Needlework needed a new image – and seamstress Sheila-May Green had an idea brewing. Diane Parkes finds out why her cafe club is oh-sew special.

There is a hum of machines whirring and a hum of chatter this Sunday lunchtime as the Sewing Cafe gets under way.

In a shop front on the edge of Northfield, a group of women meet weekly to stitch, pattern-make, hem – and share ideas.

With the increased interest in traditional crafts and the growing popularity of knitting clubs, this sewing club was the obvious next step for owner Sheila-May Green.

Sheila spent more than ten years teaching textiles to youngsters before deciding to share her skills with adults.

She set up the Birmingham School of Sewing last year, and soon discovered how many people still loved to try their hand at crafts. And so she launched the Sewing Cafe.

Here, people can book sessions of at least an hour to sit and stitch – and enjoy a cup of coffee and a cake at the same time.

“The cafe is somewhere informal where people can share their ideas,” Sheila says.

“They don’t need to bring any equipment and they don’t need to worry about their level of experience – they can just come along and have a go at something.

“Anyone can sew, it is just a case of having the confidence.”

Sheila says she has always been fascinated by needlework.

“I started when I was about nine,” she recalls. “I used to use my gran’s sewing machine, which still had a treadle.

“I used to make little smock dresses and I would take my brothers’ socks and turn them into dresses for my dolls.”

Sheila went on to run a bridal business and to create bespoke handmade silk lingerie. She set up in business selling prom, bridal and communion dresses but decided she also wanted to teach.

Taking a BA in Fashion, Design and Technology and then a PGCE at Cheltenham College, she moved into education, reaching the position of head of the textiles department at Turves Green Girls’ School And Technology.

Her teaching experience was invaluable as she embarked upon leading a series of short courses from her own base in Northfield. And she saw a great response.

“I have had people come from Leicester and London because they cannot find a course like this near them – or because London is too expensive,” she says. “The youngest person so far was 14 and the oldest was a woman in her 70s, who wanted to make a corset.

“I have had one man come to one of the courses. He was fixing up his flat and he made a cushion.”

Sheila says crafts such as sewing are making a huge comeback – but there are many people who do not know where to start.

“I have had people say to me that they have never used a sewing machine or don’t know how to thread one,” she says.

“The problem is that we have lost these practical skills. They weren’t being taught in a lot of schools. People were learning the technical side of textiles but they weren’t learning how to sew.

“People come here not knowing what to expect and it is so lovely when you see them leave with something they have actually made.”

But not everyone wants to sign up to the commitment of a course.

“That is why I set up the cafe,” says Sheila. “It is a way for people to come along and have a go at sewing without having to pay for a full course.”

The cafe is equipped with sewing machines, scissors, fabrics and large tables for cutting patterns.

“What a lot of people like is the space,” says Sheila. “When you are sewing at home, you don’t always have the room to spread out patterns. And everyone complains about having to put the sewing machine away at the end. Here, they don’t have to worry about any of that.”

There is also a ready-made panel of expertise.

“What is really lovely is that people come with different skills and different interests,” says Sheila.

“They can share those ideas. It is very friendly and it doesn’t matter what experience anyone has.”

One cafe fan who enjoys that sharing process is Bernie White, of Kingstanding, who travels across the city each week for the cafe.

“I was looking for something like this and found it on the internet,” says 53-year-old Bernie.

“It is really nice to be with like-minded people. Everyone has a different skill, so it is a really good way to learn from other people.

“It is really comfortable and relaxing and you don’t need to worry about how much you know.”

Bernie has loved needlework since she was a little girl and has recently opened her own shop, Bernie the Dressmaker, in Kingstanding.

“Everyone knows me as ‘Bernie the dressmaker’ so I thought I would call my shop that,” she says.

“I have always done lots of sewing and dressmaking. I have worked from home for 30 years, making dresses and doing alterations, but I always had another job as well. So I decided to open the shop, which is a new venture.

“I am hoping that Sheila will also come over and hold the Sewing Cafe there as it is such a great idea.”

Bernie is keen to encourage others to pick up a needle and thread.

“It is really sad that sewing is a dying skill,” she says. “Before the schools went back I was sewing school badges onto blazers. People could do it themselves – but they don’t have the confidence to try.

“I have always loved sewing and find it really relaxing. I learned to sew when I was about 13 years old from my grandmother and my aunts and it is a shame if these skills are not being passed on now.”

Sitting beside Bernie is 46-year-old florist Debbie Lewis, from Northfield, who is busy making cushions for a craft fair.

“I found this sewing cafe on the internet and thought it sounded such a good idea,” she says. “I really enjoy it.

“I learned to sew at school and have always been interested in making my own clothes and patterns.

“I have always done a lot of furnishings and I have made a couple of prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses, too. I also used to do a lot of costumes for pantomimes.

“But sewing can be quite a lonely thing to do and you need a lot of space. It is nice to be able to come here and talk to other people, listen to their ideas and have all the room you need.”

* The Sewing Cafe meets on Sundays from noon to 3pm at the Birmingham School of Sewing, 960 Bristol Road South, Northfield. For information see www.birminghamschoolofsewing.co.uk or contact Sheila-May on 07920 031 744 or sheilamay@birminghamschoolofsewing.co.uk