Significant Seams

Photo courtesy of: www.madelinespokes.co.uk 

Wrap your kids in duct tape at Woodside Children's Centre and Catherine West’s Making Mamas Mannequin Menagerie workshop during the trail (ENTRY 91). This summer, Catherine and the Children's Centre have been holding holiday sewing workshops with vulnerable families from across E17 teaching sewing and doing sewing related activities with mums and their kids. The participants have been invited by the outreach teams at Woodside, Lloyd Park, Highams Hill, Chapel End, and Barclay's Children's Centres. They're making mannequins, life size models, patterns, animal appliques, and clothes together - which will be part of an exhibition running throughout the trail. And on 6 or 9 September, you can come along to learn how to make a mannequin (yup, it involves getting wrapped in duct tape!), and ways you use it while sewing.  Bring tight, disposable clothing and something to wear home!

Catherine has recently launched Community Interest Company Significant Seams, which brings people together to participate in creative and practical textile-related projects.  Crafts, especially sewing, are known to have significant health benefits, especially for stress-related conditions, with what’s known as the relaxation response. Rhythmic and repetitive activities, like sewing and quilting, can actually reverse the stress response in the body and induce a feeling of calmness. Dr. Herbert Benson has proved that regularly bringing on the relaxation response can reduce the risk of anxiety disorders, depression, and even heart disease. 

Sewing also has a long heritage of creating fellowship, support networks, and lasting friendships. Significant Seams aims to create the relaxation response, impart skills, build self-confidence in participants, while working with partners to identify the most vulnerable and needy, and faciliate provision of and access to the most appropriate additional support. Participants meet others at a similar life stage; beginning the formation of a new and lasting support network and a new self-confidence.

 The project still needs 1800 metres of duct tape donated. Please be in touch if you can help!

Making Mamas Mannequin Menagerie will be on at the Woodside Children’s Centre, Wood Street, 6 and 9 September. Click here for Significant Seams's Facebook page and here for the website. Contact Catherine at catherine@seamssignificant.co.uk for information about joining a "Making Mamas" sewing workshop or taking private lessons.