Sew Your Pride 2023
Last month we put a call out to the community asking you to share outfits that make you feel proud—whether proud of your queer self, proud of new sewing skills, or just proud of how fantastic you looked for a Pride event! You can check out the #sewyourpride tag on Instagram to see the full spectrum of beautiful makes from this year (and previous years). A few of you agreed to be showcased here on the blog in our first roundup—enjoy these gorgeous and talented queer makers and their creations below, along with some of their own words on what they’ve made…
Photo of a fat, white, masc non-binary person with a short brown and grey fade haircut wearing sunglasses. He is looking at the camera and smiling, and holding an ice cream. He is wearing a green and white paisley patterned shirt with a camp collar, and black denim cut off shorts.
If any short collar were to have the honor of being the official collar of the Sew Queer community, might we suggest the camp collar? George (@heart_plant) made this gorgeous breezy paisley example. They write: “I had kind of given up on sewing as I went through a big gender flip to the masc side and all I’ve ever sewn is vintage high femme style clothes. I went to a queer knitting meet-up and was encouraged to go and find a shirt pattern and just have a go at making something again. I’d forgotten how much I’d enjoyed it and how it feels to express yourself through the clothes you make and wear. So here’s to making more masc clothing and being non-binary and queer as fuck.” Hear hear!
Photo of African American man wearing black and white multi patterned camp collar shirt with coordinated swim trunks with a confident smile happy with the completion of his sewing quest for a swim set.
And now we present exhibit 2 in our camp-collars-are-amazing campaign: Jamin (@theshaggye) looks ready for summer in the colorblocked (printblocked?) shirt he made to coordinate with his (also handmade) swim trunks! He writes: “Black and white butterfly fabric was the start and rounded out with other black and white fabrics from my stash and leftover quilting remnants I made a camp shirt with coordinating lined, zipper fly, and pocketed swim trunks. Sometimes I can be a bit ‘extra’, I try to embrace it and on occasion promote it and this swim set aids me in doing just that. No one else will have a B&W butterfly backed swim set, at least this summer. That makes me happy.”
Where are the butterflies, you may be asking? Here are the butterflies!
Photo of handsome 50 year old taking the selfie of him in black and white, multi-patterned shirt reflecting his back, showcasing the black and white butterfly fabric used to the back.
Jamin also included some information on the patterns he used (Kwik Sew pattern number 3484 for the camp collar shirt, and Vogue pattern number V1897 used to make swim trunks), as well as an exhortation: “Have a happy pride everyone. I encourage all to vote in each and every election.”
Full-body photo of a white person with short brown curly hair facing the camera and smiling. She is wearing a light blue collared shirt that is open and unbuttoned with a pink harness underneath and pink shorts. The shirt has a patch that says “Gender? No thanks”
Okay, last camp collar shirt and then we’ll show off some different outfits, we promise! Mallory (@queer.sewist) made the shirt, shorts, and harness in this fantastic Pride outfit, but to fully appreciate the shirt you need to see the yoke:
Full-body photo of a white person with short brown curly hair facing away from the camera. On the back of the light blue shirt is a quilted pattern with pink, white, purple, black, and blue strips representing the gender fluid flag. She is wearing bright pink shorts.
Mallory says, “This year for pride I made this snap-front collared shirt with the gender-fluid flag quilted on the back yoke. I also sewed my pink shorts and made my pink harness that I wore under the shirt. I felt like my beautiful queer self in this outfit and had so much fun dancing the day away at pride with my queer family!”
Full body photo of a white plus size woman with pink hair up in buns. She has one leg slightly lifted and is pointing peace hand signs towards her smiling face. She is wearing yellow glasses, a bolero jacket covered in a thick layer of rainbow tulle, a neon yellow wrap top, rainbow striped loose fitting pants, and rainbow platform boots.
Gracie (@greeplurch) stepped out of her comfort zone and into #goals with this fantastic outfit! “This year, I wanted to make something louder than what I normally make for pride. I also decided to leave my comfort zone by wearing pants and a more revealing top and I felt incredible wearing it! I'm also proud that I sewed on dozens of yards of pleated tulle without tearing my hair out.” (That last point is especially worth celebrating from a sewing perspective, tulle requires so much patience.)
Full-body photo of two smiling white people standing next to each other and facing the camera. The woman on the left has short curly dark hair, glasses, and is wearing a coral-coloured dress and sparkly heels. The person on the right has short brown hair, is wearing reflective aviator sunglasses, a blueish-grey tailored linen suit that is buttoned closed, with a white-and-blue floral button-down shirt beneath the suit jacket, and brown masculine dress shoes. The people have their arms around each other. The background is outdoors on a sunny afternoon.
