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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:

• Emerald Curtain https://emeraldcurtainfabric.com/
• Nicole Elise https://www.nicoleelise.shop/
• Accuquilt https://www.accuquilt.com/

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Lisa Woolfork

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Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Black Sewing Network

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Facebook: Black Sewing Network

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Email: blacksewingnetwork@gmail.com

Brittanie

Instagram: Brittanie

Tiktok: Brittanie

SheShe

Instagram: SheShe

Tiktok: SheShe, SheShe  

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This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.

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Lisa Woolfork 0:10

Hello stitchers. Welcome to Stitch Please, the official podcast of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. I'm your host, Lisa Woolfork. I'm a fourth generation sewing enthusiast with more than 20 years of sewing experience. I am looking forward to today's conversation. So sit back, relax and get ready to get your stitch together. Hey, friends Hey, it is Lisa from Black Women Stitch in the Stitch Please podcast. And as I say every week, this is a very special episode because this episode I am talking with none other than the dynamic duo sewing sisters. The two that be cutting up left and right on the Black Sewing Network. None other than Brittanie, and Shareesa, also known as SheShe. Welcome you both to the Stitch Please podcast. Thank you so much for being with us today.

SheShe 1:05

Thank you for having me.

Lisa Woolfork 1:06

I'm so happy to have y'all.

Brittanie 1:08

Thank you.

Lisa Woolfork 1:09

I believe when I first watched your show, one of the things that really stood out to me about the way you all connect, it has this kind of sisterly camaraderie. And that wasn't my phrase, this was somebody else in the comments. I was like, why are they just fussing like that? And someone's like, "We don't worry about it. This is just how they do, this is just how they do, one person fuss, and the other person fuss. And I told her, and she didn't, and I told her, and she didn't. And it's all love." But speaking of love, in the beginning, I wanna ask each of you all how you started sewing and then pivoting to how you started sewing in the Black Sewing Network. Had you both been sewing for many years before you started sewing last year on the Black Sewing Network?

Brittanie 1:51

Lisa Woolfork 2:23

These are little tiny petty points. I don't know why those would be necessary.

Brittanie 2:28

Lisa Woolfork 2:57

Wow.

Brittanie 2:57

And after I came back from Vegas, I didn't sew anything until I found Black Sewing Network.--

Lisa Woolfork 3:02

Wow. So yours was kind of like a little bit of sewing in the beginning motivated by need, but then it's like you know what? These cloth diapers are not hitting that, that's not what's happening. You know what, he might like dragons. Let's make some little tiny dragons. That's also, I must acknowledge, a pretty big leap. To go from, I wanna make a cloth diaper, which is basically a giant rectangle, to I want to make a dragon. Which is not a rectangle. It just shows how bold you are and how confident. I love how you said basically, as long as you have the idea, the passion, the commitment. The equipment? You can get that later, but you had the drive. Now tell me, how about you SheShe had you been sewing for quite some time before you and Brittanie connected on Black Sewing Network?

SheShe 3:43

I've been sewing with a machine since I was 16. But I've been sewing sewing, as far as hand sewing, since I was 14, before I had my first child.--

Lisa Woolfork 3:53

Wow.

SheShe 3:54

I hand made his shirt but I always wanted to be a fashion designer. So ever since I was small. I used to read a lot. So when I was reading, I was reading a lot on Asian cultures. So I fell in love with like the geishas and the kimonos and stuff that they wore, the makeup, the hair, everything. And that led me down the path of just studying up on different types of fashions. And after that it was like fashion designer, interior decorator. That's what I always wanted to be. Am I that now? No. But can I still be there? Yes.

Lisa Woolfork 4:30

Yes.

SheShe 4:31

Lisa Woolfork 5:27

That's right. Brittanie, how about you? Do you consider yourself self-taught? Or did you take any classes or any kind of formal--

Brittanie 5:34

It's been me and YouTube, it's been me and YouTube. And I got to the point, I am very intentional when I go on YouTube.--

Lisa Woolfork 5:41

Okay--

Brittanie 5:41

I'm going to YouTube to look for something specific. And once I find it, I got it. I'm not going down. I literally consumed this one lady's YouTube videos on bag making. If I wanted to make a bag, I would specifically go to her page to see if she had made it. If she had made it, I would watch her four-hour video.--

Lisa Woolfork 6:02

Wow.

