When the going gets tough, the tough get sewing.
They knit, crochet, quilt and smock, too.
Yes, it’s all part of the down economy, but it’s also part of an American needle arts renaissance.
In recent years, pop culture phenomena such as Bravo TV’s “Project Runway” and “Stitch ‘N Bitch” books have inspired many Snohomish County residents to take up needle and thread, either again or for the first time.
The Needle &I in Everett saw sales increase 30 percent in the first three months of 2009, compared to the same quarter last year.
“It’s huge,” owner Georgia Gale said. “That increase in sales includes everything from spools of embroidery thread for 80 cents to $10,000 sewing machines.”
Part of the revival includes a new fascination with smocking, the English art of embroidering over intricately pleated fabric.
“It seems to be a comfort to people,” said Gale, who opened her store three years ago. “There’s really a joy that you experience when you relax, let your mind wander. It takes away stress.”
Joy Schaffert of Everett started teaching smocking about a year ago at The Needle &I. Since then, enthusiasm for the craft has blossomed into a new Everett-based chapter of the Smocking Arts Guild of America.
Jane Scott of Marysville took up smocking with Schaffert’s help to create one-of-a-kind dresses for her 6-year-old daughter, Heather.
“I think quality is a big part of sewing for yourself,” said Scott, 47, who is now president of the smocking guild. “You know the quality is going to be good. The quality of the thread is important as well as the quality of the fabric.”
Consumer spending for all crafts declined by 14 percent in 2008, said Victor Domine with the national Craft &Hobby Association.
Needle and sewing crafts have bucked the trend, however, with needlepoint up by almost 30 percent, crochet up by nearly 17 percent, and other areas such as quilting and sewing holding steady within 1 percent or 2 percent of 2007 sales figures.
Domine said the social aspect of needle arts, including knitting circles and online communities such as Ravelry.com for knitting and crocheting fans, are driving the trend.
Financial motivators are affecting the industry, too.
“I can make it cheaper than I can buy it,” Domine said of the current mentality. “I can sew and extend the life of my jeans. I can embellish my jeans.”
Handmade goods have created serious entrepreneurial opportunities for creative types.
Etsy.com, an online marketplace for handmade goods founded in 2005, sold $87.5 million in merchandise in 2008, up from $26 million in 2007.
“It is not only empowering people socially, but empowering them economically,” Domine said. “Handcrafted products will change the global economy.”
That could be good news for Brittney Thomas.
The 18-year-old Snohomish High School senior hopes to turn her creations — including scarves and handbags as well as comic book and video game character costumes — into a full-time income.
Thomas, who plans to start with an online store, took a beginning textiles class in 2008 and now has a sewing machine of her own at home.
“I like the freedom of being able to make it look how you want it and make it fit how you want,” Thomas said of her fashion sewing. “Putting together the clothing, it’s just really relaxing, and it’s really fun.”
Younger generations are part of the growth at The Needle &I.
“For so long, it wasn’t the thing to do,” Gale, 52, said. “I think they’re getting interested because it’s so creative. It’s very tactile. I think that with our computers — and with all of our things that these young kids do — everything is visual. There’s not a lot of tactile things.”
Remaking and repurposing thrift store clothes has been particularly popular with younger women, Gale said.
“When I was a young girl, if you wore something homemade, it was because you couldn’t afford anything better,” she said. “Now it’s turned to, ‘Wow, you are creative. Look at that wonderful thing.’
“It’s different. I love it.”
Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037, sjackson@heraldnet.com
Smocking Arts Guild of America
The Everett-based Northwest Smocking Arts chapter of the guild meets at 5:30 p.m. on the first Monday of the month, except July and August, at The Needle &I, 2931 Rucker Ave., Everett; 425-259-3013; theneedleandi.com.
Contact Joy Schaffert at djschaffert@comcast.net with questions about the guild or see www.smocking.org to learn more.
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