Sewing machines, quilt patterns, and fabric, oh my! Itβs the 2016 Original Sewing and Quilt Expo.
The Original Sewing and Quilt Expo is a three-day event that offers workshops, demos, a shoppable trade show, and more. The expo delivers creative inspiration and skill-building classes to sewists in eight U.S. cities.
I attended the Chicagoland installment of the Sewing and Quilt Expo, and following are my impressions, presented yearbook-superlative style. If youβve ever been curious about checking out a sewing trade show, read on:
Sound mostly likely to be heard
The quiet whir of sewing machines. So relaxing.
Mostly likely to be seen
Middle-aged women. I don’t feel like I saw a lot of other sewists my age (30s). Ladies (and gents!) β where were you? I want to hang in out person!
Most unusual vendor
Sisters selling vintage kimonos for upcycling. I was enamoured of Tangerine Mountain Imports and Designs. They sold old kimonos by the pound for upcycling, which is a common practice in Japan. This was news to me, and I was utterly fascinated by all the vibrantly patterned robes.
Most likely to catch your eye
Oh, baby, there was tons of quilt eye candy. I was especially loving the display of modern quilts.
Best marketing
Pineapple Fabrics, a quilt shop. Sewists get a free pattern with every Pineapple Pack, a set of quilt precuts. For example, if you bought a βBellaβ Pineapple Pack (about 2 ΒΎ yards of strips, squares, and quarters), you could grab a free Bella pattern for a tote bag, quilt, or pillows. It was fun to thumb through the different patterns designed for each precut pack. Way to go, Pineapple Fabrics, for helping sewists line up a project with ease! #valueadd
Overheard phrase that most made me take pause
I could never do that. I heard women say that as they talked to quilt vendors. As I admired a beautiful quilt, a quilt vendor said to me, βYou could make that, too.β I said I know, but it would take me a while. She informed me that her daughter made it in two days, including quilting (with help from Mom).
Why do we think that unless we can do something quickly and expertly that it’s not worth doing? There needs to be more love for the process as we grow our sewing practice.
Most anticipated for next year
In 2017, I’d like to take a class at the Sewing and Quilt Expo, maybe something related to fitting. Thereβs always a lot of enrichment on offer. Check out the classes that were happening just on Saturday (see above).
Most impressive event
BurdaStyle hosted a fashion show of 23 of its sewing patterns. Burda patterns can be very fashion forward, and sometimes itβs hard to understand how they’d look on non-high-fashion-model bodies. The BurdaStyle fashion show showed off the proportions of the clothes on real bodies in motion, and I ended up liking the garments in person more than I do on the pages of BurdaStyle magazine. Nice work, BurdaStyle!
Biggest aha moment
When I stopped by the BurdaStyle booth, there were a couple of middle-aged ladies (50s-60s) ahead of me. The Burda gal (Burda online editor Meg Healy herself!) was showing them a printed PDF pattern. The ladies werenβt familiar with print-at-home patterns, and I overheard them saying how cool it was to get patterns on demand.
It surprised me that, in 2016, there could be sewists who hadnβt heard of PDF patterns. My shock was a reminder to me that my personal experience and perceptions are mine alone. Itβs important to remember that everyone is coming from a different place. For those ladies, that intro to PDF patterns may have changed the way they sew!
Best toys
Pretty much every sewing machine company had a booth. There were lots of opportunities to test drive fancy machines, especially long-arm machines and embroidery machines. It was mesmerizing to watch some of them run on autopilot.
Happiest surprise
The Burda booth was giving away printed PDF patterns! Burda offered a pencil skirt or a peplum top, and they had two plus-size patterns, too. I choose the peplum top. I was hoping for more pattern company booths at the expo. So, getting a free garment sewing pattern mitigated some of my disappointment.
Most irresistible goodies
I couldnβt leave the Sewing and Quilt Expo without taking home some stitchable souvenirs. Hereβs a nine-minuteΒ FacebookΒ vid featuring my mini haul from the expo:
I came home with (clockwise from top left in the collage below):
- Blue print stretch cotton (4 yards)
- Blue print cotton lawn (2 yards)
- Peacock blue knit (3 yards)
- 5-inch square charm pack:Β βAsian Fanfareβ by Paintbrush Studio
Worst deal of the Sewing and Quilt Expo
I paid $17 for a turkey-bacon wrap, Diet Pepsi, and chips at the convention center, and I was underwhelmed. Not that I was expecting gourmet fare, but the cost made me cringe a bit. That could have been spent on fabric, people! If youβre bound for the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo next year in Schaumburg, maybe plan to eat elsewhere.
Over to you, sewing friends: What sewing trade shows have you attended? What were your impressions? Did you check out the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in another city? Please share in comments!
P.S. As long as weβre talking sewing events, I attended the Sew Pro convention, a conference for sewing-business professionals. Here are my thoughts on the conference:
5 Sew Pro convention takeaways for every sewist
So you want to be a sewing professional…
I had a question for you. I run a sewing group and I have a wide variety of ages sign up. But, the ones who show up are older 35-55. What are your suggestions for attracting a younger demo. My group meets at night which I think helps. I like a variety of ages, the more experienced are invaluable for showing younger, newer sewists the ropes. I think it might be more intimidating too when they see a group of ladies who maybe older.
Dank und schΓΆnen Blog!
Jill – wie schoen, dass du Sie macht gut findest! OK, enough of that, LOL. π
Hmm. How to get younger ladies to hang out with you. That's a good question. Here are my ideas:
-Ask at the sewists in your group to invite co-workers, church friends, workout buddies, neighborhood pals, etc. to join the fun. Pitch it as, "Hey, I do this cool sewing club, and we love it when new sewists come visit! It's a great way to get tips on projects – like YouTube, only in real life." I think a lot of youngish sewists would LOVE to have IRL sewing mentors; I know I would!
-I don't know if you have a budget for this group, but Facebook ads could be a good option. You can get super local and laser target (younger) people who have sewing as an interest. You also could create a FB event and have your existing members share the bejesus out of it. That'd be free!
-IMO, youngish sewists LOVE Instagram. The sewing community on IG is super active and supportive. Try searching IG for local sewists. You'll have to do some hashtag research. Share this issue on IG – I have an opportunity for younger sewists – and ask for help/advice.
-If you have any local colleges/tech schools with fashion/textile programs, reach out with your opportunity.
-If you have any local sewing/fabric/sewing machine stores, reach out with your opportunity and as if they can broadcast your group on their social channels. Make a flier and ask to post it at their store. If you develop a relationship if a local retailer, see if you can do a swap of some value – for example, an exclusive discount for your members revealed at your next meeting. Your sewists save some cash, and the store gets some extra traffic. And, naturally, you'd promote that discount to entice sewing group attendance. Heck, maybe you could even approach Jo-Ann Fabric with this issue. More active sewists = more better for sewing big box.
-Maybe take a session to focus on a specific technique (zippers, cutting silk, etc.) that could interest newbies. Your senior members could speak with authority, and green sewists could get some hands-on experience and ask the questions that they didn't even know they had (which ALWAYS happens when you do something in person).
Jill, I hope this helps! Please LMK what happens! I'm curious about your strategy going forward. I was just at Sew Pro convention, and one of my big takeaways was that lots of sewists tend to be introverts (myself included!), so group stuff can be hard. But if you bring value in friendly advice and encouragement, I think people would love the camaraderie. Good luck!!!