Brittanie 6:03

And after that, I would just be like, okay, I got it, whatever. I don't go back. So I say I'm very much self-taught because, it's YouTube, you can only see what they're doing. But most of it, they don't really know what they're doing. So, very much self-taught.

Lisa Woolfork 6:17

Tell me a bit more about, cause it sounds like a real commitment. When you say, "When I go to YouTube, I am strategic. I go to look for one thing. I'm not gonna try to find everybody's way." Is there a certain benefit to claiming how you want to learn, like you know of self-study, of taking guidance when you find it but not feel like you need to be overwhelmed by what everybody is doing. Tell me more about that. Brittanie. I'd love to hear more. And then SheShe, if you have a similar or different philosophy.

Brittanie 6:48

I feel like, the person you learn from, you had to vibe with them on a certain level. Maybe how they explain, how they talk. Like, there are bag makers on YouTube, there are some that I refuse to watch, because there's no need for you to talk for 30 minutes before you even pull out the fabric that you're gonna use.--

Lisa Woolfork 7:08

Okay.

Brittanie 7:08

I don't need you to show me how to cut the things. Because the directions tell me that. I just need you to specifically show me how to put this puzzle together. And if you're not showing me that then I'm not watching because you're taking too long. If you're not immediately giving me what I need, then I don't wanna watch you. Like, I just don't, I don't wanna watch you.

Lisa Woolfork 7:26

I hear that, I hear that especially when your time is limited. You have to make choices. How about you SheShe, in terms of your approach to developing your skills or figuring out who to learn from.

SheShe 7:37

I have a habit of over consuming so I won't just watch one person, I will continue to look and look and look. Like I said, I'd be trying to find different ways and I try to find ways to where I can incorporate it to make it easy. So I would find multiple ways to do something and I will turn that way into my way. So I can teach somebody else, in case somebody else wanted to learn it because I am for easy and fast. Will it take me a while to get it down? Yes. But I try to get it down to a point to where I can explain it to somebody else and they can catch on to it faster than I can.

Lisa Woolfork 8:17

Yes. I really love that. Now Brittanie, do you consider yourself somebody who is teaching other people? Like Shehe has just said, I wanna learn it so that I can explain it to somebody else. Brittanie's like, I wanna learn it so that I know what I'm doing. And y'all gonna have to get it how you get it?

SheShe 8:32

Am I wrong?

Brittanie 8:33

No, you're not wrong. I will say I'm not a teacher. However, if you're on Black Sewing Network, they're gonna be like, yeah, Brittanie, just watch her, she got you. I don't really feel like I'm a teacher. I just feel like, if you watch me and if I'm doing something and you wanna know what I'm doing, ask. Cause I'm not gonna tell you.

Lisa Woolfork 8:49

Well I can tell you I have absolutely learned something from you Brittanie for sure. And I think that SheShe is also the case with you. The products that y'all are using like, that little like, candle light thing, the little LE nappy thing. I knew that I wanted to singe the edges of the bag. You know when you cut it, it just kind of goes all bananas and just frays. And I didn't want to use a lighter because I just thought the smoke, and then I have a soldering iron. But what's a turn on the doggone soldering iron just to melt that. I'm like, that's silly. Girl, you pulled out that little zappy zap thing. I was like, What is this? What is this?

Brittanie 9:26

That will be my kryptonite. I'm like, gagging. If I see somebody by herself doing that, what's that? Why you doing that? Do I need that? Of course I need that. Am I gonna use it tomorrow? No. However, if I run into a spot, I'm like, Oh, I got that over there in the corner. Now will I be able to put my hands on immediately? No.--

SheShe 9:44

Not immediately.

Brittanie 9:45

But it is there.

SheShe 9:46

And she found it.

Brittanie 9:47

It is there and I know it's there so I can go use it. I hate to get into the middle of a project. And I gotta jump through hoops and then I gotta stop because I don't have what I need. So I'mma just order everything.

