Sewing 101 and Tips For Upcycling Clothes

Summary

All Of It — “Sewing 101 and Tips for Upcycling Clothes”

Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Christine Frayling (Founder, New York Sewing Center)
Air Date: October 8, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of "All Of It" with Alison Stewart is devoted to the renewed cultural enthusiasm for sewing, upcycling, and making clothes last. Alison welcomes Christine Frayling, founder of the New York Sewing Center, to discuss the basics of sewing, upcycling old clothes, the joys and life lessons of making things with your hands, and how a new generation is transforming their relationship to what they wear. Listeners call in to share personal sewing stories, and practical tips abound for both beginners and experienced makers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Joy and Therapy of Sewing

• Christine’s Journey into Sewing

  • Learned from her great aunt, a home economics teacher.
  • The hands-on, focused nature of sewing offers relaxation and mental clarity.
    • “Sewing is something that you shut off everything else. You can only focus on that. And there's a therapy in that. There's an energy in that and you're able to just relax and it just feels good.” (Christine, 02:31)

• Why Sewing is Trending Now

  • Desire to disconnect from constant digital stimulation.
  • Growing interest in sustainability—repairing and upcycling instead of discarding clothing.
    • “It's nice to focus on something that helps the world… Maintaining your clothes, fixing them, mending them, and not wasting them and throwing them out is something that impacts the world.” (Christine, 02:47)

Founding the New York Sewing Center

• Christine missed the hands-on aspect of sewing while working in the fashion industry.
• A serendipitous networking event inspired her to start teaching sewing.
  • “And it was like a light bulb went off… it was like an epiphany.” (Christine, 04:19)
• Chose the Garment District to keep the center embedded in the history and spirit of New York’s fashion world.

Generational and Community Sewing Stories

• Callers reminisce about learning to sew from family, in home economics, or for personal needs.

  • Casey shares: “My mom was very hip and loved fashion and really taught me the value of good fabric and how important that is.” (Casey, 07:49)
  • Dionne discusses the empowerment and body-positivity sewing brought: “It also offered me an opportunity to find clothes that were not being created in my size or for my body type.” (Dionne, 10:24)

• Sewing Fosters New Friendships

  • “You're spending two hours usually at minimum when you're sewing. So two hours of conversation with someone... It's remarkable how easy it is to talk to somebody because you're doing something with your hands and they're just sitting next to you.” (Christine, 09:04)

How the Pandemic Shifted Sewing Culture

• The Sewing Center pivoted to online, shipping supplies and teaching via FaceTime.
• Frayling’s mask-making tutorial went viral—sparking a nationwide effort that led to over 10,000 handmade mask donations.
  • “One of the videos that I did was one of the first videos for making a mask, and it went crazy on YouTube.” (Christine, 12:18)

Eco-Friendly Sewing and Upcycling

• Collaboration with FabScrap, a non-profit that recycles fabric, lowering waste from the fashion industry.
  • “Not only do you take fabric from them for sale in your store, but you also have the students recycle their scraps from the classes. That goes back to fab scraps, so there's as little waste as possible.” (Heidi, 13:17)
• Importance of sustainable sourcing and supporting local fabric shops.

Emotional Connection and Empowerment

• Inheriting sewing traditions and machines:

  • Carol inherits her mom’s Singer machine, discovers a family legacy connected to couture (Christian Dior).
  • Christine: “I literally have a tear right now. Like, that makes me so happy.” (Christine, 15:08)

• “You can’t unsee it” — How sewing changes shopping habits:

  • Making a garment teaches respect for craft and labor, drives more mindful, sustainable clothing choices.
    • “After you make clothing, you realize how much time, effort, energy goes into it… Your mental capacity starts to realize, like, someone had to sit here and make this.” (Christine, 15:28)

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Essential Sewing Tips for Beginners

Modern Sewing Machines & Tools

• Home sewing machines are lighter, more advanced and can now create buttonholes, zigzag/cover stitches, etc. (07:16)
• Christine recommends the Janome Sewist 100 for compact, reliable home use. (18:12)

Project Suggestions

• Start with small, simple projects:

  • Tote bag, scrunchie (upcycle old shirt), zippered pouch or basic makeup bag.
    • “Another really great project as a beginner is a scrunchie… There's enough fabric [from a shirt] there to make a couple scrunchies.” (Christine, 23:03)

• Take beginner classes that focus on making a product in 2 hours—instantly rewarding and builds confidence.

