Sewing School, the first collaborative effort between Amie Petronis Plumley and Andria Lisle, has been translated multiple times now, and sold more than 200,000 copies. The crafty duo have shown crafty kids how to hand sew and machine stitch. They’ve tackled everything from soft sculpture guitars to cool quilting. For their fourth effort, Plumley and Lisle focus on fashion and design.
Sewing School Fashion Design is all about foundations. It presents models for three essentials: a top, a skirt, and shorts. Then it offers prompts, patterns, and tips for customizing those three pieces.
“We really wanted to use this to teach kids that your size is the perfect size,” Lisle says. Lisle, whose byline will certainly be familiar to regular Flyer readers, praises her co-author’s unique vision: “She was a real genius at making patterns that could be adaptable. You’re talking about kids from maybe 6 to 15. They could be really tall, or short, with straight bodies, or very curvy bodies. To be able to make these patterns that weren’t going to frustrate was something pretty incredible.”
Lisle says she and Plumley take inspiration from the annual sewing camp they teach at Grace-St. Luke’s School each summer. “We use it like a lab, and the kids are great,” she says. “They go nuts and come up with all these ideas for making clothes we didn’t even think about.”