Lisa Woolfork 9:58

I'm the same way. I called that being well provisioned. I like being well provisioned. Some people say hoarding, which makes me wanna throat punch them, because--

Brittanie 9:58

Very much so. Like, very much so.

Like, how dare you? How dare you say this is a hoard. First of all, I have a system. I know where things are, mostly. I have lots of things labeled in boxes. It is the same for me, like if I am in the middle of something, and it's like, "Oh, you need some so and so boning?" And I'm like, I didn't see that on the outside of the envelope. Was that on the? Don't get mad, go to the boning section of your notions collection--

Right.--

and just get some. It's not a big deal. And then, don't let me have friends, or whatever that might happen need something, and they're like, "Oh, do you have a [crosstalk]?"

Of course I got. I got you boo.

Yet.

It's like, are we mailing it? Am I bringing it to you? Like I got you, don't go buy that. I got you.

Do you think Lisa has some black thread?

No, what? Of course. What kind of black? Any black black? Off black? True black? Blue, black? What black Which kind?

You want nylon? You want polyester? You want bonded? You want cotton? Like what's your?

I mean, honestly--

What you need?

I mean, really. I feel like we're really collectors.

I say that. And you will hear me say that all the time. I am a collector of random things. I don't know why, I'm just, I'm collecting.

I am a collector of things that are related to sewing and some of the most loosely interpreted definitions of what that word might mean. The stuff that I have in here that I think is also related to sewing like, you know, a heat press. Why wouldn't you have that? A sublimation printer. That's related, you know.

Yeah, cuz you can sublimate your own fabric and sew it into a dress.

So, these are just, you know, my basics. That's okay. That's what I use. How about you SheShe Are you a collector of things? It feels like some of the things that you work with, for both of you, you all are really wonderful at choosing fabrics. I would love to talk about how you make your choices around your fabrics. Like the fabric that you're wearing right now in this photo, as well as the fabric for this dress and the style that you're wearing, here, SheShe. What makes a fabric speak to you? Are you the type of person that chooses a design first, and then finds the fabric? Or do you see a fabric and it's like, "Oh, I know what I'm gonna make."

It's very seldom I will let a design speak for my fabric. It's more like, I don't wanna say like, if I go to the fabric store, I never have a plan. I just go and I see something that I like, like, oh, I can use this for something. Will, I use it right now? No. I've had fabrics in here that I've had for like two years that I still have not used. But believe me when I need it, I have a design in mind. Then I'm like, Oh yeah, I have that fabric. Let me go grab that fabric. So. But nuh, I mainly get what I like. So if I see something, and I think I'm like, "Oh, I can do pants with this." Or "This may be a cute dress", or I won't have a design in mind. But I will have something in mind for that fabric. Whether it sits here or I use it tomorrow. We don't know until that design pops into my head cause I have a very chaotic brain when it comes to design. Very chaotic.

Well, speaking of chaos, how about you kraftednkhaos? How do you make your decisions around fabric versus design?

It depends on what it is. But I'm definitely buying the fabric because I like the fabric. Like, it will not pass me by. If I want it, I want it. Like, what do you doing want that? I don't know. Don't ask me that. When it happens, it happens. When the magic speaks, then it'll come. There are also things where I see this pattern, and I'm like, "Oh, that's gonna be that." Like my hoodie.--

Yeah.

I bought panel specifically to make hoodies. That's probably like, the only thing when I was doing like, buying a whole bunch of custom fabric, then it was very intentional because custom fabrics cost too much. But have I made most of that stuff? Absolutely not. Because it's knit and I don't really like sewing with knits anymore. But it's gonna happen when it happens.

It's true. I love custom knit fabrics. I think that when the custom knit phenomenon began, I think it was because there are so few knit fabrics that were available easily. Like, through Joanne's or you know, wherever people were buying their fabric in retail. So some people took it upon themselves to kind of say let's get more knit fabrics and those folks that I support, businesses like Queenora Renee, and Emeril Curtin, Nicole Elise who does fabric that's not necessarily custom, but it's a lot of knit. And I've been thinking a lot about knit fabrics as a textile because it's just so comfortable. But, I for example am a huge, huge fan of cotton lycra.

Me too.