Sourcing Fabric and Notions

• Invoke local and sustainable options like FabScrap or neighborhood mom-and-pop shops for unique and eco-friendly fabric finds. (29:13)
• “We partnered with [FabScrap] to sell some of those materials to our clients… The idea is to offer sustainable fabrics that help out not only the garment district, but also reduce waste.” (Christine, 29:13)

Navigating Big Name Stores

• Christine’s Three S’s for Beginners:
  • “Stay away from shiny, satiny or slippery!” (30:09)

Social Media as Learning Aid

• Use YouTube or Instagram to search specifically for your sewing machine model for setup and troubleshooting.
  • “Look for the style of the machine. Go to YouTube, search that machine—how to properly set up this machine or properly thread this machine.” (Christine, 24:07)
• Caution: Social media is an endless source of inspiration, but practical, focused tutorials beat endless scrolling.

Moving Beyond Basics

• Next steps after beginner projects: Try commercial patterns, then branch into copying favorite garments with classes like “Copy Your Clothes.”
  • “If you make a skirt or a pair of pants from a commercial pattern, it opens the gates… you can start dabbling in making a jacket.” (Christine, 27:36)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the social side of sewing:
  “When you meet someone new, a two hour conversation with someone while you're sewing in this really feel good sewing state… You're able to make friends. Like, it's remarkable how easy it is to talk to somebody because you're doing something with your hands.” (Christine, 09:04)

• On mistakes and learning:
  “Even as an experienced seamstress, someone that's been doing this my entire life, there are still different types of fabric that react differently… It's one of those life lessons.” (Christine, 20:24)

• On inclusivity:
  Gabriel calls in to represent "the small but proud contingent of guys who sew," sharing memories from his childhood and the pride of making things for loved ones. (25:02)

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Notable Timestamps

• 02:31 – Therapeutic benefits of sewing (Christine)
• 07:16 – Modern advances in sewing machines
• 09:04 – Building community through sewing classes
• 10:24 – Sewing’s role in self-expression and body positivity (Dionne)
• 12:18 – Sewing during the pandemic & mask initiative
• 13:17 – Recycling fabric & FabScrap partnership (Heidi)
• 15:28 – How sewing changes your view on clothing
• 18:12 – Compact home sewing machine recommendation
• 23:03 – Fast projects for beginners
• 24:07 – Using social media for specific tutorials
• 27:36 – Moving on to commercial patterns
• 29:13 – Sustainable sourcing of fabrics
• 30:09 – Three S’s: avoiding tricky fabric types for beginners

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Closing Thoughts

This episode celebrates the resurgence of sewing as both an age-old skill and a modern, sustainable, community-building practice. The host and guests emphasize that sewing is for everyone and highlight its power to transform one’s relationship with clothing, foster creativity, build friendships, and promote sustainability.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart live from the WNYC studios in soho. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. I'm really grateful that you're here. On today's show, we'll learn about a new exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design titled Designing Things that Make and Break Our Births. We'll also talk to the host of a new podcast titled Our Common Nature, which looks at how music can reconnect people to the natural world. And we'll speak with Humans of New York founder Brandon Stanton about his new book, Dear New York. That's our plan. So let's get this started with some Sewing 101. Sewing is cool Again. That was a recent headline in the New York Times, but you didn't have to tell me. My mom taught me how to sew when I was a kid. And let me tell you, my Barbies had fierce outfits. They had hot pink furry pants, polka dotted ponchos. The sky was the limit. Now that was a long, long time ago. So when I recently took up sewing again, I noticed a lot of change. Machines are lighter. There are foolproof methods for ways to hold fabric together. Yet so much remained the like pressing a seam is your friend. A new generation is developing appreciation for a skill that is not only useful, but will transform your relationship to clothes. So today I wanted to sing the praises of sewing and talk a little sewing 101 with an expert. Christine Frayling is the founder of the New York Sewing center, which offers in person classes at two locations in New York City. And she's about to take on one in Jersey as well. She's here in studio to talk a little bit about her background and to talk about how to get started as well as take your questions. Christine, welcome.

