On this episode of Stitch Please, Lisa comes with a loving reality check: your sewing machine has BEEN doing the most… you just haven’t been using it.

From budget machines to fancy ones with more stitches than you’ll ever admit to using, Lisa dives into the hidden features sitting right under your presser foot. She breaks down everything from the underrated zigzag (aka the Beyoncé of stitches) to decorative stitches that can level up your projects without spending a dime.

Along the way, she shares practical tips, a little sewing history, and just enough playful side eye to call us out for ignoring half our machine’s potential. Because your next sewing glow up is literally built in.

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Hosted By: Dr. Lisa Woolfork

Senior Producer: Krystal Hill

Producer: Mike Bryant

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Dr. 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.

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

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Explore Your Sewing Machine Stitches: Hidden Features You Already Own