The concept of a sewing circle, a group of people, most often women, gathering together to sew as a group goes back centuries into the colonial period of this country. Mennonite women’s sewing circles began in the late nineteenth century growing out of their desire to support mission work.  Native American women had sewing guilds that “ promoted autonomy through control of the means of production in the tribe. Only selected women were taught the sewing crafts and religious symbols, thus ensuring tribal and economic status for the woman and her family” (Schmidt, 2011; p. 5). Sewing circles still exist today, some within local chapters of the American Sewing Guild, some established through houses of worship while others have been birthed at local sewing centers such as the Caregivers Sewing Group which was established in Wyoming, Michigan.

For over ten years, every Friday these elderly women gathered at the Gall Sewing and Vac Center in Wyoming Michigan to sew hundreds of clothes each year and donate them to DA Blodgett-St.John’s for children in foster care. The sewing center, kind enough to donate the space for the women, has since moved to another location in Grand Rapids. Some members of the group remain from its inception while others have recently joined. Members come and go, but the group remains and the donated fabric never disappears in spite of all their hard work. 

The Caregivers first appeared in a feature length documentary released by Thought Provoking Films in 2017 entitled What is Philanthropy? available for purchase here. Alaimo, an Associate Professor in the School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration at Grand Valley State University, was so interested in their story he decided to produce a short 25 minute documentary about them called Sew What? “I remember when we shot the footage of the ladies for my first documentary. My crew and I thoroughly enjoyed their company, and we had a lot of laughs. They left such an impression on me I decided that their story needed to be told. It’s a story about their use of their special skills, their friendship and their compassion.” 

Sew What? was produced and directed by Alaimo and features original music by Jason Mraz and Peter Kaukonen. It made its Grand Rapids premiere at the Koning Micro Cinema inside Wealthy Theatre to a sold out crowd on September 19, 2019. In 2020, the film was an official selection of the VOB Film Festival in Carmel, New York; the Knoxville Film Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee; the Gallup Film festival in Gallup, New Mexico; the Canadian & International Short Film Festival; and the Los Angeles Short Film Festival. A special virtual screening of the film was held on November 10, 2020 to 25 members of the Grand Rapids chapter of the American Sewing Guild. Sew What? was also broadcast on Grand Rapids, MI local PBS affiliate WGVU three times in late 2020 and early 2021, and on WKTV in Wyoming, MI and GRTV in Grand Rapids in 2021. 

References
Schmidt, K.D. (2011).  Moneneheo and Naheverien Cheyenne and Mennonite Sewing Circles: convergences and conflicts, 1890-1970. Great Plains Quarterly, 31(1), (WINTER 2011), pp. 3-22.