These D.I.Y. Sewing Kits Teach Kids the Value of Making Clothes That Last

Before fast fashion became the norm, children typically learned how to make their own clothes, often from their parents or from their home ec teachers at school. Edinburgh, Scotland–based knitwear designer Maija Nygren, a former children’s theater costumer, recognized the cultural shift in her eight-year-old daughter’s curriculum, in which sewing was notably absent. “We and future generations are losing traditional skills that we haven’t been without in human history,” Nygren says. So in 2018, she founded Almaborealis, a line of D.I.Y. sewing kits that teach kids the value of creating garments that last.

The kits provide a playful, approachable introduction to hand-stitching. Many contain yarn, a blunt wooden needle, and brightly colored, different-shaped wool panels—materials to make what Nygren calls Puzzlewear—with which kids, with parental guidance and an included instruction manual, can put together a range of wearable items. One kit shows users how to sew their own beanie (complete with a fluffy pom-pom), while another lets kids configure the knitted scraps into a design of their own. All materials in each biodegradable package are sourced in Scotland, and locally printed and assembled.

Almaborealis also offers workshops that build upon the basic running stitch. On December 4 at the Spot Design Market in Glasgow, Scotland, Nygren will show sewers how to make a sweater out of premade fabric panels. Other classes instruct beginners how to master the chain stitch, double stitch, and other essentials of crochet; next year, more advanced students will be able to sign up for the five-week-long Funky Wonky Crochet Sculpture summer course, focused on making tactile, three-dimensional objects. (While Almaborealis currently ships to and hosts workshops only in the United Kingdom, it plans to expand its efforts to the rest of the world by shipping internationally and hosting classes online this winter.)

In addition to transferrable skills such as hand-eye coordination and dexterity, Almaborealis’s sewing projects are a mindful, meditative activity for kids that helps them develop a personal connection with their clothes—which rarely occurs when buying garments off the rack. “If you don’t have that awareness, it’s easy to throw clothing in the wastebasket, as they’re so cheap [and readily] available,” Nygren says. Her project helps people develop an appreciation for making and mending at an early age, and take that knowledge—and the clothes they make with it—with them throughout their lives.