Sew beautiful

Miss Maude, purveyor of fine fabrics, haberdashery and patterns, has set up shop in the old Oddfellows Hall in Greytown and is reviving the (almost) lost art of sewing your own clothes. By Katherine Robinson.

The first time Emma Smith used a sewing machine was not exactly encouraging. At age eight, she managed to sew right across the top of her thumb. It didn’t put her off, and largely self-taught, she has been sewing ever since, “ranging from curtains to wedding dresses, and everything in between,” she says.

Emma, who’s worked in fashion, finance, and business development, shares her lifelong love of sewing in Miss Maude’s. Everything is thoughtfully sourced and beautifully displayed. Rolls of fabric –linen, cotton, viscose and fine wool – are propped against stands for easy viewing. Patterns are chosen with care from independent designers all around the world. If you needed inspiration to dust off the old Elna, and start sewing again, you’d find it here.

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Miss Maude began life as a website. Sparked by seeing many gorgeous fabrics in her travels overseas, Emma came home to New Zealand to find we had a dearth of dress fabrics here.

“It was such a shame, there used to be a fabric shop in every small town. I decided to curate fabrics, patterns and haberdashery from around the world in a website. At the time, we were living at Lake Hawea at the foot of Mt Maude and the mountain was always in my view. That’s where the name came from.”

The business grew rapidly, attracting a wide community of sewers sharing photos, stories and encouragement online. “It seemed I wasn’t the only one who wanted to sew,” says Emma.

Now living in Greytown, Emma found that her stock out-grew space in the family home. Taking up the lease of the roomy former Oddfellows Hall has been a
real boon, not only allowing for retail but also a backroom for sewing machines, tables, and a programme of classes for all ages and skill levels getting underway.

She has a theory about the rising popularity of sewing and other crafts. “Making is no longer a necessity. People don’t do it because it is a domestic chore, people are doing it because it’s a pleasure. A lot of my customers really enjoy the slow process of making something.

“One aspect of mental well-being is the sense of achievement that you get from making something from start to finish. And with sewing your own clothes, not only do you get that sense of achievement but it is compounded when someone says ‘Where did you get that?’ and you can say, ‘Well, actually I made it.”

She’s enjoying running the shop. “People may come in with an idea and you work with them to come up with a solution. It’s very inspiring because you can see what people are doing and you can throw round ideas. Miss Maude has been online for a while, so I’ve had online customers visit me from as far as Auckland and South Australia.

Miss Maude Fabric + Sewing Supplies, 11 Hastwell St, Greytown, www.missmaudesewing.co.nz