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Sasha Black

Sasha Black is a home sewist and content creator who is known for her amazingly hilarious sewing videos as Sasha Sews. She started sewing in 2015 as an amateur and began sharing her mishaps on Instagram, learning how to improve her craft from the sewing community along the way.

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 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.

Insights from this episode:

• What led to the switch from sewing for fun without much care for instructions or technique to making something that would last
• Finding humor in the process of sewing, making mistakes, and learning
• Defining your summer style
• The story behind Sasha’s TikTok apology to her Coverstitch
• Navigating a change when your brand name no longer represents you

Quotes from the show:

• “People are so willing to help, and that is why I have gotten to where I am and am still going–because of the fact that people are so willing to share information.” – Sasha Black, Stitch Please
• “I enjoy creating. It’s a form of art for me, the same way sewing is. I want my page to be a space where people can feel like they can be creative. Like they can be themselves. Like they can make whatever it is they want, even if other people may not like it. So what? Do you like it?” – Sasha Black, Stitch Please
• “I believe that Black women, girls, and femmes, we use our sewing as an extension of our freedom–as an expression of our freedom.” Lisa Woolfork, Stitch Please
• “Don’t let anybody force you to turn your hobby into a business. If you don’t want to make your hobby a business, then let it stay a hobby! A lot of times people will be like, ‘Oh, you could do this! You can make money off it.’ Maybe I want to! Maybe I just want to do it because I love it!” – Sasha Black, Stitch Please
• “Be yourself with what you’re making. Don’t make anything because it’s popular or trendy. Find out who you are as a person and what fits you, what your style is, because I promise you, people are going to gravitate towards those who are authentic in their style.” – Sasha Black, Stitch Please

Resources Mentioned:

• YouTube sewing tutorials by Annika Victoria
• “Freedom is not a secret. It’s a practice.” – Alexis Pauline Gumbs
• Mimi G’s Simplicity patterns
• Dose of Fabric (Black-owned Ankara fabric company)
• Kila Tank, Allie Olson Patterns

Stay Connected:

YouTube: Black Women Stitch

Instagram: Black Women Stitch

Facebook: Stitch Please Podcast

Lisa Woolfork

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Sasha Black

Instagram: SashaSews

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.

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