angeles and other large cities.

Sewing Rebellion was started by a fiber artist and activist known as Frau Fiber. On the group's website she said that "mending as a political act is similar, environmentally speaking, to choosing to ride a bike or take public transportation." Fiber promotes ways of mending that are highly visible, meant to be embellishments rather than hidden.

The group is described on the Sewing Rebellion NYC website as "a protest in the form of a skill share, where participants are invited to emancipate themselves from dependence on the global garment industry by learning (and sharing) the skills to produce, alter and mend their own garments."

Sheryl Winschel, left, instructs Jeannie Kitchen as she tries out a new stitch on her sewing machine Tuesday, November 8, 2011 during Winschel's class "Know your machine" at the Golden Needle in Cape Girardeau. (Laura Simon)

The NYC group's slogan is "Stop shopping, start sewing."

Donna Sharley, manager at Hancock Fabrics in Cape Girardeau, has seen this national trend observed locally.

"It's a lost art that's coming back, for a lot of reasons," Sharley said. "We're seeing a lot more people sewing on buttons, replacing zippers, mending, when in the past they would have just thrown the item away."

Groups like Sewing Rebellion list these repair skills as a high priority since clothing that is fixed does not end up in a landfill.

"I will mend something before I will throw it out," said Cathy Matrisotto, who teaches sewing classes at Hancock Fabrics. She said sewing "seems like a lost art because they don't always teach it at school."

She teaches sewing to students as young as 13. Her younger students are likely to have no sewing experience, while older students may have learned to sew before and want to refresh their skills. Sharley said the 35 to 50 year old group shows the most interest in the sewing classes offered at her store.

Both businesses offer more advanced classes as well. Hancock's offers five-week sewing classes for $80. Golden Needle offers single-session and multiple-session classes. Fees range from $20 to $75, depending on topic, teacher, and length of the course.