About Me

My Life in Sewing

I grew up in a low-income household, scrounging resources to get by. It was embarrassing to never have your own clothes to wear and furniture to sit on, and I constantly stayed home to complete chores and cook. I adopted at-home hobbies while monitoring my home, including sewing.

My mum came from a traditional Maltese family, and grew ecstatic: She found coincidences between my behaviors and the flow of the Maltese feminine experience. At thirteen, every Maltese girl is given ‘coming-of-age objects’, including a sewing machine and needles - coincidentally, I was thirteen when I began to urge my parents for a sewing machine. Meanwhile, I freehand crafted my patterns from newspaper. My mother later told me that this is how my Nana would sew for her family, using the same techniques and art style. Without knowing it, I walked this age-old path - sewing had seemingly come innately through my connection with Malta. Even now, my family still relies on me to fix their clothes for them and I love that my small knack for sewing began to serve a bigger purpose.

Sewing introduced me to the role of leadership - I was the founder and president of my high school’s sewing club. Here, I joined my classmates in teaching other students and children how to hand sew, sew buttons, use a machine and more. I used this as a social platform for discussing sustainable fashion, and the culture behind certain fashion trends and icons. Meanwhile, sewing also joined my life in community service - while maintaining my staff and tutoring sessions at my local library and animal shelter, I was able to make and alter costumes for my school’s theater program.

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Header Photo taken and edited by: @TheEndofSomethingBeautiful