[Christine Frayling]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Alison Stewart]

How did you get into sewing?

[Christine Frayling]

So I learned how to sew for my great aunt. She was a home economics teacher back when that existed and she loved it, you know, and she had a basement full of sewing machines and it was her hobby and I fell in love with it right alongside her.

[Alison Stewart]

What makes sewing a particularly good creative activity for someone who's thinking about it?

[Christine Frayling]

Sewing is something that you shut off everything else. You can only focus on that. And there's a therapy in that. There's an energy in that and you're able to just relax and it just feels good.

[Alison Stewart]

Why do you think sewing is having a moment right now?

[Christine Frayling]

I think everything with being on your phone 24 7, constantly having access to social media, it's Nice to have a break. And it's also nice to focus on something that helps the world. You know, maintaining your clothes, fixing them, mending them, and not wasting them and throwing them out is something that impacts the world and it feels good to do that as well.

[Alison Stewart]

Listeners, let's get you in on this conversation. Do you sew? Tell us how you got into it and what you enjoy making. Give us a call. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. You can call us that number or text to us. Or if you have a question for Christine, you can put there. Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. So you're someone whose grandma taught you how to sew, but you took that extra step. You founded the New York sewing center in 2014. Why did that feel like the right time to open?

[Christine Frayling]

I worked in the fashion industry for many years prior to opening the sewing center. And while I was working in the industry, you know, contrary to most belief, is that I didn't sew when I was a fashion designer or in the industry at all. And I missed it. And I realized along the way that was the thing that I really liked to do. And it kind of came back to me. You know, I was doing it on the weekends or when I was off of work and it just kind of fell in my lap, to be quite honest with you.

[Alison Stewart]

What were you designing at the time?

[Christine Frayling]

Weekends? Yes, I was designing one of a kind cocktail dresses, and then I also had a line of cashmere vests. But the idea of opening a sewing center, really, I feel like it was kind of the universe talking to me because I went to a networking event and I was kind of just looking for a side job at the time to help balance out my income with having a clothing company and also trying to live in New York and be an entrepreneur and someone like a random person. We just started chit chatting and she had mentioned, oh, have you ever taught sewing? And it was like a light bulb went off and I was like, no, but I should. And it was like an epiphany. At that moment, I started searching all over New York. I looked at all the different schools doe trying to find after school programs. And sure enough, there were little programs and little things around the city. And that's how it all started.

[Alison Stewart]

Wow. That really teaches you that networking can work in ways that are different than what you think they can work.

[Christine Frayling]

Absolutely. Absolutely. It was just that one phrase that Kind of changed my whole life, really.

[Alison Stewart]

You founded the center on West 38th street, right in the garment district. Why was it important to have it in that neighborhood?

[Christine Frayling]

My first couple of trips to New York, I grew up in Missouri and Iowa. Kind of a mix of both growing up and my very first trip to New York City. I remember walking around the garment district and it just feeling like I was meant to be there. I moved to New York shortly after I graduated college, and I worked in the garment district as well for many years. And it just. That's where it needs to be. The history, you know, every aspect of the garment district, making clothing, and it just feels. It feels right.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's take a call. This is Joanie, who is calling in from Brooklyn. Hi, Joanie. Thanks for making the time to call all of it. Let's hear about your sewing history.

[Joanie]

My sewing history starts in seventh grade in Yonkers, New York.

[Carol]

In a home.

[Heidi]

EC class where we learned how to.

[Joanie]

Make little doll clothes. It seems a little childish, but it.

[Heidi]

Did teach me how to gather and.

[Joanie]

How to do a few little things, and I ended up sewing shirts and.

[Christine Frayling]

Dresses and clothing, like, throughout my twenties.

