Sewn Company arises from a legacy of hand-stitchers past and present. Founder, Sarah E. Woodyard, is committed to carrying on this heritage. She took her first steps in a fabric store and cherishes the quilts passed down through her family.
Inspired by the labor of historical dressmakers she spent seven years apprenticing at the Margaret Hunter Millinery Shop in Colonial Williamsburg to learn eighteenth-century mantua-making (dressmaking) and millinery (accessories). After completing her apprenticeship she became a Journeywoman mantua-maker and milliner. Sarah also holds her M.A. in Material Culture from the University of Alberta. To read her thesis about hand-sewing as a form of inquiry click here.
Photo: Fred Blystone
After ten years of sewing and interpreting at the Margaret Hunter Shop it was time to take this knowledge into the twenty-first century. She is passionate about preserving the skills and stories of hand sewing, through research, design and education. These stories remind us of what is possible through practice, attention and care. She hopes that by investing in a hand-sewn garment or class you will reconnect to yourself and your history.
Remember that your hands are capable, remember that you are capable of making a beautiful and whole life…Remember what your hands can do.