Donna Sorenson using a sewing machine at the end of a piping demonstration at a meeting of the Lewis County Clothing and Textiles advisors at First Baptist Church in Chehalis on Monday, April 7.
Elizabeth Rosenberg leads a piping demonstration at a meeting of the Lewis County Clothing and Textiles advisors at First Baptist Church in Chehalis on Monday, April 7.
Elizabeth Rosenberg leads a piping demonstration at a meeting of the Lewis County Clothing and Textiles advisors at First Baptist Church in Chehalis on Monday, April 7.
Elizabeth Rosenberg demonstrates to her fellow members of the Lewis County Clothing and Textiles advisors a particular technique of piping during a monthly meeting at First Baptist Church in Chehalis on Monday, April 7. The women make up a volunteer group that teaches people about sewing, knitting and anything that has to do with textiles.
Jackson Bradley, age 11 at the Youth fair yesterday holding his Blue Ribbon Hot Bowl Hot Pad he made in Stitch & Ladle 4-H club
If you would like to learn to sew, knit, crochet or make anything out of material, Melody Bradley and the Lewis County Clothing and Textile Advisors would like to teach you.
The problem they have is getting the word out that they're available to help.
“I think there's an interest out there,” Bradley said. “The challenge is finding a time that fits everyone's schedules.”
The Lewis County Clothing and Textile Advisors program began in 1987 as a part of the Washington State University Extension office. Lillian Francy and Carole Kaiser were two of the original six charter members.
“We all liked to sew,” Francy said of what drew the original group into the fold. “Carole and I did square dancing and we did a lot of sewing for that so it just seemed natural.”
“(Francy) said, 'You've got to check this out. It's going to be something you'll love,'” Kaiser said of how she got involved.
Much like the Master Gardener program through the WSU Extension office, the Volunteer Coordinators, as they were then known, were trained in a variety of textile related skills and then asked to go out and disseminate that information in the community.
“That's what they stressed, was training,” Francy recalled.
The Extension office discontinued its sponsorship of the program in 2008 and since that time the program has been run exclusively by volunteers. But that spirit of training has never left it. Currently, they regularly offer: adult basic sewing; adult knitting classes; and kids sewing classes during the summer. Students who complete any of the classes are also welcome to return and instructors can help them with more advanced skills.
“(Our former students) like to push themselves and they'll come in with projects that require extra assistance and we'll get them through it,” Bradley said.
In the past they have offered classes in: serger use, crochet, and clothing repair. They said while their offerings are somewhat limited, they're always looking for input from the community about what kinds of classes and events would be attended if they were offered.
“Wherever there is a need if it falls in the textile area we'll do it,” Kaiser said.
Besides community classes, the Lewis County Clothing and Textile Advisors also support local 4-H clubs in addition to providing assistance for the Spring Youth Fair, Southwest Washington Fair and the Washington State Fair in Puyallup.
Carrina Stanton is a local freelance writer specializing in pieces for the Life section of The Chronicle. She and her husband are raising their two daughters in Chehalis.