[Alison Stewart]

Do you still. Go on. Do you still sew?

[Joanie]

Well, I bought a sewing machine a few years ago, but it was. Have to admit, I was a little intimidated.

[Heidi]

It wasn't just the manual singer I was used to.

[Joanie]

So I don't really sew anymore. I just meant.

[Alison Stewart]

All right, well, thank you for the call. I did want to say that when.

[Host/Producer]

I took classes at the sewing center, I was amazed at how different sewing was compared to the old sewing machines that I was used to. Tell us a little bit about the new. The newish sewing machines. What can you get for an average sewer who walks into Michaels or any kind of store? What kind of. What kind of machine can you get?

[Christine Frayling]

Yeah, I mean, the home machine. The home sewing machine world has become very advanced. It's amazing. You know, you can do a buttonhole on your own sewing machine, and you can do a cover, like a zigzag stitch, which. Which kind of replicates a cover stitch. So, you know, these new modern machines that are home sewing machines are incredible. They're easy, they're portable, they're light. And I'm a huge fan. I'm a huge fan of the new machines. But, yes, they are very different.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to Casey, who's calling in from Sag Harbor. Hi, Casey. Thanks for calling, all of it.

[Joanie]

Oh, thank you. So listening to this conversation is really inspiring me to maybe start sewing Again, I learned also in helm EC I had sewing, but it was really my mom who loved to sew and taught me how to make more advanced patterns like the Vogue patterns. I would come to her for all the details. She learned from her father, who was a tailor. My mom was very hip and loved fashion and really taught me the value of good fabric and how important that is. So now I always want to buy clothes that are already made, that are made of really fine fabric and to take care of them. So maybe I'll get one of those new sewing machines that you're talking about.

[Alison Stewart]

Casey, thanks for calling in this said I took an amazing class at New York Sewing center and made an amazing tailored winter wool coat. I was also lucky enough to make a new friend in class, too. The sewing community is strong in generalize, if you want to generalize who comes to your classes.

[Christine Frayling]

So, you know, it's such a wide range of people and gender and it's everyone. And the way I describe it is anyone and everyone is welcome here. And I love hearing that she's made a new friend because I have personally made so many friends through the years. Just to give you a little perspective, when I opened the sewing center, you know, 11 years ago now, I still have some of the people that took lessons with me as friends that stop by now that just want to hang out. And it's because, you know, you're spending two hours usually at minimum when you're sewing. So two hours of conversation with someone is impactful in your life. Like, when do you sit down? You intentionally sit down to have a cup of coffee with a close friend. But when you meet someone new, a two hour conversation with someone while you're sewing in this really feel good sewing state, it's. You're able to make friends like, it's like remarkable how easy it is to talk to somebody because you're doing something with your hands and they're just sitting next to you and you're starting to get to know one another. And then two hours on a Monday, then you're coming back two hours next Monday. That's more time with a new friend than you do spend with your best friends.

[Host/Producer]

Let's talk to Dionne in Brooklyn. Hey, Dionne, thanks for calling, all of it.

[Alison Stewart]

We're talking sewing.

[Heidi]

Hi, thank you for this topic. This is close to home. I started sewing very young, just before high school. My grandmother sewed, my mother sewed, and I wanted to learn how to sew for myself because I wanted my mom to stop making my school clothes and to have my own ability to do that and design that. And it's been a skill that I never trained informally but that I have kept with me throughout my life. I was very overweight at one point, and so it also offered me an opportunity to find clothes that I were not being created in my size or for my body type. And now I don't do as much sewing, but I. I always find things ready to wear well. But we'll add notions and different types of embellishments to zhuzh them up and to make them more unique. But I did recently pull out my sewing machine. I have two. I have a standard and I also have a serger. And I pulled it out recently because I have a ton of fabric that I still dream about turning into beautiful creations. And I'm looking for inspiration to do that. So thanks for this topic. I'll dust off some of those old patterns and see what I can come up with this winter.

