The Sewing Labs

Lonnie Vanderslice has been sewing since she was seven. Back in the day, almost every girl learned how to sew, from a simple hand-stitched hem on a dish towel to a graduation dress from a home-made pattern.

But when her Kansas City custom fabrications business needed to hire, Lonnie couldn’t find enough people who knew a bobbin from a gauge. So she created The Sewing Labs, a nonprofit, to provide vocational training in the sewing arts to people who are most in need of skills that are valued in the marketplace.

Lonnie’s also hoping to continue the since-the-Paleolithic-Era tradition of plying a needle in skillful and useful ways. She’d like to form a community of people who feel the same about the beauty of the sewing arts and who want to support each other in however they pursue those interests.

At The Sewing Labs, Lonnie (who is one of many volunteers) and her team provide skills-based training that teaches basic sewing through more sophisticated alterations, garment creation, and commercial sewing.

This Awesome Without Borders grant will completely underwrite one student’s tuition through the commercial training class, and we know this is going toâ should we say… alter that person’s life? Oh, we have ourselves in stitches. ?

Check out The Sewing Lab here, and follow along with their work on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.