Oh, I love lycra. I love it so much, a good quality cotton lycra. I mean, I have made outfits and then made drawers from the scraps and I'll have them drawers long after that outfit is who shot John where? I don't know where this thing is. But the underwear?--

Exactly.

These are perfect. And then on the other side, you get Aoronica for example, who's also in BSN who hates cotton lycra. Oh my gosh, she's a double brushed poly person. So which for me, it's like--

And I can't stand double brushed poly.

I can do it. But for me, it's a texture thing. I can't do velvet for example, I cannot stand the nap of velvet. It's like nails on a chalkboard kind of thing. And sometimes DBP sometimes has that feeling, now when we were talking about how much we like cotton lycra, SheShe was going, "Uh uh no ma'am." So what has cotton lycra ever done to you? That's all I'd like to know.

It's not even cotton lycra, it's just knits in general. I am a woven's girl. I do cottons. I do structure. I do fit to the body. I cannot do stretch fabric. Stretch fabrics are clingy, they show off the secrets that you trying to hide. No, we're not doing that.

And I will say this, this is a hill that I will ever sit on and lay by myself. Knit will lie to you and have you thinking you can sew. A woven however, will elevate you and show you that you don't know what you're doing yet. And you need to go sit at the kid's table.--

Listen.

That is how I feel. I feel like when I started sewing garments, I started sewing knits. I started sewing with custom knits at that. So I was really out here walking on the wild side.

Yes--

Trippin'--

Yes.--

However, things work. Some things didn't. But it didn't matter. Because if you told me to sew at a half things I sewed, at more than a half, my knit is gonna let him get in there. However, a woven, no baby, go sit down, because you gone bust loose. And now you don't know what you're doing. And you gone wasted even more money. So I will forever be grateful for SheShe to tell me you belong at the kids' table. We gonna get you to the adults' table. In like two weeks. I got you. It's true.

No, I absolutely agree with you. And it's funny because in some of my research for my jobby job work. I'm writing an academic type book as well. I'm doing two books. One is about Black Women Stitch liberation. And I'm looking at stuff on the podcast. So conversations just like this are the type of things that'll be in that book. Talking like when you just said, Brittanie, that knits fabrics will lie to you. That is exactly the case. And then for the academic book, I'm interested in where these fabrics came from. A lot of these fabrics came from the same people that brought us Agent Orange.--

Oh my! That's that part.

It's true right. Like Teflon, Dacron, all of these were chemical compounds from, I think it was Dow. So it's all connected. You know, just like with our hair, you know, like the things that we use to straighten our hair are the same things that you would use to have chemical solvents that are so strong, they can clean it up in. And you know what I mean? So--

Uh huh.

--we take on these things all the time, at least I do without thinking about it. Because actually, frankly, honestly, and I don't care. I enjoy a clingy hot girl, fast girl fast tail dress, I might really need two yards for the dress, but I will make it in one and a half.

See. And that's something like me and SheShe. And I thought for years we'll play with the knit every once in a while. We'll play with the knit if we need a new kaftan. We'll play with the knit if we want to appease the rest of Black Sewing Network to make a cute lil dress real quick. However, our element is woven. And if you too care to play with woven then you can't sit with us.

Listen--

I'm sorry.

I love that. I love that. And I hear that. I will say this, I believe that woven fabrics require a type of discipline.

Yep.--

And the discipline is the way that the garments are structured, the way that you describe them, SheShe, as kind of forming to the body as opposed to having the fabric relax to claim the body. I really think that those structures are a way of like disciplining, right, you make a corset out of woven fabric. You want it to hold your tits up, right?

Yep.

That is the job of the fabric. The woven fabric will do that in a knit fabric. Whoa, that's just the nature of science, you know?

Yeah.

And so I've been thinking a lot about tha.t I'm doing some kind of textile research. And so I love hearing, because I know for sure, even though not everybody's gonna be an academic studying and textiles, we all sew I think we sew well, I think we sew--

Uh huh.

consistantly, I think we get good results. And that in and of itself is a powerful expertise that even if you are a scholar, if you don't sew how, do you know?

Exactly.