How snazzy do Catheryn (@catherynhelena) and their girlfriend Bayly look in their wedding finery? “I made a full tailored suit from fabric I dyed myself to wear to my brother's wedding! This project took MONTHS, lots of muslin adjustments, and despair at various points over fitting, but I am ultimately extremely happy with it and got tonnes of compliments at the wedding! (Also, I brought my girlfriend of 1 year to the wedding where she got to meet my whole family for the first time!)” Congrats on your anniversary, your brother’s wedding, and your absolutely epic suit, Catheryn!
Another amazing suit, this time in motion! Olga (@olgaponjee) writes: “This year was my first ever out-of-the-house-Pride event in my babydrag and I had such a blast! My outfit (I designed the fabric and made the suit from scratch) is inspired by the first ever picture I saw of a King wearing a box like this. I can't find back who it was, but here's to him & to all you beautiful, creative & brave people out there! 💜💛💚💙❤️🧡” Such a fantastic look—and if anyone out there recognizes the source of Olga’s inspiration, let us know and we’ll add credit!
Upper body photo of old white woman with white and bright coloured hair, and red tam, smiling into camera. They are wearing a bright rainbow coloured patchwork pullover tunic with pockets and loose pink plaid pants.
Jo (@madaboutcolour, an incredibly apt handle) is pure joy in this rainbow in clothing form! She writes, “This is a special Pride Make for me — my first for myself and an important step out. I made it for Pride Parade as a statement piece but will wear it year round. It sings Pride to me in a fun and artsy way, and feels like me — Proud.” YES.
Front and back shots of a white transmasculine person with black glasses and medium-length black hair half-tied up. He is wearing a black corset with straps (straight in the front, criss-crossed in the back) and a grey/beige button-front shirt with puffed sleeves.
Brandon (@saint_ends) put together this absolutely amazing outfit exploring gender and history with an elegant limited palette. “I have a special interest in genderbending historical fashion,” he says, “kind of imagining what queer and trans people would look like in historical clothing if they were allowed to be out, and this project is my first example of that. I recently finished this 1890s-inspired strapped corset top for some fashionable back support, since I, like all trans men, have terrible posture 😅 It's paired with a shirt made from a 1980s pattern and stiff bedsheet fabric, the sleeves of which are vaguely reminiscent of the Gigot/Leg-o'-Mutton style popular in womenswear at the time. I'd never drafted a corset before, so I was very proud of how this came out.” We can’t wait to see where you go next with this idea, Brandon!
Curvy she/her standing outside with pride flag in the background wearing teal dress and rainbow button down top. Inset photos show the pattern (Jalie 4020) and woven labels that say LOVE, with the O replaced by a rainbow heart.
If there’s anything better than a fun rainbow print, it’s a project that combines fun rainbow prints as effectively as Christa (@ChristaSewist) does here! “Made a Jalie Florence top full on rainbow!”
Céleste, a middle age, middle size queer woman is wearing a homemade shirt. It's the colour of rainbows and Polaroid cameras are printed on it. There's a rainbow frill. She's wearing a light pink tutu. She's in her living room. She's smiling and wearing lipstick.
Speaking of great rainbow prints, Céleste found an A+ one for her outfit: “First time I dared sew something especially for the Pride. Wore it with joy and pride on the day. As simple as that 🩷” Congrats on your first especially-for-Pride outfit, Céleste, and even more so on the joy and pride you wore it with!
Thin white woman with short blonde hair wears a white sleeveless dress with a gathered skirt over a rainbow tulle petticoat. She is standing in a sunny sunroom.
And here’s Kim (@ukcavill) with another gorgeous addition to this year’s great uses of tulle! She writes: “My Sew Your Pride make is very special to me this year because I’m publicly out as Bi, so there’s a lot of celebrate. I decided to make a cotton dress in a classic 50s shape with a rainbow tulle petticoat. Not only will be it perfect for pride events, but it will be a great dress to wear to work, as I work with preschoolers.”
A full body picture of a white person with short blonde hair. They're wearing a black top with rainbow colored hearts over their breast, black shorts and a rainbow colored cardigan. They're holding up the cardigan with both hands, so it looks like a pride flag, and smile into the camera.
Mani (@manimarienkaefe) is tip-to-toe rainbow (seriously, look at that eye makeup), tip-to-toe handmade! Mani writes, “I was so inspired by Madalynne's pride collection that I recreated the bralette and wore it as a top to the pride parade in Vienna. It was my very first pride parade and I shared it with an amazing date and some super nice people. I was so proud to wear only memades that day and show up as myself :)” Hooray for your first Pride, Mani!
