SEW RELAXING

Singapore hobbyists find making their own clothes a form of therapy

- Joanne Soh

"You made this?" is a question these women get asked frequently.

Sewing their own clothes is their favourite pastime and their wardrobes are full of their "me mades", a craft term used to refer to self-fashioned creations.

Just do not call them seamstresses. They are sewists, a term for hobbyists who sew. Unlike seamstresses, who earn a living from making clothes, these are amateurs who sew for themselves and their family members.

But the clothes they make are far from amateurish.

Ms Amy Long, a Singaporean entrepreneur in her late 30s, is impeccably dressed in classy, vintage-looking frocks, often in Liberty fabrics that are known for their quality. And she makes almost all her clothes and often shares her handiworks on her Instagram account @rollingpins_andneedles.

Her dresses look so well-made that people have asked her to tailor for them.

"I get requests all the time, but I always tell them I make for myself," Ms Long says. "They just do not understand that sewing can be a hobby." Sewing is her "me time". "There are days when I am frustrated and I will then sit in front of the sewing machine. Sewing is calming as you know what to do. There is a flow," Ms Long says. "It is a wonderful release. It is therapeutic." She adds: "It is also productive, as you get something great at the end of it." The #sewingismytherapy hashtag on Instagram has grown in popularity with more than 437,000 posts. The photos, posted mainly by women, usually show them proudly wearing their creations.

Fellow sewist Lim Boon Kuan is also an advocate of the concept.