Giving back to our island community has been a core value since we began. To date, we have trained over 140 men and women across St. Vincent and the Grenadines in beginner, intermediate and advanced sewing courses.
“It’s not about giving back something for free. It’s about offering people an opportunity to sustain themselves. Whether it’s making their own adjustments or doing their own clothing repairs.” - Brennel Goodluck, Bequia Threadworks Production Manager and Pattern Maker
Thanks to a grant from the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund, our 2023 classes are completely free. The outpouring of enthusiasm we received meant we had to shift our original plan to accommodate even more students!
Our beginner sessions, which are well underway, are taught by Jenet Leach, our Community Instructional Teacher and assisted by Brennel, our Production Manager and Pattern Maker. Together they have been teaching simple stitches, pattern making, serging fabric and taking measurements, with the end goal of everyone making their own tote bag and skirt with a zipper.
“I used to try to do things at home myself, but this course helped me to have a better understanding of sewing, especially with the patterns.” - Claudine Collins, 2023 Beginner Student
All students shared their appreciation for Jenet’s patience and kindness. Divided into two groups of seven, Jenet attends to everyone individually, guiding and supporting where needed. As beginners, they have had little to no experience in sewing prior to the course, but wished to explore a new hobby. They have advanced rapidly in a few short weeks and we hope to see many of them in our upcoming intermediate sessions!
For the future of our community offerings, Jenet encourages more youth to sign up, particularly those who recently finished school. Opportunities such as these can be impactful in deciding on a career path.
For us, we always look first to past students and interns when hiring for our Production Team. As we expand on our classes, we aim to see even more interest across our community.
Stayed tuned on our socials to sign up for intermediate sewing training.