Sew Positive

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Sew Positive

Sew Positive is a UK registered charity bringing together sewing for positive mental health.

11/11/2026

Melissa will be at Mill Road Community Centre tonight for a talk and crafting evening…so come along if you’re local and meet a lovely group of fellow crafters!

03/11/2026

🐝 A busy day in the Sew Positive hive! 🧵✂️🩺

First up, Sew Practical… now with pockets! 👖

Volunteers Saba and Andrea helping our new group get started 🧵🙏🏻🤩🫶

Our wonderful tutor Michelle is guiding 15 participants through making their very own Jaimie PJ bottoms from Tilly and the Buttons, who generously donated the PDF pattern for us to use in our groups! We’ve printed the patterns at A0 size and today everyone got cutting! ✂️

An important lesson for any sewist is that scissors are not just scissors…they are either ✂️fabric scissors ✂️ OR ✂️paper scissors ✂️. These are the paper ones for our patterns 🙏🏻

Session one…working our measurements and getting cut out!

Careful cutting…making something from scratch that fits our body sizes made for us, not a size the clothing industry has dictated….we are all different shapes and sizes! 🫶

Our Ambassador Caroline also joined today, having done this course already, here she is talking through cutting with one of our new participants and volunteer Helen M. 👭 For our course we are using duvet covers, a brilliant way to use them and create something fabulous! ♻️🧵🎉

Thank you to our friends at Tilly and the Buttons | Learn to sew with easy sewing patterns for creating such a fab pattern. We love the ‘Tilly sizes’ that help move everyone away from the retail trope of being a size 12/14/18 etc and just create a number based on measurements. ❤️

For many of us, the only time the iron is switched on, is for a sewing project 💯

Ollie gets his blood pressure checked in our Healthy You pop-up this evening, offering our participants a low pressure opportunity to check out some quick health checks while sewing. 🩺🧵

The leaflet third from left was especially useful as we learnt to thread the new overlockers tonight 😂

Charlie putting one of our new overlockers through its paces tonight, it got a good workout! 🏋️

Congrats to Xander for completing a fab skirt for his wife tonight, overlocked and also a PRISTINE rolled hem 🤩

Melissa is always happy/impressed/relieved/grateful when the auto buttonhole works…not once but four times! 🥲

03/11/2026

🧵💗 AN EXTRAORDINARY GIFT!

When Wendy Wendy Bliss , creator of the incredible The Covid Chronicle Covid Chronicle textile project, contacted us about donating its remaining funds, we thought it might be £20 or so.

It was £519!! 🥹💗

We are absolutely blown away by this generosity!

Born during the pandemic, The Covid Chronicle brought people together through creativity, stitch and shared experiences. So much like Sew Positive, it shows how something beautiful can emerge from isolation and difficult times.

As Wendy beautifully put it:

“I was very pleased to find Sew Positive, sharing the same values and aims as The Covid Chronicle… It really does make me feel SO SEW POSITIVE.”

We’re already talking with Wendy about collaborating and potentially sharing this extraordinary work at our exhibition next year! 🪡

For now, an enormous THANK YOU to Wendy and everyone who made this possible. Your generosity will make a real difference to our little charity doing big things! 💕

Two projects, one shared belief in the healing power of creativity and connection. 🧵

23/10/2026

💚 A very special gift from a very special person! 🧵

How wonderful is this?! 🥹

After our appeal for sewing machines, our dear friend Jane has bought us a brand new John Lewis machine, in mint green no less! A perfect Sew Positive colour! 💚

For those who don’t know, without Jane, Sew Positive wouldn’t exist.

Back in 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Jane walked past my window, spotted my sewing machine and suggested we use our fabric stash to make face masks.

The rest, as they say, is history. Sew Positive’s history too! Jane became our very first trustee and has been part of our journey ever since. ❤️

Jane is currently facing enormous health challenges of her own, which makes her generosity all the more extraordinary. When she saw our appeal, she immediately insisted on buying us a machine.

That she could think of helping others at such a difficult time says everything about Jane. 💕

These little machines are brilliant, dependable workhorses, perfect for helping beginners discover the joy of sewing. We’ve even had participants buy their own after learning with us!

💚 Could you be a little bit like Jane?

We still need around five more modern, basic Janome or John Lewis machines, under 10 years old, working and complete with pedals and accessories. Have one gathering dust? We’d love to hear from you!

Thank you, Jane. For this wonderful gift, your friendship, and for starting something that’s changed so many lives. 💚

🛍️ AND WHILE YOU’RE HERE!

Tomorrow, Saturday 24 October, 10am–4pm, pop along to the Trash Chic sale at Grand Arcade, Cambridge, raising funds for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT). Fabulous sustainable shopping for a wonderful cause! 💙

22/10/2026

🧵 OH NO! WE’VE LOST A SEWING MACHINE! 😢

Our wonderful volunteer Iain has been busy servicing and maintaining our sewing machines, helping keep them running smoothly for everyone at Sew Positive. 💚

Sadly, we’ve had a casualty! One of our trusty Janome machines has reached the end of the road, with a motor that’s given up completely! 🪦🪡

CAN YOU HELP US FIND A REPLACEMENT? 🙏

We’re looking for donations of modern, basic Janome or John Lewis sewing machines, ideally less than 10 years old.

✅ In full working order, please!

✅ Complete with foot pedal, power cable and presser feet.

✅ Basic, reliable models are perfect. We don’t need anything fancy!

🧵 We’re specifically looking for Janome Janome UK or John Lewis Cambridge John Lewis machines, as compatibility and interchangeable parts make maintaining our equipment much easier.

Every donated machine helps us continue providing free, welcoming sewing sessions that bring people together, reduce isolation and support wellbeing in our community. 💚

Have you upgraded your machine and have a newer one sitting unused?

Or perhaps our friends at Janome UK Janome UK might be able to help keep our community sewing as they helped us with second hand donated machines when we set up! 🤞

📍 We’re based in Cambridge.

💬 Please message us if you can help, and do share or tag someone who might!

Let’s give an unused sewing machine a wonderful new purpose! 🧵♻️

CircularEconomy Reuse

Address

Cambridge

Website

https://linktr.ee/SewPositive, https://book.sewpositive.org/portal

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