Stitch Please – Details, episodes & analysis

This week on Stitch Please, get ready to unravel the mystery of commercial patterns! In this episode, Lisa breaks down everything you need to know about those pattern envelopes and guide sheets that can feel a bit like deciphering a secret code. From understanding sizes and fabric choices to nailing down those all-important finished garment measurements, Lisa’s got you covered. Plus, she shares why those little line drawings are your new best friend when it comes to visualizing your next sewing project. Tune in and get your stitch together!

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Dr. Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory, and American slavery. She is the founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers on Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville, Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Ready to tap in to the visuals of Stitch Please? Then join our Patreon! For only $5 a month you can get all of the video versions of the pod. PLUS more goodies at higher patron levels. We couldn't do any of this without your support. Thank you!

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YouTube: Black Women Stitch

Instagram: Black Women Stitch

Facebook: Stitch Please Podcast

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The Black Women Stitch 2024 Wall Calendar is available NOW! Do not miss out on your chance to and get your stitch together with a year of artistic inspiration!

This week on *Stitch Please,* Lisa is joined by Salina, Toni, and Shon—the dynamic trio behind the upcoming Raleigh Frocktails! They dish on how the Atlanta Frocktails sparked their idea and how they pulled off planning the Raleigh event in just 4 months (with a little HOO-DEE-HOO action, of course). Tune in to hear how mood boards are fueling the buzz and pushing everyone to step out of their comfort zones!

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https://www.raleighfrocktails.com/home

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Dr. Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory, and American slavery. She is the founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers on Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville, Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

The Black Women Stitch 2024 Wall Calendar is available NOW! Do not miss out on your chance to and get your stitch together with a year of artistic inspiration!

Ready to tap in to the visuals of Stitch Please? Then join our Patreon! For only $5 a month you can get all of the video versions of the pod. PLUS more goodies at higher patron levels. We couldn't do any of this without your support. Thank you!

In this lively "Restitch" episode of the Stitch Please podcast, Lisa chats with Jasika Nicole about breaking creative boundaries in showbiz. They dive into Hollywood's limits, championing diversity, and the empowering art of setting boundaries, even in the online sewing community. Jasika shares her journey, from handling unwanted advice to ditching cop roles, urging everyone to carve out their own creative space with joy and authenticity.

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Jasika Nicole IG: @jasikaistrycurious

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Dr. Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory, and American slavery. She is the founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers on Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville, Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Ready to tap in to the visuals of Stitch Please? Then join our Patreon! For only $5 a month you can get all of the video versions of the pod. PLUS more goodies at higher patron levels. We couldn't do any of this without your support. Thank you!

The Black Women Stitch 2024 Wall Calendar is available NOW! Do not miss out on your chance to and get your stitch together with a year of artistic inspiration!

Join the Black Women Stitch Patreon.

Shasta Schatz

Shasta Schatz loves to create. Her favorite hobby is sewing, where she dabbles in yarn manipulation, painting, 3D printing, hot gluing, and duct taping. Her costuming inspiration is mainly from the 16th century drawing inspiration from her love of art museums. 

Lisa Woolfork

Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English, specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory and American slavery. She is the convener and founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. #Charlottesville. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Insights from this episode:

• Insights on historical costuming
• Differences between costuming and cosplay
• Shasta’s journey in costuming
• How art museums have inspired Shasta’s work
• How Shasta found a community in costuming
• The challenges she has experienced in making garments

Quotes from the show:

• “I do a lot of observing when I am costuming no matter where I am” -Shasta Schatz in “Stitch Please”
• “Every single garment that I make, every accessory, every headpiece, every beaded pin that I put in my hair, I can probably trace it back to art history or letter that was written to a person” -Shasta Schatz in “Stitch Please”
• “I absolutely give out information freely, always send me messages, I will tell everybody everything because nobody told me anything when I started out after college” -Shasta Schatz in “Stitch Please”
• “Nobody wants to sew upholstery fabric by hand, so you put that part in the machine, but you do the linen part by hand” -Shasta Schatz in “Stitch Please”
• “Incorporate a little bit of hand sewing into every single garment that you make” -Shasta Schatz in “Stitch Please”
• “Go out and grab a big three pattern that looks close to what you want coz it’s at least gonna give you an idea of what goes into it” -Shasta Schatz in “Stitch Please”

Resources mentioned:

• Audre Lorde’s essay
• The Tudor Tailor

Stay Connected:

Lisa Woolfork

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Shasta Schatz

Instagram: Shasta 

Facebook: Green Linen Shirt 

Twitter: ScifiCheerGirl 

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.

Sign up for the Black Women Stitch

Join the Black Women Stitch Patreon.

Serena

Serena sews and collects vintage patterns and sewing machines. She enjoys creating vintage content from the 1940s-1950s for Instagram and YouTube to help encourage diversity in the vintage world and share her passion for vintage style. She enjoys dressing up and creating her vintage reality. 