Exactly. It's really hard finding good direction for a woven, it's really easy to type in a pattern and find a billion knits where you literally can run it through the serger and be good and it don't matter if your line is a little bit wobbly cuz you've been out on Friday night, but a woven, no baby.

Uh uh.

Emmhmm.

A woven will not keep your secrets at all, at all. Not at all.

Black Women Stitch is happy to celebrate the 200th episode of the Stitch Please podcast with AccuQuilt. It's our birthday but thanks to AccuQuilt, we're giving gifts. All September, we count it down to 200 episodes. In October, every week we gave away one AccuQuilt GO! Me Fabric Starter set, and culminated with the grand prize giveaway of the GO! Big Electrics Fabric Cutter Starter Set. If you aren't new to AccuQuilt and are thinking about investing in their system, the Ready Set GO! Bundle is your best value. Ready Set GO! provides everything you needed to get started an AccuQuilt GO! Cutter, the eight-inch shoe, with eight essential dyes to create 72 blocks, a dye to easily cut multiple strips, squares and diamonds. You also get a pattern book. And the best part is, at anytime you can upgrade your GO! Cutter to the fantastic GO! Big, which is what I have, where the AccuQuilt magic has happened at the touch of a button. June Taylor, a well-known name in the notions game, is now part of AccuQuilt. Links to AccuQuilt's wonderful products can be found in the show notes.

I wanna talk about the Black Selling Network and how you two came to it, or did it come to you? How did the Black Sewing Network enter your life and your consciousness?

What I can say is both of us got on through Black Sewing Network through Carmen. I started follow Carmen because, in her bio she says I sew clothes and shit. That was why I started following Carmen and she was posting, I think I saw her one video where she posted like this fashion show or something like that, and then I looked down her timeline and I saw that she had other videos where she was like, singing and trying to dance. Cause y'all know Carmen don't know how to dance. And she was trying to do all that, and I was like what is she doing? Because when I first saw her, it was for the clothes and for the patterns and stuff. It just threw me for a loop that I saw the other stuff further down, that she wasn't always doing fashion. But yes, it was Carmen before it was Black Sewing Network and it's still Carmen before it's Black Sewing Network. But yes, I got onto that. I've been here since day one, me and Britt been here since day one.--

I love it.

Yeah, I found Carmen--

I'm a PDF girl.--

Okay.--

I didn't even know what a Big Five pattern was until Carmen. We'll start there. However, I found Carmen when Carmen was just doggin PDF paterns. Carmen handed PDF, actually had a whole video just doggin PDF patterns. And I was like, why you gotta do it like that? Like, don't come for us. Did we all like PDF patterns? Y'all better, You don't gotta put us down. But I love Carmen like, love her to death. Granted her grind to a PDF pattern of PDF girlie feel the same way. Don't nobody wanna sit and spend three days taping 500 sheets of paper together and then I filled out a cut this paper out and cut my fabric and then sew it. I did it but no Carmen, like don't do us like that.

Listen, as y'all might know, I have a condition that prevents me from taping PDF patterns. It is a condition, it is a real and serious condition. I am unable to tape PDF patterns because of this condition and the condition is that taping PDF patterns reduces my will to live. So, for this reason, I never touch them because they might be fatal. I have, on occasion, taped about four pieces together. I made a whole video about that, you could check my TicTok I have a video. I should pin it because it's an important message that people in the community need to know. But I'm just saying, I agree and then, like for me my thing is, I sew tons of PDF patterns. Well I think I buy more than I sew if we're being for real. I buy more patterns--

I think we all do that.--

Listen, I got them here. I'm looking at about 50 that are rolled up and put in these little boxes that I created for them. If that pattern does not have an AO pattern as part of the output. If they say oh we have letter and we have, you know the British UK letter size, and we have this. If they don't have an AO that pattern might as well say F.U. Lisa.

Actuallly, I'm the opposite.

What?

I'm not buying the pattern, buying the fabric and then paying to have it shipped off and then I gotta wait for it to come back before I get, I'm not doing all that.

Now, you know luckily, there is a Black owned company, Bluecupshop, she does print PDFs for people and sends it to them. I think she's great for beginners because she can help them. Cause I know when I first started PDF, and I'm like, how do you put this together this is a lot. But then there's somebody in, my right in my own town locally that I can order it, I can pay for it, and then they'll just leave it outside. And I can send someone in my house who loves me to go by and pick it up. I still, on top of that, trace them though so I mean, I just apparently like labor.

