SEWING CLASSES NOW OFFERED AT DIVI-DIVI FABRICS

In a world where fast fashion and online shopping have taken center stage, many of the things that harken back to simpler times, like sewing, are quietly fading away.

If you grew up in a household where the whizz of the sewing machine—my mother had a big, heavy black Singer machine—was a familiar sound in your living room on a Saturday morning, and spools of thread in every color, along with zippers, buttons, thimbles, and needles were stuffed into a sewing draw or an empty Dutch cookie tin, then you understand.

However, Divi-Divi Fabrics, St. Croix’s largest store specializing in fabrics, is on a mission to revive an interest in sewing by offering daily sewing classes at its Company Street location in downtown Christiansted.

Participants learn to sew at Divi-Divi Fabrics in Christiansted

“We’ve been trying to start a sewing program for the longest time, but I guess it was never in the cards—something was always occurring [that stopped it from happening],” says Natalie Durand, second-generation co-owner of Divi-Divi Fabrics, which was founded by her parents 45 years ago. “I noticed that schools that used to teach sewing are not there anymore. You used to be able to get sewing classes at UVI. The technical school had sewing classes.”

Durand, who lives off-island, says the store’s manager, Elizabeth, informed her of a growing interest in sewing on-island.

“It’s not from the point of people wanting to sew their dresses, like in the old times you needed to sew because clothing was way too expensive, it’s just that there is an interest in learning how to do something,” she explains. “If it’s not crafts, it’s making pillows, doing upholstery or making school skirts.”

Furthermore, Durand points out that for some, the nostalgia of childhood plays a part in the interest.

“A lot of people who were not interested when they were young, and their mothers and grandmothers sewed but they had no interest back then, now that they are older, have developed an interest,” she says.

Instructors will guide participants through the basics of sewing and how to operate the sewing machine

After brainstorming with her employees, who she calls “really great,” the idea finally came to life and classes began during the last week of May. Classes are offered in a small setting that allows for individualized attention in a space that can hold up to eight students at a time.

“So far, all of the feedback we’ve received from attendees have been positive. They enjoy the small class sizes, which makes it more individualized, and the teachers have more time for each one,” she says. “They enjoy the instructors that we’ve selected so far who have agreed to do this.”

However, Durand says there is a need for more instructors to join the program.

“I do need more instructors because I want to have instruction every day that we’re open,” she says, noting that the store is open Monday through Saturday.

Most of the instructors are seamstresses and others are schoolteachers.

What Attendees Can Expect to Learn

“Right now, they are teaching the fundamentals of sewing,” Durand says. “Instructors are coming in with the assumption that no one knows anything about the sewing machine—the bare bones. And most of the instructors are valuable, so depending on how much you know, is where they will start [with you]. So, depending on who you are when you come into the classroom, they will start you from where you happen to be.”

Participants are required to bring their own sewing machines; machines are available for purchase at the store.

“They’ll show you how to operate the sewing machine, and you’ll learn the basics, maybe how to make a pillowcase or a skirt,” she says. “You may advance to how to put in a zipper, making shirts, how to sew a buttonhole, how to make pants, or a dress. You can continue with that instructor until you don’t want to take the class anymore.

“And the only way you could start it is when you come to the class,” she says.

Durand says the only requirement to participate in the class is attendees must have their own sewing machine.

“I want everybody to learn how to use their sewing machine,” she explains. “So, if you happen to have a Singer, a Brother, a Bernina, a top-of-the-line embroidery machine, bring your sewing machine so you can learn to sew on your sewing machine because every machine has a little foot that’s a little different.”

Sewing machines are also available for purchase at the store.

Fees

Durand says class fees vary as they are set by the instructors, who are not store employees.

“They are volunteering their time to instruct, so they inform me of their fees and attendees pay the instructor directly,” she says. “Some instructors may charge you per class, others may charge based on weekly instruction. You decide the type of class you want to come to.”

A Boon for Business

By offering the classes, Durand says she hopes to generate more foot traffic into the store, which gets its name from the Divi-Divi tree whose branches flow in the direction of the wind and whose seeds were once used as dye.

“[More] people walking in and out of the business would be nice,” she says. “I have found out people did not even know my store existed and I have a big sign saying what the store offers. There are people who are born-bred Crucians who have never gone into the store.”

As for the scope of the program, Durand says it is being offered as an opportunity to learn a skill and fill a need for connection. It’s a way she hopes to encourage people to develop a new hobby.

More instructors are needed for the program, which will be ongoing at the fabric store

“I’m not accredited, I’m not planning to be accredited, and you won’t receive a diploma that says now you’re a fashion designer,” she says. “No, you’re just going to learn how to sew.”

“Sewing is not what it used to be. You can go into the store and find an $11 shirt,” she says. “And you go into a fabric store, and the same $11 shirt, the fabric might be $25 just for the fabric and you haven’t even sewn it yet.”

“You have to have the love of sewing. Hobbies are not cheap. The machine is expensive, the time is expensive—so it will never be an $11 shirt,” she says.

The Big Picture

In addition to sewing, Durand hopes to expand the program to include crochet, knitting, and embroidery classes.

“I am trying to bring in more artisans into our community so we can learn,” she says. “Why not? I’m trying to create an area where people can come in and learn something they would like to create as their hobby and enjoy something new.”

Classes are primarily open to adults, but parents are welcome to enroll children, if the child have exhibited a genuine interest in sewing.

Durand says another future goal is to develop a sewing club where people who already sew, but might still need support, can have access to a paid instructor to guide them through any difficulty while working on an item.

Divi-Divi Fabrics has been in business for 45 years at its downtown Christiansted location on Company Street

“These are skills that I would wish some younger people would take,” she says. “You can go to college and make a living off sewing while taking your nursing degree. There are people out there who always need help with something. You can make money with this thing.”

Divi-Divi sewing classes are currently available Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, based on instructor availability, during the store’s business hours of 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Instructors are needed for Wednesdays and Fridays. Classes are not offered on Mondays.

For more information and to register, call the store at (340) 773-8840 or stop in.