A GOOD READ
WWW.GATHERED.HOW/SIMPLYSEWING 43"It wouldbe amazing
if sewingpatterns were
made with wheelchair
users in mind"
twominutes.”Forgarmentsthatneedtobe
stylish,comfortable,andpracticaltowearin
a wheelchair,havingtheabilitytobeableto
makeherownclothesisa liberatingskillfor
Marie:“Thebeautyofbeingthecreatorof
myownclothesmeansI don’thaveto
compromiseonstylesI loveasI canadapt
thepattern.”Marieliveswitha chronic
illness which meansshecopeswitha range
ofdebilitating
symptomslike
extremefatigueon
a dailybasis.Aswell
asadaptingthe
clothesshemakes,
Mariehastocarefully
considerhowand
whenshesews.
“Manyofuswith
chronicconditionshavebeentoldby
healthcareprofessionalstointroduce
pacingintoourlives,”revealsMarie– which
essentiallymeansalteringthewayshe
wouldnormallyapproacha sewingproject.
“Itisa simplefactthatwithoutbreakingup
mytasks,I couldnotsewa complete
garmentwithoutcausingmyselfan
abundance of pain and fatigue.”Left:AndieWellssetupChronicallySewn
in 2018 asa placeforsewiststoshare
inspirationaswellassomewheretodiscuss
sewingissuesthatarisewithchronicmental
andphysicalillnesses.Andiealsoruns a blog
at http://www.sewprettyinpink.com.Above:Followinga consultationwithdisabled
crafterMichelleMason,charityRemap
createdanadaptedoverlockerwitha hand
controlinsteadofa footpedalsoMichellecan
achieve professional seams comfortably.Althoughit’stemptingforMarietosewuntil
shedrops,therearesomebenefitsto
tacklingprojectsinbite-sizepieces:
“Enjoyingtheprocessinsteadofrushingto
theendhashelpedmeenjoymysewing
timenoend.Bydoingthis,theeventual
garmentisgenerallyhigherqualityand
thereforeit isa moresustainablewayto
makewhichisimportanttome.”Managing
toseethepositivesdespitethestrugglesis
a skilldisabledcrafters seem to have in
abundance.ESSENTIALEQUIPMENT
Improvisationisa keywordwhenit comes
tobeinga crafterwhoislessable.Many
sewistshavefoundcleverhacksandsavvy
solutionsinordertoworkaroundtheir
restrictions.Chronicallyillsewist,Andie
Wells(@sewprettyinpink),whorunsan
Instagramfeedforotherdisabled/illcrafters
(@chronicallysewn),demonstratesthat
whenthere’sa willthere’sa way:“Myjoints
arehypermobilesoI havetroublegripping
withmyfingerssincetheybendbackwards.
InprojectswhereI havetogripelasticand
pullit,I havea lotoftrouble,soI use
surgicalclampstogriptheelastic.”
Sometimessolutionscannotbeachieved
aseasilyasthis,andequipmentneedstobe
modifiedona biggerscale.Aftersearching
andsearchingforanoverlockerwitha hand
controlinsteadofa footpeddle,Michelle
Masonturnedtothecharity,Remap(www.
remap.org.uk).Theyarepioneeringtheway
whenit comestogivinglessablepeople
thesameopportunitiesbyproviding
modifiedequipment.Andoneoftheirmany
areas of expertise is adjusting variousCHANGINGPATTERNSANDPROCESSES
Evenwhenit comestotheseeminglysimple
taskofselectingwhichpatterntomake,
disabledsewistsfacea challenge.Sewing
hobbyistandwheelchairuserMichelle
Mason(@michebemason)iskeentopoint
outthatgenericsewingpatternsaren’t
a one-size-fits-allthing:“Itwouldbe
amazingif sewingpatterns were made with
wheelchairusersin
mind.Wehave
differentneedsinour
clothes,butnotmany
designersnoticewe
exist.”Sheadds,“It
wouldbegoodtosee
whatclotheslooklike
whenyou'resitting
down.I'musuallyin
a powerchairormobilityscooter–clothes
lookdifferentwhensittingtostanding.”
Stay-at-homemum,sewing-enthusiast
andblogger,MarieLawlor(www.marie-
stitchedup.com)agreeswithMichelle:
“Therearecertainthingsyoudoneedto
considerwhenchoosingwhichgarmentsto
wearasa wheelchairuser...I lovemassive
sleeves, but they will be caked in mud in