Stitch Please

On this episode of Stitch Please, Lisa tackles the sewing struggle nobody talks about enough: being stuck in the “intermediate” stage. You’re past beginner mistakes, but not quite sewing couture gowns in your sleep either.From confusing pattern labels to Reddit fueled sewing anxiety, Lisa breaks down why intermediate is less of a skill level and more of a messy, creative in between space. The takeaway? Keep practicing, trust your progress, and maybe… read the pattern instructions before complaining.=====Hosted By: Dr. Lisa WoolforkSenior Producer: Krystal HillProducer: Mike Bryant===============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 WoolforkTwitter: Lisa Woolfork======Stay Connected:YouTube: Black Women StitchInstagram: Black Women StitchFacebook: Stitch Please Podcast--Sign up for the Black Women Stitch quarterly newsletterCheck out our merch hereLeave a BACKSTITCH message and tell us about your favorite episode.Join the Black Women Stitch PatreonCheck out our Amazon Store

This week on Stitch Please, Lisa calls out every sewer who’s ever said, “Eh… I’ll skip that step.” Yes, she’s talking about under stitching, stay stitching, basting and even hand stitching (deep sigh).With humor, honesty, and a little self dragging, Lisa breaks down why those “annoying extra steps” are actually the reason some garments look fine… and others look flawless. From facings that refuse to behave to necklines that stretch into chaos, she explains exactly what goes wrong when you rush and how doing it right the first time saves you from rage sewing later.Those invisible stitches are doing very visible work. Skip them if you want… just don’t be surprised when your outfit starts acting up.=====Hosted By: Dr. Lisa WoolforkSenior Producer: Krystal HillProducer: Mike Bryant========Sign Up For Lisa's Class at The Fiber and Fabric Craft Festival In Chicago===============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 WoolforkTwitter: Lisa Woolfork======Stay Connected:YouTube: Black Women StitchInstagram: Black Women StitchFacebook: Stitch Please Podcast--Sign up for the Black Women Stitch quarterly newsletterCheck out our merch hereLeave a BACKSTITCH message and tell us about your favorite episode.Join the Black Women Stitch PatreonCheck out our Amazon StoreMentioned in this episode:2026_FFCFestival Promo Midroll 2026_FFCFestival Promo Preroll

Join the Black Women Stitch Patreon. Lisa WoolforkLisa 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. Kamali ObiaguHer first craft was crocheting, which she began in 2014. A few years later she decided she wanted to learn how to sew. Once she learned about PDF patterns and all the things she could make with a sewing machine, she knew she had found her passion. That was late 2018 and since then she has been sewing nonstop and has improved her sewing skills and taken over most of her wardrobe with her makes. Insights from this episode:How does Kamali incorporate her crafts into the gift-giving and decorating aspect of the holidaysThe significance of celebrating KwanzaaImportant lessons that Kamali gives to her childrenKamali’s desire to design pajamas based on African prints this yearKamali’s plans for her crafts during the Kwanzaa seasonWhat is the message behind KwanzaaThe importance of hand-made things for KamaliThe joy that brings to Kamali doing handmade gifts  Quotes from the show: “As for decorations, our family has a different flayer on this Kwanzaa season…we still have a tree, a holiday tree but we call it the black tree, the pan African tree so its a black tree with red and green decorations to mimic the pan African colors” —Kamali Obiagu in “Stitch Please”“Kwanzaa is our time to remind ourselves how powerful we are as black people, the potential we already have and what we have for the future and to remind ourselves that we are the greatest as we are” —Kamali Obiagu in “Stitch Please”“The principles in Kwanzaa remind us what we need to do to be better within ourselves and within our community” —Kamali Obiagu in “Stitch Please”“ [About handmade gifts] I take pride in knowing that I contributed to something other than spending a whole bunch of money on a gift, it seems the roundest time it's the most expensive time of the year, and knowing that I can make something that comes from my hands…it's amazing” —Kamali Obiagu in “Stitch Please” Stay Connected:Lisa WoolforkInstagram: Lisa WoolforkTwitter: Lisa Woolfork Kamali ObiaguInstagram: Kamali ObiaguTwitter: Kamali ObiaguTikTok: Kamali ObiaguBlog: Kamali Obiagu This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.Sign up for the Black Women Stitch quarterly newsletterCheck out our merch hereLeave a BACKSTITCH message and tell us about your favorite episode.Join the Black Women Stitch PatreonCheck out our Amazon StoreStay Connected:YouTube: Black Women StitchInstagram: Black Women StitchFacebook: Stitch Please Podcast