Lisa Woolfork

Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English, specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory and American slavery. She is the convener and founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. #Charlottesville. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Insights from this episode:

• Insights on Serena’s style as a form of costuming
• How Serena describes her style and practice
• Her journey in transforming her wardrobe
• Serena’s journey into vintage clothing
• Serena’s favorite vintage decade
• Insights into Serena’s black vintage inspiration

Quotes from the show:

• “I felt comfortable with myself like as a person, I’ve always been into vintage” -Serena in “Stitch Please”
• “I don’t think I have a favorite, I chose my style in seasons” -Serena in “Stitch Please”
• “I love that your creative genius is not gonna be encumbered by the historical demand of the time” -Lisa in “Stitch Please”
• “I think the word authentic is a word that gets absolutely beaten to death, it gets overused. There are some folks that will have you think that authenticity is a thing that you do, rather than who you are” -Lisa in “Stitch Please”
• “First, I am a creator. I like to dress in the past, but I like to leave room for creativity” -Serena in “Stitch Please”
• “I think 100 percent historical accuracy is not realistic” -Serena in “Stitch Please”
• “I try not to be too inspired by people that I can’t talk to and relate to, and usually that not gonna be celebrities. I try and find inspiration in everyday things and people” -Serena in “Stitch Please”
• “I try and find inspiration from all types of people in all walks of life because I don’t want to live in this tunnel of monotony” -Serena in “Stitch Please”
• “Never believe you are ever done learning” -Serena in “Stitch Please”
• “Don’t underestimate the power of just trying because you really don’t know if you are capable until you actually try” -Serena in “Stitch Please”

Stay Connected:

Lisa Woolfork

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Serena

Instagram: Sewrena

YouTube: SewRena 

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.

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Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English, specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory and American slavery. She is the convener and founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. #Charlottesville. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Sign up for the Black Women Stitch quarterly newsletter

Check out our merch here
Leave a BACKSTITCH message and tell us about your favorite episode.
Join the Black Women Stitch Patreon
Check out our Amazon Store

Stay Connected:
YouTube: Black Women Stitch
Instagram: Black Women Stitch
Facebook: Stitch Please Podcast

Join the Black Women Stitch Patreon.

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich is a crafter, a blogger, a sewist, and the author of several children’s books, including Operation Sisterhood, It Doesn’t Take A Genius, 8th Grade Superzero, Two Naomis, Saving Earth: Climate Change and the Fight For Our Future, as well as the picture book Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-Ins, and Mae Makes A Way: The True Story of Mae Reeves, Hat and History Maker. Her most recent release is The Sun Does Shine: An Innocent Man, A Wrongful Conviction, and the Long Path to Justice with Anthony Ray Hinton and Lara Love Hardin. She is the editor of the We Need Diverse Books anthology The Hero Next Door, and has contributed to several collections.

Lisa Woolfork

Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English, specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory and American slavery. She is the convener and founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. #Charlottesville. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Insights from this episode:

• Olugbemisola’s start of her sewing journey
• Olugbemisola’s childhood and growing up with black dolls
• How Olugbemisola is bringing dignity to black folks through her books and amplifying their voices
• Insights on affirming black women and how...

Black Girls Sew Projects by Hekima Hapa and Lesley Ware available here

Join the Black Women Stitch Patreon.

Hekima Hapa

Hekima Hapa is the founder of the nonprofit, community organization Black Girls Sew in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Not only is Hapa the founder, but she is a fashion designer and a business owner of Harriet’s by Hekima (HbyH), a Harriet’s Alter Ego company. Hapa is investing her over two decades of experience in fashion styling, fashion merchandising, sewing, and designing to teach courses for Black Girls Sew to leave the youth excited about education in sewing, design, and entrepreneurship. She has also co-authored the book Black Girls Sew with Lesley Ware. 

Lesley Ware

Lesley Ware is an author, educator, entrepreneur, and personality who has written five books: Sew Fab: Sewing and Style for Young Fashionistas, My Fab Fashion Style File, How to Be a Fashion Designer, 101 Ways to Love Your Style and Black Girls Sew.

Lesley’s passion for inspiring youth began when she earned her degrees in Elementary Education and Public Administration and continued when she orchestrated national programs for institutions like the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Girl Scouts of the USA.

She has created fashion education programs for the Parsons School of Design, Metropolitan Museum of Art with the Costume Institute, Pioneer Works, Museum of the City of New York, New Visions, New York Times Student Journeys, and other institutions.

Insights from this episode:

• Insights into what led Lesley and Hekima to write their book
• How they chose the fashion icons to interview in their book
• How denim is connected to black ancestry
• Insights on how they bring in fashion and black cultural knowledge 
• Lessons Hekima and Lesley learned while writing their book during the pandemic
• The lessons they hope people will learn from reading their book

Quotes from the show:

• “I talk to people all the time about how easy it is to upcycle denim and how easily and readily available it is, but it is not something easy to produce” -Hekima Hapa in “Stitch Please”
• “It is really important that we think about it [denim] historically: it being connected to cotton, and how our ancestors being here” -Hekima Hapa in “Stitch Please”
• “Every time that I get an opportunity to do anything, especially working on books, in my head I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to do this again, so I give it everything that I possibly can” -Lesley Ware in “Stitch Please”
• “The logistics of writing a book in the pandemic present challenges and opportunities” -Lesley Ware in “Stitch Please”
• “I think the book itself is like a love letter to Black girls, and that's something that I really love about it” -Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “To get your stitch together, you’ve got to write it down” -Lesley Ware

Support Black Women Stitch on Patreon. 

