‘We’ve never seen anything like it.’ Hamilton sewing centre owners seeing record sales as sewing takes off during pandemic

When it came to pandemic-era pastimes, people across the world quickly jumped aboard the sourdough starter and banana bread trains.

But neither appealed to Alix Hall.

Instead, she pulled out a sewing machine that her sister had passed down to her and got to work.

She found some fabric she had stowed away for false start projects of the past, bought some patterns and pulled out the user manual of her machine.

Months later, Hall has made dresses, tops and even altered and mended existing pieces of her wardrobe.

I'd always been very interested in the idea of making my own clothes," said Hall. But, I don't think I would have given myself the time to properly focus and learn enough skills to finish a simple top had I not had this insane amount of time that lock down afforded me."

And Hall wasn't alone.

At Nova Sewing Centre on Ottawa Street North, owner Sean Queroub saw demand in sewing machines spike immediately once the province went into lock down back in March.

Our online orders increased by 3,500 per cent, instantly," said Queroub, who has owned the business for 10 years. We've never seen anything like it ... we're up huge numbers."

Querob said the market was so hot that within 60 days, they'd sold out of their immediate stock and had to start pulling from their Christmas inventory.

Their suppliers inventories had also depleted down to nothing." Even now, they're still getting in orders that they'd placed back in May, he added, but they do have healthy supply."

The machines are such a hot commodity" that Querob also had 150 machines stolen from a truck while they were en route to his store earlier this month.

People can move them pretty easily," he said. It's never happened before, that I've seen."

As for who's been purchasing sewing machines, Querob estimates 70 per cent to be new sewers and the other 30 per cent are existing sewers upgrading their machines.

He believes the boom has been driven by two things - the need for masks and new disposable income people had from staying home.

But for some folks, it's a coping method and a good distraction," said Elizabeth Simpson, co-owner of Needlework, a fabric store on James Street North.

When there are so many things happening in the world, it's just nice to sit down and focus on one thing that you can accomplish that is very manageable," said Simpson. For me, it kind of takes my mind off of all of the negative things ... and I can focus on this one thing I'm going to like."

For Lindsay Roorda, an ICU nurse at the Hamilton General Hospital, taking up sewing gave her an escape from her day-to-day work on the front lines.

She'd throw on a podcast, put her head down and hours later she'd realize she forgot to make supper - but Roorda would have a new garment in hand.

She's made shorts, dresses and now that winter is coming, she plans on making hats, mittens and cosy" pieces.

Roorda also started making her own patterns - as a lover of puzzles and decision-making - that made sewing even more interesting.

It's definitely therapeutic," she said. It's the only thing you can focus on ... I can think about something other than the pandemic, other than work and get out of that craziness."

Hall felt similar benefits, as sewing forced her to put away her phone and stop doom scrolling" on Twitter and reading the never-ending news cycle.

It was really nice to be doing something productive and with my hands and have a final product at the end of it," she said.

That sense of accomplishment is also a positive, said Simpson, noting she saw an increase in the social media presence of sewing. People would often post their pieces on Instagram and in turn, it would inspire others to sew.

That just kind of propels your sewing journey," she added. It's instant gratification."

For those who may be interested in sewing but are hesitant to start, Simpson encourages people to dive into it." For those who want to wait, once the pandemic is over, Needlework will also start offering its sewing classes in-person.

It's so much fun and being able to make your own clothes is the best feeling," said Simpson. You can make anything you want ... and it's so good."

And regardless of why someone starts sewing, Querob is just happy to see the renewed interest - both in fashion and in skill.

Sewing has been around 200 years, it's not going anywhere and it's (only) growing," he said.

Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com