Sewing Heals

It’s a reminder.
It’s an outlet.
It’s a movement.

There are so many of us in the sewing community that either suffer from mental illness or have a family member who does. There are also many people in our community that deal with stress and some sort of pain or sadness. How do you cope? For me, it’s through sewing. Sewing distracts my thoughts and allows me to focus on something positive. When dealing with anxiety or depression, your mind can easily wander into negative thoughts and put you in an unsettling place within yourself. For me, it’s a lot easier to distract myself with sewing, then to already be in a depressed mental state and struggle to get out of it. Once I’m in that negative mindset, it’s hard to shake. So, creating clothes allows me to focus on the art and produce something beautiful. The beautiful garment that’s created gives me a high; a positive high. It’s an accomplishment that I’m always so proud to achieve.

To share my message, I designed a “Sewing Heals“ t-shirt. I sold the t-shirt only during the month of October and I was very much overwhelmed with the amount of people that purchased a t-shirt and shared their story on Instagram. I connected with so many of you and so many of you connected with me. We all have a story and I am forever grateful that many of you were brave enough to share that with me.

As I mentioned, I sold the t-shirts for one month and I wanted to donate 10% of the proceeds to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). I wanted to be very transparent and honest with you as I moved forward with this process. So, during the month of October that I sold these tees, I sold 126 shirts that sold between $15-$20 (depending on the type of sale that week and this price does not include tax). I donated a check of $250 to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Hopefully, I’ll get a response from them, so that I can share it with the community that helped raised this money, however, if I don’t it’s ok. I feel good that the money went to a good cause.

Special Thank you to everyone that took the time to purchase a t-shirt and share their story. It’s not easy, bu please know that contributing to a bigger picture. With you sharing, you are allowing others to see that it is safe and ok to share your story of depression and anxiety. We all have a story and if this so happens to be part of yours, its ok.