{"id":17718,"date":"2025-11-01T19:08:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T19:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/?p=17718"},"modified":"2026-01-11T15:45:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T15:45:47","slug":"sewings-comeback-is-more-than-a-hobby-its-a-quiet-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/sewings-comeback-is-more-than-a-hobby-its-a-quiet-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Sewing\u2019s Comeback is More than a Hobby \u2014 It\u2019s a Quiet Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sewing<\/a><\/p>\n

Have you been following the news lately? Sewing is experiencing a strong comeback, with numerous recent articles highlighting its resurgence in popularity, especially among younger generations. The revival is driven by trends in sustainability, customization and personal fulfillment. It\u2019s a reaction against fast fashion<\/em> and serves both as a creative outlet and a therapeutic activity that promotes mindfulness and stress relief.<\/p>\n

Who better to teach these new sewists? Well, University of Fashion of course!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fashioning Identity<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There are 30 million sewists in the U.S. alone, many of whom are teens and tweens. As younger generations crave both individuality and social connection, one of the best ways to get them off their screens is to send them to a sewing boot camp. \u00a0Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have been driving interest among Gen Zers, by documenting their enthusiasm for sewing as a sustainable, expressive act, countering fast fashion with handmade clothing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The New York Times\u2019 Sept. 4, 2025\u2014Article on sewing\u2019s resurgence (Image credit: The New York Times)<\/p>\n

Recently, The New York Times<\/a> reported that sewing is “cool again”, pointing to a surge in demand for sewing classes, with people drawn to saving money, upcycling, and learning skills once associated mostly with older generations.<\/p>\n

Harper’s Bazaar<\/a> and similar outlets point to shifting cultural attitudes toward handmade garments\u2014from “second-rate” to novel, valued, and often more expensive than off-the-rack options, driven by both quality and individuality.<\/p>\n

Axios<\/a> reported that people are flocking to sewing centers and learning how to embroider, alter and make items like tote bags, skirts and pants from scratch.<\/p>\n

Entrepreneurial Sewing Workshops on the Rise<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n

Looking to start your own business? If you are a great sewer and are looking for a new business idea, well, why not get a group subscription to UoF and open your own sewing workshop?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The New York Sewing Center at 246 W 38th Street, 9th Floor, Suite 9A, New York City (Image credit: The New York Sewing Center)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Inspired Sewistpreneurs<\/b><\/div>\n
\n

The New York Sewing Center<\/a> in Midtown Manhattan, was founded by former fashion designer Kristine Frailing. She offers full day sewing boot camps, evening courses, embroidery workshops and classes on the basics of alteration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

At Carolina Textile District<\/a> in Western North Carolina, workshops are being offered from basic sewing to materials sourcing and product development. CTD connects makers, designers, and entrepreneurs to a reliable domestic supply chain, so quality products can be made in the U.S.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In Washington, DC, Antoinette Lee opened her studio, A Special Lee Sewing Studio,<\/a> out of her home and has been continuously offering sewing and \u00a0upcycling classes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In Miami, Jesy Anderson,\u00a0owner and creator of Needle, Ink, and Thread<\/a> opened her workshop in 2016. She even has a sewing class called Sew and Grow for kids.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Shop<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Shop Rat, a popular weekly newsletter by Emilia Petrarca (Image credit: Shop Rat)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

A promoter of fashion sustainability is journalist Emilia Petrarca who publishes Shop Rat<\/a>, a newsletter featuring a Repair Month series<\/a> with tips for saving your most beloved garments, including\u00a0interviews with experts,\u00a0personal\u00a0mending adventures,\u00a0and recommendations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Eva Joan<\/a>, a mending studio and one-stop -shop for alterations was founded by Bjorn Eva Park and Emma Villeneuve. Located at 28 Jane Street in New York City, the shop is named after their respective grandmothers.<\/p>\n

Thrifting Stats \u2014 Did You Know\u2026<\/strong><\/h4>\n

According to Capital One Shopping Research:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • 16 to 18%<\/strong>of Americans shop at thrift stores each year;\u00a012 to 15%<\/em>\u00a0shop at consignment or resale stores.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • 93%<\/strong>\u00a0of Americans shop online for secondhand items.<\/li>\n
    • In 2023, the U.S. secondhand market generated an estimated\u00a0$53 billion<\/strong>\u00a0in revenue.<\/li>\n
    • There are\u00a0over 25,000<\/strong>\u00a0resale, consignment, and not-for-profit resale shops in the U.S.<\/li>\n
    • Thrift store shoppers save an average of\u00a0$2,071<\/strong>\u00a0per year by purchasing secondhand.<\/li>\n
    • Approximately\u00a0one-third<\/strong>\u00a0of clothing and apparel items purchased in the U.S. over the past year were secondhand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      So yes, sewing\u2019s comeback isn\u2019t just stylish, it\u2019s a revolution!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Have you been following the news lately? Sewing is experiencing a strong comeback, with numerous recent articles highlighting its resurgence in popularity, especially among younger generations. The revival is driven by trends in sustainability, customization and personal fulfillment. It\u2019s a reaction against fast fashion and serves both as a creative outlet and a therapeutic activity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[612,35,26,487,904,266],"tags":[2499,2493,1818,607,2498,674,2494,205,2492,2491,2496,2495,1013,486,2497,969],"class_list":["post-17718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-topics-in-fashion","category-fashion-business","category-fashion-events","category-fashion-innovation","category-sustainability","category-women-in-fashion","tag-axios","tag-customization","tag-fast-fashion","tag-gen-z","tag-harpers-bazaar","tag-instagram","tag-personal-fullfillment","tag-sewing-2","tag-sewing-boot-camp","tag-sewing-entrepreneurs","tag-sewing-is-cool-again","tag-sexists","tag-sustainability","tag-sustainable-design","tag-the-new-york-times","tag-tiktok"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17718"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17728,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17718\/revisions\/17728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityoffashion.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}