Youth Hostel sewing camp

Up until now the women had only known each other through the online contact with blogger Nina Verhoeven. The 37-year old discovered sewing only five years ago, and at the time she was  unwilling to invest a lot of time into it. “With twins you have to sew everything twice”, said Nina Verhoeven. When her children were 2 years old she decided to take part in a sewing course to make some clothes for the kids herself. “That’s where I developed a taste for it”, Nina remembers. “I bought myself a machine two days later and worked without a break for the next few days, creating over 100 pieces.” However, she quickly reached her limits, because although many patterns were available, “very few of them were really cool or modern”. And often they were too complicated or took too much time to make. So Nina, who has a degree in communication science, decided to design her own patterns – and one and a half years later she started her own business. She was able to sell her 25 patterns 45,000 times and became self-employed. Now every day she offers new designs to her followers and her site gets 55,000 clicks a month. 

Everything that had been happening online so far has now become a reality. Their interest in sewing has brought the 55 women together in Neuharlingersiel Youth Hostel. They brought their own sewing machines and got started. 

Brrrrrrr-brrr-brrrrrrrrr. The needle of the sewing machine rattles across the material, punching the thread through the tissue. The machine purrs quietly, a deep, soft purr, every time Gina presses the pedal underneath the table with her foot. The 44-year-old keeps her curly head bent over her work, intensely focusing through her glasses on the piece of material she is pushing under the needle, piece by piece. Normally, in her profession, the jeweller is used to metallic background noises. Gina feels comfortable in the community, although she had only met the other participants online and didn’t know them personally.

Christiane started sewing in 2012. “I was fascinated by simple, fast patterns”, said the 32-year-old. She started with little bags – now she sews entire outfits for herself and her daughter. “I like being able to decide on the pattern and the material of the piece myself”, she says. Most of all, sewing has a relaxing effect on her. “At work I’m never finished, I can never hold a finished result in my hands. When I sew, I can always see what I’ve done – it’s great”.

Nina and Christiane are in regular contact, but they had never met in person, even though they both live in Hamburg. “Even online, I could tell that Nina had a really good heart”, says Christiane. “And here, you can see that straight away”. Nina laughs and gives Christiane a hug.

The atmosphere in the sewing camp is warm and affectionate. Everybody is consulting with one another, trying things on, praising each other’s work and helping each other out.  For instance, Sandra needs a tip on which material would go best with the shirts she is sewing for her child. Sandra has been sewing for 16 years, mostly just for herself. “But sewing in this great community is just so much more fun”, the 49-year-old says happily. 

Having fun is the main goal for Gina, too. She would like to complete at least three items of clothing this weekend. “But I’m not worried about it,”, says the 44-year-old and laughs, “I’m just happy to meet the people I have been following on social media”. On the first day, she and the rest of the small group were happily sewing until past midnight. 

The smartphones are always on-hand: each finished piece is photographed and posted online for followers. “Sewing used to be considered old-fashioned”, says Nina. “Today it’s a proper lifestyle that has captured a huge community.”

Nina Verhoeven and her family have been private guests in the DJH resort many times. She liked the property so much that she had the idea of organising a sewing camp here. “The conditions are perfect: the accommodation, the food, the activities, the rooms”, she said. The other participants seem to agree. The fact that the hostel is located only a few minutes from the beach hardly seems to matter this weekend: only a few people venture outside to get some fresh North Sea air. “We just don’t want to miss anything”, Gina admits. 

Most of the participants have brought their partners and children. With a total of 135 guests, the hostel is quite lively. After the advertisement was posted, it only took 48 hours until all the places were taken. More sewing camps are in preparation. This makes the first sewing camp a great success.