COUNTRY ARTISTRY MEET STEPHANIE JOHNS

Mastering The Fine Art Of Patchwork Design

Written by: Kathy Ann Gregg

Stephanie Johns loved to spend time with her grandmothers. From these women she inherited a love of traditional Seminole dress and a passion for creating clothing—as well as other items—with a patchwork design.

Johns learned about patchwork from her grandmother, Lillian, a member of the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation near Okeechobee. Her maternal grandmother is from Ecuador, giving her a Hispanic heritage, as well. This relative specialized in tailoring and making alterations. Johns remembers time with both women, especially “being under and around their sewing machines.”

‘I SAT WITH MY ELDERS AND LISTENED’

Johns in 2002 began sewing as a hobby, attending a design school for fashion. She had an all-inclusive curriculum, learning to sketch and create a vision board, learning fashion history, which machine to use and why. “It was intense … and I loved every minute of it,” she says. Although she followed that design school experience by obtaining an associate degree at a non-vocational college, time spent with fashion and fabrics remained special. So, by 2013 her sewing craft became a priority, more than just a hobby. Purchasing a newer tabletop sewing machine, along with the necessary accessories— bobbins, spare needles, colored threads, and a few extra seam rippers—Johns then immersed herself in honing her sewing skills, spending countless hours researching different patchwork designs. “But most importantly,” she adds, “I sat with my elders and listened, soaking up any knowledge they felt to pass along to me.”

‘INSPIRATION COMES IN MANY FORMS’

And from that work and kinship has arisen a one-of-a-kind boutique business—Simply Savage Steffs. She calls herself a Seminole seamstress, making Seminole patchwork clothing for babies through 3XL. While her specialty is women’s skirts and dresses, she has a new category called Graduate Stoles/Queen Sashes. And she has also created patchwork designs on towels, blankets and handbags, flower vases, kitchen canisters and silverware sorters.

But, she adds, “I do not make jackets.”

“My inspiration comes in many forms,” Johns says in describing her passion. “As I am an artist … and fabric is my medium.”

Stephanie Johns will look at an item and envision transforming it with patchwork. She works from customer photographs, for instance, translating a picture into a beautiful Seminole patchwork clothing item. “I’m almost always designing or sewing an item in my head, so I may seem distracted at times,” she says, laughing.

Stephanie Johns is also proud of her patchwork designs of awareness ribbons, the various colors and meanings such as pink for breast cancer. Each item produced is unique, as she works with exact customer specifications. Pricing is based on the type of item, how intricate the patchwork design is, the fabric, which can need stabilizing, as some stretch, or lined so as not to be transparent. And sewing with beaded or sequin fabrics can break needles, requiring a slower pace of work.

Long Client List

Johns in 2013 entered a first sewing contest at the Brighton Reservation. Her traditional dress creation took top honors. The following year, with a different dress, garnered her a third-place award. She credits competing against “the talented seamstresses and their incredible clothing pieces” as part of what makes her so good. Her long client list includes contestants in various pageants, including homecoming and rodeo queens. She had even sewn for an Indian National Finals Rodeo contestant, and the Eastern Indian Rodeo queens. Florida High School Rodeo Association queen Shelby Lynn Kirton wore a Johns’ designed shirt in her tenure.

The red, white and blue patchwork dress worn by cousin Mackenzie Johns Bowers while carrying the American flag during Brighton Field Day rodeos is another Johns creation: “It laid perfectly over the horse, as I had intended it to.” And that design was the inspiration for four dresses in the 2019 Brighton Field Days parade, as well as several homecoming dresses.

Stephanie's brother Jobe Johns and his groomsmen in November 2019 also wore her designs. And this year an Okeechobee gal was in the Miss Florida USA pageant; a new category was clothing inspired by the county contestants represented. She wore a gold outfit created by Johns, which displayed the flag of the Seminole Nation as she opened her arms.

About Simply Savage Steffs, Johns says, “I am grateful to have amazing clients that believe in my skills and talents. Simply stated, ‘I do what I love, and I love what I do.’” FCM

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