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How to Create the Community You Wish to See
With Shannon Flaherty, Founder of SewQueer
Edited: Jun 14, 2022
In 2017, Shannon Flaherty wrote a blog post about a new series called SewQueer, that “explor[ed] the intersections of sewing and queer identity.” Since then, SewQueer has become a community, with a dedicated website (sewqueer.org) and Instagram hashtag (#sewqueer) used in over 18,000 posts. Through SewQueer, Shannon created the community she wanted to see online, but, in 2017, couldn’t find.
Shannon shares with us why she started the SewQueer community, how you can support her work and what steps to take to cultivate your own community if you don’t see it represented anywhere online. As a bonus, we’ll also hear form six community members on how being part of the SewQueer community has changed their own lives.
An Elbe Textiles Cornell Shirt in plaid flannel. Photo by Morgan D. (@libraritarian)
Shannon wears a tiered dress in linen, using Muna and Broad’s Nullarbor Camisole pattern as a base.
Shannon Flaherty on Starting SewQueer
About Shannon:
Shannon Flaherty (she/her) is a queer sewist and art historian, living and teaching in the Midwest. She shares her own sewing, mushroom farming and dollhouse making on Instagram at @rare.device and is the founder of SewQueer.
What led you to start SewQueer?
I was feeling alienated from the mainstream online sewing world, where heterosexuality seemed assumed and even enforced. Folks would talk about sewing menswear for their boyfriend or husband, but not for themselves, a wife or a nonbinary partner. Patterns were (and mostly still are) strictly gendered, and visibly queer models were nowhere to be seen. I wanted to start a discussion with like-minded folks about what it’s like to sew as a queer person.
In your first blog post about SewQueer in 2017, you wrote, “How does sewing help us engender and sustain relationships of love and community?” What is your answer to that question in 2021?
On a personal level, I’ve used sewing to lovingly create for my family, particularly for my partner who has been developing and exploring their style over the past four years (and now sews for themself!). On a community level, I’ve seen the SewQueer community grow and make connections in very rich and delightful ways. At the same time, the sewing world more broadly, and capitalism in general, continue to have limitations, as there’s never enough time, money, resources and information to achieve the big dreams. It’s an ongoing question without a single answer, I think!
Has your approach to sewing and identity evolved along with SewQueer?
My own style and gender identity have shifted as I’ve settled more happily into identifying as genderqueer and centering my fatness. When I started SewQueer, it was partly with the challenge of sewing tailored menswear for myself, and I’ve realized that buttoned-up and tied-tight isn’t actually my style! I’ve also found myself more interested in understanding and nurturing the parts of sewing that really speak to me, such as the creativity of pattern-hacking and making less practical but more joyful garments.
"Anytime we can feature the voices of folks with multiple marginalized identities, we hear from others who share those experiences and feel seen."
Shannon Flaherty
What is the most common feedback you’ve received from SewQueer members?Excitement and affirmation at finding people with shared identities are my favorite kind of common feedback. I also hear from folks who have wanted to start making their own clothes but didn’t feel welcomed or seen within the mainstream sewing world, and SewQueer has helped them see it is possible for them. And we get asked for more, all the time, often beyond the resources we have available! Folks are looking for in-person radically inclusive spaces, for detailed tutorials that focus on queer and trans bodies, and for patterns built for a wide range of bodies. There’s also need for more Black, Indigenous and people of color-run queer sewing spaces, both in-person and online! As a white person, I want to boost and support those spaces and makers.
What about the most touching or surprising feedback?Anytime we can feature the voices of folks with multiple marginalized identities, we hear from others who share those experiences and feel seen. Sam’s post on sewing as re-parenting and Andie’s on adapting garments for gender euphoria and disability both received some teary and heartfelt responses recently, for instance. Sharing stories of sewing as a radical practice allowing us to thrive in a hostile world feels like the most vital part of our mission, and I think it speaks to people precisely because experiencing multiple marginalizations can feel really lonely.
You’ve built a community through creating SewQueer. What advice would you give others if they wish to build their own community, especially if it’s a community they don’t see represented often online (or at all!)?Start with a mission in mind: what do you want to achieve, and what kind of community do you wish to develop? SewQueer isn’t just about sewing in the LGBTQIA+ community, it’s about rethinking what’s expected of us and imagining better and more equitable futures. If you can, find like-minded folks with varying skill sets who can help! SewQueer was a one-person operation for a long time, and accepting help has allowed it to grow.
How can people best support SewQueer?People can support SewQueer by following, buying labels and other gear in our shop or sponsoring blog posts, which allows us to pay our contributors. We hope to continue to grow the blog to create a library of personal essays and useful tutorials. Supporting us financially also helps us aim for bigger projects, such as classes and, hopefully, a future podcast.
What does #sewqueer mean to you?
To learn more about the SewQueer community, Shannon connected us with a few members who post on Instagram and use the #sewqueer hashtag. Here’s what they had to say about what SewQueer means to them.
Fabric: Queenora Renee Fabrics
Julian Collins of Julian Creates
Pronouns: he/him
https://www.juliancreates.com
https://www.instagram.com/juliancreates
About Julian:
Julian Collins is a Black queer cismale sewist working to bring happiness into the world through his bright bold makes.