A grey cape on a dress form is in the foreground. The cape is split and has a front piece that buttons down to close the gap. 10 buttons show vertically, 5 on each side, and the buttons are made in trans flag colors of blue, white, and pink.
Embry (@bequeermakestuff) took the motto in their handle to a whole new level and made not just this cape, but the buttons as well! “I made these buttons by hand (glass enamel over copper that i cut out with a jewelers saw) and it meant so much to be able to make exactly what I wanted. And exactly what I wanted was to take this coded feminine cape and make it trans as fuck. I succeeded. And I love that. They were a lot of work (and more work than they needed to be, because it was one of my first projects using powdered enameling glass) but I'm proud of them and how they transform the grey cape into something magical.” We couldn’t agree more!
Full body photo of a person wearing a red and white check boxy cut, fold up short sleeve button up jacket, with black skinny pants and black zip up combat boots.
Renee (@betteburrito) made this beautiful genre-defying top with a vision: “The piece celebrates difference coming together as one combining masc, femme and everything in between. Rich strong colours; soft warming woollen fabric; structural shapes; fine lines; hard metal closures. Pattern credit TAL ❤️” Amazing work! (Here’s a link if you want to make your own.)
Dani, a woman with dark hair, leans against a sun-drenched fence on a bright summer day. One hand pushes her hair back from her face as she looks down while the other hand rests in the pocket of her dark denim jumpsuit. The jumpsuit is long-sleeved and covered in metallic studs.
Dani (@singing4estmakes) is rightly proud of all the detail and care that went into her unspeakably cool jumpsuit: “This make was a true labor of love. I’d been planning it for years and used a bunch of new techniques I hadn’t tried before. In addition, it was the first time I had forced myself to slow down and take time to step back and assess. Doing this ultimately led to some elements that I believe really make this jumpsuit sing — including the studs, patches and zipper pull.” You need another picture to fully appreciate the patches Dani is talking about:
Dani, a woman with dark hair, leans against a stone wall on a bright summer day, facing away from the camera. One hand is on her hip and the other rests on the wall. The jumpsuit is long-sleeved and covered in metallic studs, and there is a large embroidered tiger covering the entire
This year saw not just a lot of amazing outfits, but a lot of amazing non-clothing makes celebrating Pride!
A black canvas tote back with a grid of florals embroidered in rows of rainbow colors.
Caitlin embroidered this gorgeous rainbow of wee blossoms and leaves on a tote bag. “I wanted to make something that wasn’t an overt rainbow,” she says, “and came up with a floral rainbow embroidery design on a tote bag.” What a fantastic (and useful) idea!
Handmade cards with embroidery (using cross stitch). Left card saying I love you, with a heart instead of the word love. The heart is in the colors of the Pride flag. Right card is an embroidered Pride flag with the word love in the middle. The paper cards are embossed with hearts and the embroideries are taped on the card using washi tape.
Elma cross stitched these beautiful cards as a way of giving back to her local community: “I always wanted to support the local LGBTQ+ community (RFSL Sjuhärad, Sweden) more than just being a member. But because I´m chronically ill I haven't had the energy for that. My crafting has become more important for me since becoming ill, it´s like therapy. When I realized that it´s extremely hard to find LGBTQ+ cards, I suddenly know how I could contribute to the local community in my own way! I contacted the community and asked if they where interested in receiving some homemade LGBTQ+ card to sell and keep the earnings from that. After that, I started crafting and now my cards are being sold on their activities and online on https://queerstore.se/ I am very proud to be able to contribute this way! I post my card and other handmade items on https://weezepoel.se/.”
Image of a quilt with rainbow triangle strips being held up in a marble government building. In front of Utah’s Supreme Court with Supreme Court in gold letters above the quilt.
Charlotte (@starlight_quilts) sent in this beautiful rainbow quilt—look at how the different hues of the different colors of the rainbow make this feel three dimensional! They write: “I made Libs Elliott’s CRIMP quilt in Kona cottons! It's felt like the perfect pride pattern for me. It also was freeing to finally allow myself to have rainbow decor somewhere in my house. I was raised very religiously and have been unworking the internal quirks left from that for a number of years. This was a freeing exercise in loving myself. Including the queer parts.” Good for you doing the hard work of healing and learning to love your whole self, Charlotte!
The Welsh dragon sewn with rainbow colours on a black background with the word "Cymru" sewn beneath in the pride flag colours.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Wales has one of the best flags of any country, but this version Hev Ward (@skibee11 ) put together with the addition of a rainbow makes it even better. She writes, “During lockdown 2020, there was no proper pride month that could be publicly celebrated, so I used my time to make a pride version of the Welsh flag to show my support for the pride movement.”