Sewing circle threads care into community

ON Thursdays, the sewing room at the Vines Road Community Centre in Hamlyn Heights is a hive of activity.

There, the members of the Sew and So Circle gather, breathing new life into fabric scraps, old pillowcases, preloved curtains and sheets, and forgotten doona covers.

The group began small, around a kitchen table in Bell Post Hill, creating shorts and dresses from donated fabrics for children living in orphanages in countries like Haiti, Cambodia and Papua New Guinea.

Inspiration, founding group member Janine Oakley said, came from a magazine article about a similar initiative. Ms Oakley felt it was a great way to “do something for kids that have got nothing”.

“Nothing’s wasted,” she said.

“We want to give to the people who are in need, whether it’s local or overseas.”

The group is sponsored by Kiwanis Geelong and has since expanded to 12 members, its skill growing along with its numbers.

The sewing circle now creates a variety of items, from hats and blankets to help keep patients warm while they’re receiving chemotherapy; bags to assist patients at the Andrew Love Cancer Centre to transport their drain bottle; to “comfort cushions” for women who have had a mastectomy – the cushion slips over the shoulder and prevents the arm rubbing on their wounds while they heal.

But the group’s signature is its “pocket of hope”, a cloth pocket that carries a card with a crocheted heart and an inspirational or heartfelt verve for its recipient to reflect on. These are distributed at St John of God and the Andrew Love centre.

For some of the sewing group’s members, the sewing circle offers welcome connection; for others, it’s an opportunity to continue putting their skills to use.

“One of our more recent members lost her husband not so long ago. She’s always sewn and she’s enjoying the camaraderie and the fact that she feels like she’s doing something for the community,” Ms Oakley said.

And not all of them are confident with a sewing machine, with circle member Carmen Chapman proving there are plenty of ways to contribute for women still eager to be involved.

Ms Chapman describes herself as the “mouthpiece” of the group and helps connect the circle’s handcrafted items with those most in need.

“I’ll make coffee,” she laughs.

Fabric donations are always welcome, but it is help transporting donations overseas that the circle is most in need of.

To date, the group has been relying on the generosity of those travelling abroad, including school groups, to deliver the group’s donations, but with only small quantities able to move this way and the cost of postage continuing to be prohibitive, the circle is seeking new solutions.

For more information, email Carmen Chapman at [email protected].