Oh Lisa, no, no.--

Can't do it.

I gotta trace if it's for me, so I can make the modifications. And also if I make it for little kids like, this is a great thing about PDFs. I bought a pair of boxer briefs, the boxer briefs that I did with Julian, the Gable, for the sewalong we did. We buy one and you can sew for six year-olds up to 106 year olds. Just one pattern. It's easy to trace. It's just two pieces.

See, no I'm finna cut that paper.--

Me too.--

I'm cutting that paper. I'm not, no I'm cutting it. I'm cutting it every single time, every single time I'm cutting that paper every time.--

But if you trace it then you'll have all the different tracings that you can use for later. No?

Why are we keeping all of this unnecessary point for at? Like where are we? No.

My whole thinking for PDFs--

No.--

--even though I don't like taping it is I can reprint it and retape it if I need a new size. I am not about to do all this.

Oh that's--

Exactly, and I'm only cutting the size that I'm sewing right now. if I'm not, no no, no.

I love this so much for us. I love that we each have different philosophies because for me, the taping is the lethal part. Like, if the taping is involved, it will never get sewn, not ever. So I'm like, I'mma buy this one, I'll buy this one sheet in color for $2.50 from my local person, and that is what I will use. I don't have to think about this cause I think I really haven indeed cut some PDFs for sure when I know it's the size that I want. But if it's a multi-size pattern like drawers for the kids? They grow too fast especially when, the way that I did it for my spouse and my two boys, I could go through the sizes. Like everyone was kind of growing to the size of dad. That was kind of cool that eventually, now I'm making them, pretty much, all the same size but before--

Then you better than me cause I'm not sewing for these kids either.

We are selfish sewers.

I'm not sewing for them kids.

Yes, we are selfish sewers. We do not sell for other people, at all. At all.

I love it. I love it.

I will make you a bag all day long. You wanns buy a bag? Cool. I got you. But the moment you say, "Britt, can you make me a dre" No. If they don't start with a B, I'm not making it for you. That's it. That's all.

I love it.

I'll give you a backpack. I'll give you a bucket bag. I'll give you a waist bag. I may even break my rule and make you a crossbody purse. However, don't ask me to make, no nothing you can wear on your body.

I love it. I love it so much. And, I know that Tip Stitched was wearing shirts that said "I'm a selfish sewer", or something like that. She has them in her shop. It's super cute. For me my rule is if we share or regularly exchange DNA, I will make for you.

Nope.

No, because you can get a sewing machine to make it for yourself.

Exactly. No, no, no.--

I sew to relieve stress.--

No.--

I sew to to just have fun and just be by myself. I do not wanna have to involve nobody else in this process. It's all about me. Me, me, me.

Like, somehow in my head on the delusional day I told my husband I was sewing some underwear.

I say the same thing. He's still waiting on them underwear, on them new drawers.

I'm like listen, I'm about to try to make a tray was SheShe and I know it's not gonna work. I'm like "Ooh, SheShe why don't you send me that fabric you just got from Lequita?"--

Nuh.--

And send me his size and I'll make him some Gables and I'll send them to you and you can send me that fabric. SheShe's like, "First of all, I already told you, I don't care about him not having these. Second of all, that fabric is also still mine."

Do not fix your mouth. Do not fix your face to ask me for nothing involving sewing, nothing, no machine, no needles, no fabric. As a matter of fact, I tell everybody, send it to me. Do not even ask, "Do anybody want this?" Cause you know, you send it to me.

I'm a collector of random things. Fabric? I fully wholeheartedly feel, and this goes over to like, other communities. Fiber community cause I'm a part of the yarn talk too. But I wholeheartedly feel like, collecting fabric and buying fabric is a whole different hobby than actually sewing it because I just wanna look at it. It's pretty. I like the way it feels. It does not need to be cut up into little shapes. It can just sit on my shelf and I can pet it and look at it and put it back.

Yes. And you know, and that is what an archive is. That the thing that the archive is doing, it does by simply being there.

