Sewing Influence

Mildred Bell knew when her daughter, Catherine, was young that she was going to be a teacher.

“I don’t think she believes me now, but I knew when she was 6 or 7 years old that she would be a teacher,” Bell says. “I didn’t forsee her teaching sewing. I’m really so proud of her and the work she’s doing. I know those kids love her and I know she loves what she’s doing.”

Catherine Bell is the owner and sewing instructor at Sew Simple Sewing, a Lawrence business that teaches kids the art of sewing and clothes design.

“I’m so happy to be doing this for a living,” Catherine says with enthusiasm. “I really feel blessed.”

Catherine’s passion for sewing and fashion design began early. Some of her first memories are of her mother sewing, designing and making alterations for her brothers and sisters (she’s the 8th of 11 kids) and others. While most of her siblings couldn’t care less about the process, Catherine was fascinated by watching her mother work.

“I remember sneaking downstairs after bedtime to watch my mom sew,” Catherine explains. “I just loved everything about it. I would ask a lot of questions and wanted to know what she was doing, why she was doing it and how to do it.”

Mildred Bell has vivid memories of those times when Catherine was suppose to be in bed.

“Oh, yes, I remember her not sleeping,” she says with a laugh. “She was the only one of our kids that really took an interest in sewing. I think I knew early on that she would do something involving design and construction.”

Catherine took a few sewing classes while at Lawrence High School and it wasn’t long before she had outgrown the instruction. In fact, her sewing instructor asked her if she would do alternations for her. Soon, Catherine began designing her own pieces and people started to notice.

“My teachers would stop me in the hall and ask me about what I was wearing,” she says with a laugh. “I think when people at school started asking me to alter their clothes or even design something original a light bulb went off in my head. I mean, my teachers were paying me to do this, so that’s when I really started to consider it as a possible career path.”

Catherine graduated from Johnson County Community College with an Apparel Design and Technology degree and spent time in New York City shadowing design teams from J. Crew, Victoria’s Secret, Ralph Lauren and others. Her mother had long had a business (Properwear) designing and alternating clothes, so Catherine starting working with her mother. She sewed, hemmed and designed her own pieces.

“I’ve always said fashion should inspire, not exploit people,” Mildred says. “Clothes don’t make the person. I’ve never tried to be fashionable. I’ve raised my kids to know the difference between fads and fashion that compliments.”

One day, a client asked Catherine if she would teach her granddaughter to sew. Catherine had never considered the idea.

“I was like, ‘Ah, I don’t know how to teach,’” she says with a big laugh. “But she was persistent so I agreed to give it a shot. I actually really enjoyed it. That’s when we had the idea to start individual classes.”

The idea took off quickly. Soon, Catherine was designing birthday parties and fielding requests for more classes. Properwear had some room in their building for extra sewing machines, so Catherine and Mildred decided to add sewing instruction to their business model.

“I really enjoy helping kids learn this skill that they can use for the rest of their life,” Catherine says. “It’s really rewarding to see kids’ confidence grow from not having any idea what they’re doing to having created an apron or doll clothes or something else completely on their own.”

Classes are generally a week long and each revolves around the construction of a predetermined item. One week it might be an apron, the next a shirt, etc. Classes are grouped by skill level ranging from beginners who have no idea what a sewing machine is to advanced classes in which Catherine acts as more of an advisor on projects the students are developing.

Though the pandemic has affected enrollment slightly, Catherine is excited about the future. She and her mom are planning more classes (Catherine teaches, Mildred “occasionally stops in”) and possible expansions.

“I’m having a lot of fun with these classes,” Catherine says. “When I decided to make a career out of sewing, never did I imagine a big part of it would be teaching kids, but it’s been so much fun. I’m really excited about the future. It feels really great to see a kid light up when they realize what they can do and what they can make. I have kids that now come into class with things they’ve made at home, out of class. That’s so cool.”

For Mildred, the success of Sew Simple Sewing seems natural.

“Catherine has a wonderful heart and is a tremendous seamstress, so I’m not surprised she’s a successfull teacher,” she says. “But I’m most proud of the person Catherine is and the positive impact she’s having on these kids.” LK