Strengthening connections, one stitch at a time

According to founder Shaye Hardisty, Little House Seamstress is all about love, fun and connecting through creativity. Shaye teaches sewing lessons and classes that help participants to feel empowered through learning new skills and creating something to wear that’s unique and awesome.

Shaye is self-taught and began learning to sew while pregnant with her eldest child.

“Through those early years of parenting, I found my sense of self again and confidence in my changing body through making my own clothing.”

Sewing has become a big part of their little family, with her husband, local musician Lee Hardisty, also teaching alongside Shaye.

“Making our own clothes gives us a feeling of freedom and rebelliousness that enhances our life and adds fun to the simple act of wearing clothes.”

Currently, Little House Seamstress offers project-based workshops in Nambour and Maroochydore. The projects range from skirts, dresses and shorts to bumbags and purses.

“The class sizes are kept small to create a focussed but fun and social learning environment,” said Shaye.

As a sewist, Shaye says that she is told so often about people’s connection to sewing through their parents or grandparents, nostalgia and memories of a skill that has disappeared within one or two generations.

“There is so much excitement to reclaim these skills while making clothes that make us feel good and fit our unique bodies,” she said.

• To book a workshop or find out more, go to www.littlehouseseamstress.com

Lee and Shaye Hardisty and kids Dali, left, and Wala. Below: an example of what you can do in one of Shaye’s workshops.