[Host/Producer]

I'm glad to hear about it. My guest is Christine Frayling. She's the founder of the New York Sewing center, which is locations on West 38th street and in Williamsburg. And next month, you're going to open in Montclair. She joins us to talk about learning to sew. If you're someone who sews, call us.

[Alison Stewart]

Up and tell us about it, how.

[Host/Producer]

You got into it. Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. Or if you have a sewing question for Christine, you can shout that out as well. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. I'm interested. You know, looking back, did the pandemic have an impact on your sewing?

[Christine Frayling]

It had a huge impact and surprisingly in a good way for us. So we had, you know, our location in Midtown. We had to shut it down. But what happened was we really, we didn't want to stop, and everyone was stuck at home and needed something to do. So we started doing FaceTime sewing lessons. So I turned my kitchen into basically a sewing studio and a shipment fulfillment area because I started shipping supplies to our clients and I was teaching them how to make masks. And in fact, one of the videos that I did was one of the first videos for making a mask, and it went crazy on YouTube. And so we ended up having almost 10,000 people join in efforts of making homemade masks. We donated almost 10,000 masks to hospitals that were in need at the time just because of this ability to be online and everyone wanting to Take part in this.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to Heidi, who's calling in from Manhattan. Hi, Heidi. Thanks for calling all of it.

[Joanie]

Hi, thanks for taking my call. I'm taking a class at the sewing center right now, and I took a class previously. I love it there. And I just wanted to call out your partnership with fabscrap, which is another organization that I do volunteer for them. And they're an organization that recycles fabric that's cast off from the fashion industry and the interior design industry and puts it back into the product stream as a recycled product. And I just wanted to shout that out that you guys have. Not only do you take fabric from them for sale in your store, but you also have the students recycle their scraps from the classes. That goes back to fab scraps, so there's as little waste as possible.

[Host/Producer]

Thanks so much for calling, Heidi. Let's talk to Carol from Brooklyn.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, Carol.

[Host/Producer]

Thanks for calling all of it.

[Carol (caller)]

Hi. Hi. So, yeah, I never sewed my whole life. And my mom was an amazing tailor, seamstress, you name it.

[Virginia]

She.

[Carol (caller)]

She made, like, so many clothes, costumes. All our Halloween costumes were homemade, and we always were like, oh, you'll teach me.

[Joanie]

You'll teach me.

[Carol (caller)]

And, you know, decades go by and it never really happened. And then last year, she passed, and so I inherited her amazing old school singer sewing machine that her father owned because he was a couture dressmaker with Christian Dior.

[Host/Producer]

Wow.

[Christine Frayling]

Amazing.

[Ira Flato]

So.

[Carol]

Right.

[Joanie]

So.

[Carol]

And.

[Virginia]

And it's like.

[Carol (caller)]

And I don't even. I didn't even know how to thread the bobbin.

[Christine Frayling]

Not yet. Not yet.

[Carol (caller)]

So I've been on Groupon, and I found your sip and sew, and I loved it. And so then I went and took the boot camp. I made a pair of pants for my dad. I went and took your alterations, and I absolutely love it. And yeah, I. I can sew now. And I know my mom is looking down and being so happy.

[Alison Stewart]

Ah.

[Christine Frayling]

I. I literally have a tear right now. Like, that makes me so happy. That makes. Happy to hear.

[Host/Producer]

Thank you so much for calling. I'm curious, once you learn to sew, does it change your sort of relationship to clothing? I know that when I look at vintage clothing, I look a lot more closely now at the way it's made.

[Christine Frayling]

Absolutely. It's almost the idea you can't unsee it. So after you make clothing, you realize how much time, effort, energy goes into it. I mean, just for perspective, if you're listening and you don't sew to Make a pair of pants, let's say a silk. Let's say silk pants, trousers. That would take you 12 to 13 hours to complete. And then when you go shopping, I think there's a lot of things about, you know, your. Your mental capacity starts to realize, like, someone had to sit here and make this. And then you go. And you go down the path of, I want to make sure I'm buying something not only sustainable, but that's made in a really nice situation for that person, too. So fast fashion being such a. Such a big topic right now, people want to get away from fast fashion for that reason. But also when you're shopping, you. You look at something and you think, I could make that. Or that would take 30 hours to make, and I'm better off buying a vintage piece. Right? So I think that's a lot of times the thought process that goes into it.