Right. Like, people go to the museum to just look at stuff. If something was to happen to me, my husband is just going to not properly store where this good stuff goes. Now thankfully my teenager, she knows like if my, uh uh, no no, no, no, no, no.--

Exactly.--

That's the good stuff. I can't even pretend like I wanna sew with this, like no. But however, all this over here, there's yarn over here. You can play with that all day long. Just don't touch mom's fabric. I need to really like--

You do.--

--put it a will or something like. If something happened to me, this fabric, girl, is not $5. I paid $26 A yard for this.

This is what I'm saying. And that's one of the reasons that I have records. With my swatch card system, I sometimes include how much it costs, where I got it from and how much it cost. Because I'm like, when I die, these people gonna come in here and get rid of all this shit for $1. They'll say we'll come into the house, pay $1 and take what you want. And I'm like, this machine was something I saved up for because we had you. And you were the priority of our resources and so I had to save up to get this one.

See my husband, he does know about the machines. He does have a mutual respect for the machine. However, the fabric? Don't know.--

Doesn't get it, doesn't get.

He just don't know. Cause he literally be like, "Why do you still have more fabric?" Mind your business.--

Exactly.--

Like honestly, like, why are we choosing violence today of all days? What is that what today is I didn't realize.

My husband, he has went on some trips with me to the fabric store so he understands what I drop on fabric. Sometimes, even though my fabric is somewhat on the cheaper end per yardage. Because I do shop at stores where I can get it for less. Not everybody has that option. But I do.

Right, that's right.

So, he knows. But, if I have to tell him if none of my kids are not sewing, if I pass away and none of my kids are sewing, just sent it to Brittanie. Here's her address, just send it to her or burn it with me. Cause you not selling nothing.

Nothing.

I really feel like we all need to like, as a collective, create a document, like if something happens to me, this is the first person. If that person is right around, this is the next person. And then you need to contact Carmen or Aaronica or somebody, the elite. Lisa, the adults of Black Sewing Network, to say what happens to this. You need to contact the grown-ups because the rest of us out here running around like lil kids that ain't got no home, crazy. Contact a grown-up, they will point you in the direction of what you need to do to properly take care of this.

It's so true. It's true. I think that is absolutely true. I'm gonna wrap up with y'all but I'm gonna ask you the question I ask everybody at the end of the Stitch Please podcast. The slogan of the Stitch Please podcast is that we will help you get your stitch together. And I'm gonna ask y'all what advice do you have for our listeners to help us get our stitch together?

Wanna go first? You already know what I'm gonna say.

Go ahead and say what you gonna say.

There is no such thing as a beginner. Once you have your machine and you take it out the box. First of all, take it out the box, don't waste that money because if you not gonna take it out the box, you setting the bar. However, there is no such thing as a beginner, you will forever be a beginner, if you never tried, you have to try. It's a whole community that will literally walk you through a project. That box that we have spent upwards of one hour, to 11 hours on live. We not gonna leave. Take it out the box, we got you.

Beautiful. How about you SheShe?

I really don't have anything to say to that cause I'm still trying to get my stitch together.

So how do you get your stitch together?

I guess, it's just to 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.

Pick a project and do it.

I love it. That is so beautiful. Thank you both so much for this wonderful conversation. Where can people find you on social media? I'm gonna make sure to put all those links in the notes. Where can we find you Brittanie?

I am the same place on Tiktok and Instagram. kraftednkhaos, kraftednkhaos. Both start with a K and it's just the letter N.

Perfect. How about you SheShe?

I'm not really on Instagram, but it is sdcherrycosplay on Instagram, but I'm mainly always on TikTok and that is sdcosplay or sdcfashion.

Excellent. Thank you all so much for being with us today. This was wonderful. Thank you.

Thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you for having us.

You've been listening to Stitch Please, the official podcast of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. We appreciate you joining us this week and every week for stories that center Black women, girls and femmes in sewing. We invite you to join the Black Women Stitch Patreon community with giving levels beginning at $5 a month. Your contributions help us bring the Stitch Please podcast to you every week. Thank you for listening. Thank you for your support, and come back next week, and we'll help you get your stitch together.