Join the Black Women Stitch Patreon. Lisa WoolforkLisa 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. Martha McIntoshMartha is a proud Garifuna-American from the Bronx, NY, with strong roots in Livingston, Guatemala. She is a sewing enthusiast learning to sew for her curvy, plus-size body and others as well.  Insights from this episode:Details about her Garifuna originHer Christmas traditions growing upTransferring those traditions to her childrenChristmas traditions as a GarifunaThe influence of Garifuna tradition on her sewing Quotes from the show:“I already knew what to expect because of how my parents had prepared me, you know, here in the United States. Even though we were not able to go for Christmas every year, my mom and my dad made sure to tell me and share their memories of what it was growing up and what those experiences were that” —Florence Taylor in “Stitch Please”“Trying to figure out what my favorite aspect of our tradition is, is kinda hard because I love it all. There is nothing that I don’t love about being Garifuna” —Florence Taylor in “Stitch Please”“According to Garifuna traditions, shared generation to generation, taught to me by my grandmother, taught to me by my parents, and as I share those stories with my children, the Wanaragua dance is a reenactment of when we were fighting the British in St. Vincent” —Florence Taylor in “Stitch Please”“It is truly inspired by the culture (Garifuna). My sewing always takes and leads to the bold, that’s what speaks to me: the bold fabric, the colorful fabric. I truly credit that to a lot of the Garifuna traditional wears that we do” —Florence Taylor in “Stitch Please” Stay Connected:Lisa WoolforkInstagram: Lisa WoolforkTwitter: Lisa Woolfork Martha McIntoshWebsite: https://marthamcintosh.comInstagram: Martha McIntosh This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.Sign up for the Black Women Stitch quarterly newsletterCheck out our merch hereLeave a BACKSTITCH message and tell us about your favorite episode.Join the Black Women Stitch PatreonCheck out our Amazon StoreStay Connected:YouTube: Black Women StitchInstagram: Black Women StitchFacebook: Stitch Please Podcast

Check out these Black women own fabric, fiber, and sewing related businesses! Support Black Women Stitch and the Stitch Please podcast by subscribing to our Patreon or buying the 2022 Black Women Stitch Wall CalendarBLACKER FRIDAY BUSINESSES TO SUPPORT THIS WEEKEND! Thanks I Made Themwww.thanksimadethem.blogspot.comwww.thanksimadethem.etsy.comInstagram: @thanksimadethemKianga Arthttps://kiangaart.com/shopQueenora Renee Fabricshttps://queenorarenee.com/Neci Harmon and What’s She Creatinghttps://www.etsy.com/shop/WhatsSheCreatinghttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQopUcy5xZs7rPJpmejFzTwSewrorityWear Colorful FindingsSewing My StyleBra Talk BoutiqueSew Creative LoungeSew ModestCultured ExpressionsIG and FB @culturedexpressionswww.youtube.com/CEFabricVideos/Videos www.culturedexpressions.wordpress.comSassy Black Yarnswww.Facebook.com/SassyBlackYarnswww.Instagram.com/SassyBlackYarns1Bzy Peachhttps://instagram.com/bzypeachhttps://facebook.com/BzyPeachhttps://Twitter.com/BzyPeachhttps://www.ravelry.com/people/BzyPeachWax and Wraps:https://www.waxandwraps.com/https://Instagram.com/waxandwrapshttps://Facebook.com/waxandwrapshttps://Youtube.com/c/AfricaFashionGuide Wax Print Laces and More:https://www.waxprintslacesnmore.store/https://www.etsy.com/shop/WaxprintslacesnmoreAngee Quilts on EtsyKristpatternJ. Desiree StudiosSandra Lee DesignsSewn MagazineQuilts Made with LoveBlack Fae Day/Jasmine LeFleurNicole Elise DesignsPatrice J Bridal StudioSelvedge and BoltsBroke and CraftyCultured Expressions Grant Program Sign up for the Black Women Stitch quarterly newsletterCheck out our merch hereLeave a BACKSTITCH message and tell us about your favorite episode.Join the Black Women Stitch PatreonCheck out our Amazon StoreStay Connected:YouTube: Black Women StitchInstagram: Black Women StitchFacebook: Stitch Please Podcast