[Alison Stewart]

We're going to have more sewing talk with Christine Frayling, the founder of the New York Sewing Center. We'll be right back. You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. My guest in studio is Christine Frayling. She's the founder of New York Sewing center, which has locations on West 38th street and in Williamsburg. Next month, they're going to open in Montclair. She's joining us to talk about learning how to sew. We've been getting so many good texts in. Let me read a couple. I'm sewing pants for myself now as I listen to wnyc. I learned to sew from my grandmother, my mom's best friend, and junior achievement. I've been teaching a friend to sew. It's a great way to spend time with a friend. This one says, love listening to your program. I started sewing mainly to justify my love for fabric and then developed an addiction to sewing machines themselves, especially vintage machines to your guests. Do you see this in some of your visitors to the center, or is it just me?

[Christine Frayling]

You definitely, yes. We see that all the time. There's kind of this known comedy between everyone that sews that we all have a drawer full of fabrics now because it's become an addiction of shopping for them or finding or upcycling. But yes, we all have a stash.

[Alison Stewart]

This is a question, and you can answer it if you feel comfortable. It says, do you have any compact sewing machine recommendations that would fit a small space? A lot of people listen to us in their apartments, and they're not quite sure. Can I even start sewing?

[Christine Frayling]

Yeah, absolutely. There are so many Small home sewing machines. The one that I will recommend is, it's called the Sewist Janome Sewist, I believe. Sewist 100. It's what we have in our studio. And it's small, it's pretty compact, it does everything that you need. And it's really easy to move around. So you can put it in the top of your closet and, you know, not worry about it falling out. I mean, it's, it's sturdy enough to kind of stay there. But yeah, I would definitely say like a small home sewing machine, but there are a lot of different options out there for that.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to Virginia in Greenwood Lake. Hi, Virginia, thank you so much for calling all of it. You're on the air.

[Joanie]

Hi, good morning.

[Virginia]

And this is such a fun conversation to listen to. Yeah, my story is, I remember it was a hot summer. My mother forced me and my sister to take a summer Singer sewing class in New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey. And while we kind of slaved away at learning the process, cutting patterns and intricacies, you know, I made a little pantsuit that my mother then subsequently made me wear for Easter Sunday. So it was just one of these great pictures that I have of my memories of learning to sew. And this woman, my mother was just a phenomenal drapery maker, upholstery maker. I mean, I learned all of those skills, really, and continue to use them in, you know, other sorts of hand using things like tile making and, you know, doing flooring. I'm doing a flooring project right now. And I swear those sewing skills generalize over into the construction side of things. So I'm grateful for that. And I love collecting fabrics just like the rest of us. We get very addicted to the feel, the look. And I'll find a project for this fabric. Somewhere, somehow I'm holding onto it.

[Alison Stewart]

That's so funny that she. Thank you for calling that she mentioned the life lessons that come out of sewing.

[Host/Producer]

I can remember my mother saying to me, measure twice, cut once.

[Christine Frayling]

Absolutely, absolutely.

[Host/Producer]

Do you have any memories?

[Christine Frayling]

That's a big one. Yeah, I've had a lot of mistakes along the way when you're sewing. I mean, we all have. Even now, a few months back. Well, it must have been about a year ago now. But I had bought this amazing tweed material. It was very expensive. I was very excited. It almost looked Chanel like. And I was going to make a two piece suit and the bottom was gonna be a skirt and I cut it a little bit too small. And so I talked about it on our Instagram page. And I just showed, like, even as an experienced seamstress, someone that's been doing this my entire life, there are still different types of fabric that react differently. Tweed starts to shred a little bit more along the way, so it lost the size that I needed. And by the time it was time to actually sew it together, it was too small. And so it was, you know, it's one of those lessons, you know, life lessons.

[Host/Producer]

Let's talk to Carol in Astoria.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, Carol.

