Summer sewing camp and reflections about teaching
As the summer wraps up, I find myself (as is often the case) genuinely shocked by how swiftly the season slips away. I had envisioned creating a series of sewing tutorial videos, hosting a couple of sewing workshops, and making a collection of beautiful summer dresses for myself. Naturally, none of that unfolded as planned. Instead, I gradually settled into a late morning routine and focused on enjoying as many summery activities as possible with my son. Most of my studio time was devoted to client work, which kept me quite busy.
Early in the summer, I had the opportunity to co-teach a week-long sewing camp for elementary-aged children at my friend Libby’s art studio and school—Scrap Bin Studio—which opened in spring 2025. Libby has created an incredibly charming and inspiring space where both kids and adults can make art, learn new skills, and express themselves creatively. If you happen to be in the Denver area, I encourage you to explore her classes for yourself and/or children in your life.
The theme for this year’s summer sewing camp was “cozy pajama party”. We came up with a variety of creative and fun projects for the learners to make, including comfortable pajama pants and shorts, stuffed animals, rice-filled chickens, tote bags, pillowcases, and scrunchies. Each project was designed to inspire creativity and build sewing skills in a relaxed, playful environment.
Sewing can quickly become very technical and frustrating, which often causes many people to give up and abandon their projects early on. With this understanding, we chose to dive right in and start creating, offering guidance whenever the machines acted up or providing support to pivot creatively when a project didn’t unfold as expected. This approach helped keep the process enjoyable and encourages persistence through challenges.
We thought we had more than enough projects planned for the week, but this group was impressively quick to learn and ended up making multiples of many of the projects we offered. Scrunchies were by far the most popular, both for their function and the immediate gratification that comes from finishing them quickly. Chicken stuffies also captured a lot of attention and affection. What was truly the most rewarding was seeing how the learners began customizing their pieces, venturing off on their own creative paths—especially when tackling the more challenging projects like the tote bag and pajama pants. Their inventive approaches brought a playful energy to the studio.
Both Libby and I were exhausted by the end of the week, but in spite of the fatigue, I also felt a deep sense of accomplishment and was genuinely inspired to teach two summer camps next year, because these kids were truly amazing and full of energy. That said, I’ve come to realize that I might not have the right personality type to do this type of work full time. One thing that really stuck with me was a keen observation Libby made about me—that I am highly sensitive and deeply affected by the energies of the people around me.
This insight rings so true, especially given that even within my own small family of three, I find it nearly impossible to focus on anything else if someone isn’t in a great mood or isn’t feeling well. I have this strong urge to want to “fix” things immediately, but of course, life doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes, we have to learn to compartmentalize situations, energies, and vibes in order to get through a day, a class, or whatever challenges come our way. Reflecting on these experiences, I walked away with a lot more insight and profound gratitude for my son’s school teachers as the new school year has now begun.