Bianca Springer was born and raised in The Bahamas, now lives in Pearland, Texas, with her husband and two children. She learned to sew as a child, but says motherhood cultivated her passion for the craft. Representation matters and Bianca always tries to honor that through her writings. Recently she wrote REPRESENT! an embroidery book that looks like you! It celebrates diversity with more than 50 embroidery motifs of people in a wide array of skin colors, body shapes, and natural hairstyles. No need for painstaking design alterations—you can simply jump right in and start stitching. These inclusive embroidery projects represent every kind of beauty; see yourself and your loved ones in these designs. Expand your embroidery and sewing skills while increasing your appreciation of others! Celebrate beautiful YOU!

Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English,  specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory and American slavery. She is the convener and founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. #Charlottesville. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Insights from this Episode

• What does the word “represent” means to Bianca
• Why does Bianca feel a strong urge to represent the black community in an unapologetic way
• Bianca’s trajectory writing down her designs and patterns on blogs and  magazines
• How was Bianca’s process to write her book
• How Bianca’s character has been put to test in the industry
• Bianca’s thoughts on community building
• Bianca’s  “Represent!” book and its frames
• What would Bianca say to a person that is looking to “get their stitch together”

Quotes from the Show: 

• "[About  the meaning of represent] It means authentically showing off as your true self or allowing people into your space so they can do that as well" - Bianca Springer in “Stitch Please”
• "This is me stepping into a space, I am not whispering, I am not easing in, I am not trying to stand back and wait for you to acknowledge me, I feel like in my craft life and in the craft spaces I have been in as an introvert, I had been happy to do that" - Bianca Springer in “Stitch Please”
• "We are the ones we have been waiting for" - Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• "As someone who is trying to encourage others into craft, I want people to understand perfection is not the goal so if your work is less than perfect framing it elevates it. I’m highlighting the imperfection" - Bianca Springer in “Stitch Please”
• "I say this book [Represent!] is for everyone, not about everyone" - Bianca Springer in “Stitch Please”
• "Try something different and ask themselves two questions beyond their resistance, whatever thing is stopping you from advancing, ask yourself why and then why not and once you begin to explore that, you’re gonna get some stitches together" - Bianca Springer in “Stitch Please”

Stay Connected:

Lisa Woolfork

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Bianca Springer

Website: https://thanksimadethem.com

Blog:

Join Black Women Stitch on Patreon. 

Tracy Perry is a self-taught artist with 30+ years of experience in sewing and art to create unique dolls using fabric or clay. She's been creating and selling dolls since 2008. Tracy was the owner and operator of ImaginePerryDolls and TerranDollmaker.  Tracy endeavors to make dolls that show the many colors and uniqueness. She strongly believes that everyone should have access to a doll that looks like them or inspires them. Her dolls have appeared in an issue of Art Dolls Quarterly.  And she has a sincere fan base that includes Virginia-based doll clubs, and collectors from around the United States.

Host: Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of African American Literature and Culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, the fiction of Black identity, trauma theory, and American slavery. She is the convener and founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black Lives Matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers on Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she became a founding member of Black Lives Matter Charlottesville. Actually, she is active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the College Fellows Program to reshape the undergraduate general education curriculum.

Insights from this episode:

• How Tracy got started in doll making
• Insights into the different types of dolls
• Differences between soft sculpture and cloth dolls
• Tracy’s button-jointed doll experience and the lessons she learned
• Tracy’s favorite tools in doll making
• Tracy’s process in doll making and choosing the personality, shape, outfit, and character

Quotes from the show:

• “Plushies can be a novelty, they can represent lots of different things: they can be abstract, they can be representational” -Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “Don’t overcommit if you are a solopreneur” -Tracy Perry in “Stitch Please”
• “You love dolls, you love doll making, and that love was very much tested and it stood its test but you also got to learn lessons about boundaries, about protecting the peace of your creative life” -Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “My number one tool is my hemostat” -Tracy Perry in “Stitch Please”
• “If you have something that is working for you, don’t change” -Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “One of the things I love about your dolls is how they look like you” -Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “I just try to do what I like, I was just bending myself backward trynna say ‘people don’t like this, people don’t like that,’ then I would find out that people did like it” -Tracy Perry in “Stitch Please”
• “I think too often when women, especially Black women, wanna do something that’s self-directive, self-determined, self-reflective, it’s seen as selfish, which is absolutely false” -Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “The work that comes from your hands should reflect the deepest essence of who you are, as well as from the inside and outside” -Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”

Stay Connected:

Lisa Woolfork

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Tracy Perry

Website: Seams Like Tracy

Instagram: TR Perry

YouTube: Seams Like Tracy

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