Sewing searches up 118 per cent as Canadians pick up the needle
A Victoria shop and a Toronto studio both report steady new students.
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Pinterest searches for "sewing ideas" from Canadian users are up 118 per cent year over year, and searches for "beginner sewing projects" have risen 67 per cent, according to figures the platform gave CBC News.
In Victoria, Erin Kerr started the Sewing Club, a shop and school offering patterns, fabric, tools and workshops, after a scrunchie business she ran led to lessons. "We immediately had an email list of hundreds of people that were interested in learning to sew from us," she said. Her students include people who want to slow down and buy less, people who alter off-the-rack clothes that don't fit, and people who want to make something new from nothing.
In Toronto, Branislava Pavlovic, who began sewing in spring 2025 and now teaches at the Neon Needle, says her studio draws many students from tech, engineering and administrative jobs. "It's literally impossible to be on your phone and sew at the same time."
Sabine Weber, a fashion professor at Seneca Polytechnic College whose PhD research focused on sustainable fashion, says a generation raised on fast fashion is rediscovering how to make and repair its own clothes. Thrift flips, where second-hand garments are remade into new ones, are common on Instagram and TikTok. Weber said the path usually runs from thrifting to small repairs, then to larger upcycling projects, and finally to making clothes from scratch.
Trendex, a Canadian apparel market intelligence firm cited by Weber, put the resale clothing market at around $3.8 billion in 2022, with a forecast of almost $6 billion by 2026.
