Stitch Please

Carol's Sewing Corner with Couture Sewist Carol Ware

Episode Summary

Carol Crocker Ware has been sewing for more than 23 years. She has developed couture level skills in that time. Now she shares specialized knowledge generously with both new and experienced sewists. In this episode of Stitch Please, she talks to Lisa about her journey in sewing. Hear how sewing a robe for her son led Carol on this journey. Find out how she is able to keep her enthusiasm and fire alive. She also highlights her Facebook group, how she is able to run it, and her collaboration with Janome.

Episode Notes

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Carol Crocker Ware

Carol Crocker Ware is a fabric whisperer who runs a Facebook group, Carol’s Sewing Corner.

Lisa Woolfork

Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English, specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory, and American slavery. She is the founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Insights from this episode:

• Carol’s sewing story
• Sewing for his son
• How she got her son involved in her sewing journey
• How her Facebook group came about
• Managing a Facebook group
• How Carol keeps her enthusiasm alive
• Differences between Instagram and TikTok for sewing communities
• Carol’s relationship with Janome
• Carol’s publications in Better Home and Gardens Magazine

Quotes from the show:

• “It's important to pay attention to details, and there are some sewists that really prioritize that, and you want the inside of your garment to look as good as the outside” —Carol Crocker Ware in “Stitch Please”
• “I heard this very interesting phrase, and it said amateurs practice until they stop getting it wrong (...), whereas professionals are practicing until they can't do anything but get it right, the practice is to get it right” —Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “I love that you have created a child who is make worthy, someone who values what you do, is proud of the things that you do in your skills” —Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “[About sewing] it's my therapy and second of all, I am a lover of outfits and clothes” —Carol Crocker Ware in “Stitch Please”
• “I think that it really does take a special person to create a learning environment where people can ask questions and something where it's okay not to know something” —Lisa Woolfork in “Stitch Please”
• “So my thing is if you want to be an ambassador for a sewing machine company, don't just do it to get a sewing machine, you need to know what you're getting into” —Carol Crocker Ware in “Stitch Please”
• “My fellow sewists, please slow down, enjoy the process, perfect your techniques and you'll always have a wonderful outcome” —Carol Crocker Ware in “Stitch Please”

Stay Connected:

Lisa Woolfork

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Carol Crocker Ware

Facebook: Carol Crocker Ware 

Instagram: Carol Crocker Ware

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.