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Whenever the Christmas season rolled around, the thick Macy’s catalog would arrive in our mailbox (’90s kids, stand up). My siblings and I would pass it around, circling what we wanted for the holidays, be it clothes, shoes or the latest toys. Every year without fail, I always circled one specific item: a sewing machine.
Did my mom already have a sewing machine? Yes. Did I use it? No. Did I only circle the machine because it was pink? A hard yes. While I never got one as a child because my mother was a reasonable person, I did end up sewing, but only very briefly during a month-long stint in my school’s costume shop. A decade later, I’m left with vague memories of how to thread a machine. So when I saw that Bobinage at Industry City was hosting sewing boot camp classes, I knew I had to sign up for our “Back to Class” series on fun classes in NYC.
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Located above Industry City's Japan Village lies Bobinage, which is part retail, part creative space. Here, creatives of all levels (including those of us who haven’t touched a machine in years) can take classes, learn new skills or even book an open sewing session to work on their latest project. A few months ago, the studio started up Sewing Summer Camp. Due to its popularity, Bobinage extended the series, now offering fall day camp classes from now until the end of October.
Once I arrived, I saw that the shop was split up into two sections. One half is dedicated to fabrics and sewing machines of all colors available for purchase. The other is a classroom space made clear by the banner reading #SewingParty hanging above the door. Centering the room was a black table with sewing machines, Janome machines, to be specific. Once I checked in, an instructor ran through the projects available for the class: a beanie, a drawstring backpack, a pillowcase, a boxy pouch and a basic skirt. Everyone was able to choose their own adventure, so I went with a skirt.
Once everyone picked a station, we dove right starting with threading the machine. While one instructor talked through the process, another teacher made their rounds to each person. With only eight participants in each class, it was relatively easy for the instructor to bop around the table, giving tips as we went along. Once we were properly set up, we were each given a small piece of cloth to practice, starting with a basic stitch to turning the fabric to closing the loop with a backstitch. I wouldn’t say it was like riding a bike, but with a few practice stitches and working the pedal, it was a pretty straightforward process. Did some of my stitches veer off the straight and narrow and take their own journey? Of course, but that’s just part of the learning process.
After a few stitches under my belt, I was given my fabric to start stitching my skirt. I will say that the skirt was one of the more involved projects, and the instructors gave a lot of assists, including cutting the fabric, ironing the seams and pinning along the stitch line to guide the process. But with their help, I was able to sew the seams and even thread through the elastic. And at the end of the hour-and-a-half class, my closet gained one more skirt, a red knee-length number perfect for fall. Is she perfect? Because she's mine, yes, yes she is.
Now will I say I am ready to start my solo sewing project? Not quite. But luckily, the studio offers classes throughout the week and weekend, ensuring that I can become a more confident seamstress in no time.
Bobinage is located at 934 3rd Avenue inside Industry City on the second floor of building four. Bobinage’s Fall Day Camp classes are available from now until the end of October. The class is $60.