Stitching together a community

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This article was published 11/01/2022 (1369 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A South Osborne business owner has decided to create a community she felt the city was lacking.

Katherine Magne, owner of Winnipeg Sews, started offering sewing classes out of community centres and libraries before moving on to rent her own dedicated space at South Osborne Xchange (421 Mulvey Ave.).

“This started as trying to get home sewers to expand their skills, so we offer everything from beginner to coats and everything in between,” Magne said.

Magne envisioned the business after she grew frustrated with the online sewing community, particularly on Instagram and YouTube. She said a lot of people who attend her classes are crafters who also rejected these spaces.

“The sewing community tends to live online because that’s where lots of us, even pre-pandemic, were sharing what we made,” she said.

“I felt like that community only grew so much. There was only so much commenting I could do and still feel like I was having an actual conversation.

“I saw a lot of other big cities have these meet-ups and classes, and I wanted those here. I looked for months before I decided I would make one myself. A lot of things in sewing on YouTube are very audience-oriented, but I’m the one at the machine so it’s not useful for me to see it from the other side.”

Magne didn’t anticipate the business would grow to what it is; what she thought would be a small group meeting once a month turned into sold-out classes, fabric sales and a printing service for PDF patterns.

Winnipeg Sews’ main objective is to teach people how to sew in group classes or by one-on-one lessons. Magne started the venture in 2018 with a jeans class (because that was “all the rage” in the sewing community at the time, she said).

That was when she also started sourcing small batch, ethically made fabrics from across the world.

“We do our best to make sure it’s a good balance of natural fibres with certifications they’re made in ethical working conditions,” Magne said. “Social justice is a big part of who we are, and it’s a matter of trying to be as transparent as possible about where they come from so people can make their own decisions on where they stand ethically.”

Magne makes all her own clothing, as well as the wardrobes of her four children.

“Up to this point, aside from thrifting, they’ve never had to deal with going to the store and trying on something that didn’t fit or not finding what they were looking for,” she said. “They have to draw me a sketch of what they want and then I just take their measurements and make it.”

Learning how to sew allows you to create exactly what you want and not contribute to fast fashion, Magne added.

“The more you learn, the better you get at being able to make something that truly serves its purpose in your wardrobe,” she said. “You can make it with the fabric that makes sense to its purpose and with the intention of it not just going to the landfill. You didn’t pay $20 for it, you spent six hours of your time.”

Winnipeg Sews offers a variety of classes at different price points. One six-hour group class costs $120, while weekly community sewing without instructions costs $10 for two hours.

More information can be found at www.winnipegsews.com