Teaching the world to sew, one stitch at a time

Nine-year-old Karly Atkinson took a brave step on a recent Thursday evening.

"I'm Karly and I made a cat's tail," she proudly announced at the front of the room, wriggling the tail for a costume for her brother.

When students complete a project at Sew Easy, a North Naples business that offers sewing classes children and teens, they ring a bell.

The other six students in the room clapped for Karly, and then turned back to their own projects. Homemade creations lined the walls — skirts, pillows, stuffed animals and pouches and bags of varying shapes and sizes — and rolls of fabric in every shade and pattern were organized under the counters. There was one with monkeys, one with socks and one with an exotic Cheetah print.

"If it doesn't feel right, just holler," said their instructor, Lauren Johnston, who's on a mission to teach the world to sew.

Johnston, a Marco Island resident, has taught children and teens in the Boston area how to sew for 22 years. She opened her third location in North Naples about a year and a half ago after she relocated to Southwest Florida, but the other two locations remain up north.

"I love what I do," she said.

Sew Easy offers day — or week-long — camps when students are out of school, or 2 ½- hour-long classes after school. Johnston teaches the basics of sewing using instructional videos and step-by-step sewing guides. She shows them how to cut and pin fabric, how to use the sewing machines and the various tools around the classroom.

"Within two hours they are completely confident at the machine and they know where everything is," she said. "And then it’s independent."

New students must first make a pillow and drawstring bag, and after that, they can pick from any of the items off the wall. There are 390 projects to choose from, with corresponding booklets for each.

On that Thursday evening, 9-year-old Karly, a student at Vineyards Elementary, first made a purple tail filled with stuffing for her brother's school project. Next she moved onto a circle pouch with a zipper, and picked the pattern with glittery cowboy boots.

"I show horses," she explained.

Catherine Angstrom, 12, a Pine Ridge Middle School seventh-grader, sewed three cord holders. She learned to sew from her grandmother. They used to make pajama pants together.

"It’s very relaxing because you’re so focused on one thing," Catherine said. "As a kid I used to ask about it, so my mom got me (a sewing machine) for Christmas."

Catherine and her friends from Pine Ridge said their classmates at school don't know how to sew.

It's a quickly disappearing craft, Johnston said, with many school systems getting rid of home economics classes.

"I see a difference in children since I started," Johnston said. "It’s diminished for sure, and then there’s a whole missed generation. The moms don’t know how to sew for the most part. So that’s why we’re in business."

And not only are the students learning a valuable life skill, they're also finding their confidence, which Johnston said is the most rewarding part of her job.

"When you’ve made something," she said, "it’s a feeling, and it’s very empowering. And there’s not many places to get that for your child."

Sew Easy

• Where: 5610 Yahl St., Suite 1
• Contact: 239-513-1166
• To register: seweasy.org