Wednesday 28 October 2015

Teaching others to sew

A friend of mine has recently set up a refuge for women rescued off the streets of our city. I can't share much about it, but it has been a real privilege to be able to teach some sewing skills to these ladies. 

I was asked to help them make something that they could sell for Christmas. So after lots of thought I came up with the idea of some Christmas bunting with applique shapes, and matching drawstring bags. We have used Indonesian batik fabric to make them uniquely Indonesian.

2015-10-28_11-24-43

2015-10-28_11-27-07

The ladies got the hang of it pretty quickly, and were very proud of their efforts!

20151001_113543

I have a couple more projects (tissue holders and coasters) that I am going to teach them how to make in the next few weeks and then hopefully we can move on to bigger and more complex projects. 

I love that I have been able to use the skills that I have acquired over the last 3 years in order to help others work towards a new life. It has been a great reminder to me that happiness comes, not when we strive to fulfill our own dreams, but when we are able to love and bring joy to others. 

Linking up with 



13 comments:

  1. The uniquely Indonesian bunting is lovely Deborah, but so much more wonderful when I read of its origins. I hope your friend and your sewing students raise lots of money for their cause through the sale of all your handmade goods. The pride you must rightly feel in being able to pass on your skills for such a worthwhile cause is entirely deserved.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a wonderful thing to be part of! Your bunting is beautiful. I do hope you are able to share more of the projects you make with your students on your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's a brilliant thing to do, hopefully they will learn skills that they can use for life, and a great idea to make things to sell, well done

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great thing to be a part of.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Such a lovely story. I'm sure it's a skill that these ladies will value for the rest of their lives ..... And they'll remember who thought them too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is such a wonderful idea Deborah! I hope they sale well!

    ReplyDelete
  7. How special to be able to share your skills to help others. The Christmas bunting is a wonderful idea and it looks so fun and festive. I love the look of indonesian fabrics too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a beautiful story, and beautiful projects - I hope everything sold (or sells) - they must be so proud of their accomplishments!

    ReplyDelete
  9. It sounds like you have a good plan. I can imagine that the tissue holders and coasters will sell well and raise what I suspect are much-needed funds for these women.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful and so true. You are building confidence and skills in others in a special way.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is so so wonderful. Beautiful initiative x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great idea and the finished ones are lovely. I hope they sell well :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love the bunting and the bag! What a lovely thing to do.

    ReplyDelete