[Host/Producer]

Thank you so much for making the time to call. All of it. You're on the air.

[Carol]

Hi. Thank you.

[Virginia]

Yeah.

[Carol]

I have no family sewers. And I only had one class in my life, I think, in high school. But even though I have to say that one class, it sort of breaks the barrier.

[Heidi]

So that was great.

[Carol]

I'm a saxophone player and a flute player, and that's why I started sewing. And actually my first sewing machine was when I was studying flute in Italy. I had one of those that you hit the foot pedals, and it was really fun. And I only played flute at that time, so I made some very dramatic dresses to perform in. And the reason is that, first of all, I mean, it has to do with performing, and you can express whatever repertoire you're going to be doing.

[Heidi]

Sometimes I play in an art gallery.

[Carol]

Usually it's jazz, but also, we know our own bodies so much better than the store does. And so I can. I know what. How I'm going to move when I play the saxophone and what I need, what kind of freedom I need when I'm playing flute. So I can. I can create that in my sewing. And I'm not disciplined. I. I don't go by patterns. I just. It's very impromptu. I sort of dream it up. I keep trying them on as I go.

[Host/Producer]

It sounds so exciting. Thank you so much for sharing your story. This is an important question. We've gotten a couple of these. Given the time it takes for projects, what do you suggest for a beginner? A time poor seamstress?

[Christine Frayling]

Well, for learning how to sew, I suggest making a very simple project, whether that's a small tote bag we teach in our sewing machine basics course. It takes about two hours. You're learning how to use the sewing machine, and you're walking away with an actual product that you made. Another really great project as a beginner is a scrunchie. These are really easy because you can also use fabric you can, like, find at home. You know, if you have a button down shirt that maybe you don't want to use anymore. There's enough fabric there to make a couple scrunchies. And another easy, you know, choice might just be like another type of bag. You know, we have lots of different small makeup bag options and things like zipper pouch options, but those are. Those are pretty easy. Take about two hours.

[Host/Producer]

I have to ask you the social media aspect of this. You can go down a rabbit hole very easily. Welcome to my Instagram account. How would you suggest that someone use social media if they're just starting out learning to sew?

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah.

[Christine Frayling]

So, I mean, it's incredible what you can find now. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, you put in. I. I would. My number one suggestion would be to look for the style of machine that you have.

[Alison Stewart]

Yes.

[Christine Frayling]

And go to YouTube. That's my starting point. Look for the style of the machine. Go to YouTube, search that machine. How to proper, properly set up this machine or properly thread this machine? Because there's a misconception that all machines are kind of threaded the same way. They are. They're close, but there could be two different little steps that could ruin the whole entire, you know, experience for you. So I think making sure you're threading, you're winding the bobbin properly, you're setting it up properly is like number one, and then looking for easy projects, and that will help you.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to Gabriel from Woodcliff Lake. Hey, Gabriel, thanks for making the time to call us. Hi, ladies.

[Gabriel]

Thanks for having me.

[Alison Stewart]

Glad to talk to you.

[Gabriel]

So I just wanted to represent the small but proud contingent of guys who sew.

[Ira Flato]

My mother.

[Gabriel]

My mother was a professional seamstress and I don't know, Time memorial. I've kind of always seen and been around the machines and. And my mother used to make clothes. And growing up in the 80s and, and working on a budget. One of my most prized possessions is a small pillow that my mom made for my brother and I. And I've replicated that as I became a parent and the friends in my. In my life and my. In my circle became parents. One of the gifts that I would give to the newborns was a pillow that was very similar to. To the ones that I had. And then we would, you know. One of my most visceral memories was in seventh grade, I had made my own Halloween costume and since then have made Halloween. I have an amazing. The selection of the fabrics for a replication of a Jedi Jedi Knight. And just trying to get as close to as possible the actual fabrics and textures that were represented in the movie to make this really amazing Halloween costume that I still break out periodically and everybody always is kind of in awe of.

[Alison Stewart]

Okay, first of all, you have to take a picture of that, put it on Instagram, tag us, and we will re tag you. I have to see this costume. Thanks. Thanks for calling in. We talked about something that's easy that people could do. What's the next level up for people?

