Creative Genius: Sewing Chemistry with Stitch Lab’s Leslie Bonnell

Five years ago I was in Austin for my first visit to SXSW and was meeting one of my best friends at this fabric store and workshop that fellow sewing pals had told me I simply could NOT miss during my visit to Texas. I found myself inside Stitch Lab and my jaw dropped the minute I walked through the door. The bungalow housed a delightful selection of fabrics and samples of work you could learn how to make in one of the studio’s many sewing classes. I love Detroit, my hometown, but as I wandered through Stitch Lab I found myself longing to live right next door owner Leslie Bonnell’s magical sewing haven.

It wasn’t a surprise at all this past winter to see that one of the long lines trying to get into a vendor booth at QuiltCon belonged to Stitch Lab. Their life-size sewing machine served as the funniest photo prop for QuiltCon attendees, as awkwardly shown here yours truly above.

There’s a lot going on with Stitch Lab these days, so I checked in with Leslie to see what’s new.

Who the heck are you?!
I’m a gal with a passion for turning people on to sewing and the needle arts.

For those who have never been to Stitch Lab before, what’s the studio all about?
Stitch Lab is a little slice of heaven, all about creativity, learning new things and helping students reach their creative goals. Stitch Lab is a fabric shop and sewing school, situated in two 1920’s houses—one for our fabric shop and the other for our classroom spaces and admin office. There are fab class project samples everywhere you look. You’ll find an inspiring selection of natural fiber fabrics, wool felt, buttons and other notions galore, and a friendly staff ready to answer all your questions.

Stitch Lab’s home is a charming bungalow. What kind of work did you have to do to turn it into a sewing studio and store? Oh man. Well, I loved the charm of the house, and loved that we were moving from my own home studio into another homey vibe. I wanted people to immediately feel at ease because learning new things as adults can sometime make you feel insecure and wonky. The space definitely had been “rode hard and put up wet”. I grew up with parents who loved antiquing and refinishing rough pieces to former glory. I grew up with that appreciation of old wood and craftsmanship. Now, when I think back to tackling the Lab building, I was a little nuts about it—I re-painted every room’s walls, doors, windows, baseboards, ceilings, and cleaned up all the wood trim. I even stripped paint from the built-in cabinets, which was crazy hard work, but I couldn’t stand that they had been painted. It all went down very quickly, and I think touching and getting to know each room helped me hone in on each room’s possibilities, make them bright and fresh, and infuse some creative juju all up in there.

Before opening Stitch Lab you worked as a costume designer. Tell us a little bit more about that!
I feel so grateful to have had creative work for most of my adult life. I loved designing shows, because I could take my sewing and design skills on a fabulous ride through fantasy, spectacle and historical detail. I experienced incredibly rich and rewarding creative collaborations with the production teams and performers. But, after 13 years, the hectic pace and the intense demands that making theater requires, eventually caught up with me. I wanted to find work that would give me more time to make my own art, and more importantly, give me more quality time with my husband and friends. And that’s how the idea of sharing my sewing knowledge was born.

Which of your classes are most popular with your students?
We have over 100 different sewing classes at the Lab. For real. Beginning sewing is the cornerstone of Stitch Lab. Getting people started off on solid ground is our privilege and our specialty. There is nothing like the energy and glee of someone learning new skills and exceeding their own expectations! The reason we have so many different classes, is to support the many paths of interest that sewing can take. Apparel, practical skills like hemming and mending, making useful accessories, quilting, sewing for babies and children, fashion design, surface design, the zen of hand embroidery and knitting. The variety underscores what a valuable life skill and creative outlet sewing truly is.

You’ve got a pretty great team working with you at Stitch Lab. What’s it like working with such a talented group of instructors offering such diverse skill sets?
Well, it’s incredible! I could not be more grateful for, inspired by, and proud of the Stitch Lab staff and instructors! This is an extraordinary group of creative dynamos, who also have the incredible experience, patience and kindness it takes to be great instructors. The shop and admin staff are every bit as creative and inspiring as the instructors. Everyone shares what they are working on and the environment is delightfully supportive and fun-loving. Any given day, someone is rocking a new dress, creating something special for someone special, sharing a new idea for a class, and thrilling over student work. We reserve the Lab at least once per month all to ourselves so that we can all stitch and enjoy the space together.

I LOVE that students get to learn from our different teachers, because they all have their own brand of expertise and perspective. In sewing, you never stop learning new things, even if you’ve been at it as long as we have.

What kind of trends are you seeing in the sewing world today?
Clearly, modern quilting is huge right now. The national Modern Quilt Guild and QuiltCon have brought quilters from all over the world together in a movement toward modern design.

I’m also seeing way more people interested in tackling apparel sewing. I credit some fantastic modern pattern design lines from Made By Rae, Colette, Bluegingerdoll and Victory Patterns for creating appealing, inspiring and chic designs.

For someone who never sewn a stitch before, what’s a good way to get started?
Experiment, learn from friends and family, take advantage of free online tutorials and, of course, take classes. There’s no substitute for learning from an enthusiastic, experienced instructor, who can cheer you on, answer all your questions, and provide a ton of tips & tricks to make it fun and successful. Get a copy of Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, our go-to handbook.

The Creative Genius series on Made + Remade features fabulous DIYers and makers who inspire us. Meet more Creative Geniuses and help us share the spirit of DIY!