What has the SewQueer community meant to you?
Participating in the SewQueer community has allowed me to make new connections and learn about other great makers. A lot of times sewing can be a very isolating hobby sharing makes and seeing what others are doing remedies that. It also allows for more visibility and dialogue making the sewing community a better representation of the colorful diversity we share.
Featured design: Thistle and Locket by ecarolinewalters. Substrate: Cotton poplin.
E. Caroline Walters
Pronouns: she/her
https://www.ecarolinewalters.com
https://www.instagram.com/ecarolinewalters
About Caroline:
Caroline Walters is a Northern California-based textile artist and illustrator focused on queer and fat joy.
What has the SewQueer community meant to you?
Before SewQueer, I thought many of the intersections of my identity and making were separate. That I would have to choose between a queer space and a fat space. Between a fine art community and a crafting community. I was exploring these intersections on my own, but SewQueer showed me so many real people who inhabited the same intersections as me. And so many more intersections that are beyond my experience! Sewing, knitting, illustration, being fat and queer could all exist as facets of the same practice.
Being able to post to the SewQueer hashtag and to feel seen was very powerful. Seen as queer and fat to such an accepting and open community means the world to me. I think participating in the SewQueer community gave me the confidence and inspiration to quit my office job back in 2018 and start working at a fabric store (where I am now a manager). The SewQueer community showed me that there is a place for fat, queer people like me in the sewing world and has given me the drive to bring that inclusion into my everyday work.
Fabric: Fiona Hewitt. Photo: Erica Eriksson. Pattern: Coco Dress by Tilly and the Buttons.
Featured design: Sisterhood Love by Mable Tan Designs. Photo: Erica Eriksson. Pattern: Cambie Dress by Sewaholic Patterns.
Sangeeta
Pronouns: she/her
https://www.instagram.com/thedressgarden
About Sangeeta:
Sangeeta is a hobby sewist who loves colourful dresses and fun prints.
What has the SewQueer community meant to you?
It has meant a lot to me to find a queer community with similar interests to me. As an introvert it makes it a lot easier to participate and build connections when I can post pictures and talk about the thing I love, sewing. I love that the SewQueer community is so open and welcoming and I’m always learning new things, and not just about sewing.
Teukie with their partner Sky.
Teukie Martin of TeukMade
Pronouns: they/them
https://www.etsy.com/shop/teukmade
https://www.instagram.com/teukmade
About Teukie:
Teukie Martin is a queer, nonbinary, fat, disabled/neurodivergent/Mad Korean adoptee currently sewing and making art while pursuing their Ph.D. in inclusive education.
What has the SewQueer community meant to you?
The first sewing community I discovered was on Facebook, but when I looked around, I didn’t really see a lot of queer and trans folks. I felt like a lot of what I was navigating around fitting, design, etc., was really unintelligible. Finding SewQueer meant finding a sewing space where folks understood gender euphoria and could really appreciate a range of aesthetics and needs. It led to me creating the #SewNonbinary hashtag to make connections with other nonbinary sewists. I’ve learned a lot! And it’s just been really awesome to see the change that queer sewists have made in the larger sewing community. I see a lot more queer and trans representation, and also some really important shifts in language.
Terrance Williams of Terrance Williams Designs
Pronouns: he/him
terrancewilliamsdesigns.com
https://www.instagram.com/terrancewilliamsdesigns
About Terrance:
Terrance Williams is a self-taught sewer and small business owner who advocates for sustainability, human rights and inclusivity.
What has the SewQueer community meant to you?
It’s given me the ability to use my platform to inspire other people. I get messages all the time that say me living in my truth and being out proud and visible has inspired other people to live in their truth as well. It has also helped parents talk to their children about representation, and also have conversations about loving themselves and about how it gets easier. They show their kids my platform and tell them, “Look how happy he is. If he can do it and get through it, so can you!” Me being visible shows that it’s okay to be gay or bisexual or questioning or wear dresses or nail polish or whatever you want as long as you are happy!
Emilia Bergoglio
Pronouns: they/them
emiliatonuno.blog
https://www.patreon.com/emiliatonuno
https://www.instagram.com/emilia_to_nuno
About Emilia:
Emilia Bergoglio is a scientist by day and a maker of all things the rest of the time. There’s no craft they haven’t tried but they mostly sew suits, knit and talk about trans rights.
What has the SewQueer community meant to you?
There are so many ways to be queer and the vibrancy and resilience of the community gives me life. There’s room for everyone, and the idea behind being a community is that we are there to support and uplift each other, not to mention it’s a great way to both share skills and pick up new ones. For me, as an agender human who enjoys tailoring but wants none of the gendered baggage attached to it, the SewQueer community has made it clear that I am not alone and that I’m fighting the good fight, even when it doesn’t feel like it. I’m also indebted to this community for sharing and giving visibility to stories and lives which would otherwise be ignored and hidden.
Want to meet more makers?
See our Meet the Maker posts
Betsy Greer
Betsy is a writer and stitcher who joined the Brand Marketing team in July 2021. In her spare time, she talks to people about their choice to make things by hand and related lessons learned for her project Dear Textiles. She also aims to befriend all the dogs she meets and is forever looking for the perfect dress pattern with pockets.
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