[Christine Frayling]

Commercial patterns. I think a commercial pattern is universal for learning how to sew. What class did you take at the Sewing Center?

[Alison Stewart]

I took two. I took the beginning class. I wanted to know about the new machines. The first time I saw one, I was like, whoa. And then I just took the class where you drop in. So I had a couple different skirts I wanted to make.

[Christine Frayling]

Okay. So our biggest and most popular class is called the Sewing Boot Camp, which is an all day class. And you basically walk away knowing how to sew. And I truly believe that because we teach you how to use and set up the machine, how to make a tote bag, and then you learn how to read and make something from a commercial pattern. And by make something, I mean clothing that fits you appropriately.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah, we made skirts.

[Host/Producer]

Pants. Yeah.

[Christine Frayling]

If you make a skirt or a pair of pants from a commercial pattern, it opens the gates like you're. You're ready. At that point you can start dabbling in making a jacket. It's going to be hard, but since you know how to look at a pattern, read it and you know how to cut out and you know how to follow grain lines, then you're ready for the next couple of steps.

[Host/Producer]

You also, I think you have a pattern making class which looks kind of interesting.

[Alison Stewart]

We do.

[Christine Frayling]

We have a class called Copy youy Clothes, which is actually one of my favorite things to do. So the, the class was created because we were just looking for a pattern making class, but something that was a little bit easier to do than flat pattern. Flat pattern. Flat pattern is like you take your measurements and you start. We also teach that. But there's two different kinds of learning capabilities when it comes to whether or not you're making something from flat pattern or if you're copying something that you own. I just think your brain works differently in learning both of those ways. And so for me, one of my favorite things to do is take a dress that maybe it's vintage or maybe I bought it 10 years ago and there's no way I could ever get it again. But it's my favorite dress and I've thought about it a million times. I want it in black silk instead of pink, and that's a possibility. So that's what the class is for. You come in with your favorite, your grandmother's favorite jacket you want to replicate, and that's what you do in the class. And it's an incredible way to learn pattern making from the basics, but also just as a functionality. Now you know how to copy something that you own and you can replicate that.

[Alison Stewart]

We have so many calls here, but I'm going to try to get this last one in. It's a text that says, where are you finding fabrics and notions these days?

[Christine Frayling]

So one of the callers had mentioned Fab Scrap. So for the people listening that don't know what that is, it's a company that basically picks up dead stock materials, fabrics from all over the fashion industry. Also the New York Sewing Center. Any extra fabrics we have and they sort through in their warehouse in Brooklyn and then it's a resale, so they sell it in their shop. But we recently partnered with them to sell some of those materials to our clients in our new fabric shop that's located in the garment district. And so the idea of our fabric shop is to offer sustainable fabrics that help out not only the garment district, but also reduce waste, which is why we work with Fab Scrap. We also work with a lot of the small mom and pop shops that are closed on weekends, and we'll buy from them and then we offer them in our shop.

[Host/Producer]

Let's say I want to go to one of the big name stores and I feel really overwhelmed. What are three tips you would give people? We kind of, we know what their names are.

[Christine Frayling]

So as a beginner, I call them the three S's. Like stay away from shiny, satiny or slippery. Right? Like anything that feels like in those categories, just stay away from them when you're getting started.

[Host/Producer]

My guest has been Christine Frayling. She's the founder of the New York Sewing center.

[Alison Stewart]

She has two locations.

[Host/Producer]

One on West 38th street, one on Williamsburg, and next month in Montclair. Thanks for joining us.

[Alison Stewart]

We really appreciate it.

[Christine Frayling]

Thank you so much.

[Ira Flato]

I'm Ira Flato, host of Science Friday. For over 30 years, our team has been reporting high quality news about science, technology and medicine. News you won't get anywhere else. And now that political news is 24 7, our audience is turning to us to know about the really important stuff in their lives. Cancer, climate change, genetic engineering, childhood diseases. Our sponsors know the value of science and health news. For more sponsorship information, visit sponsorship wnyc. Org.