Our founder, Karen Keech Swerling, worked for 33 years in Hollywood for film and television as a costume designer. In 2021, when COVID vaccines were available and people were starting to get back to some of their routines, she put an ad on Nextdoor asking if anyone else enjoyed sewing as much as she did as she felt like she was a lonely sewist. She received 1,000 responses in 24 hours and decided that her mission was to bring Richmond together in a time of political unrest and during an isolating and lonely time. This moment was the beginning of Richmond Really Sews! Karen formed the group to unite sewists in friendship and it has grown from 13 original members to over 2,000! It is no longer a group, but a beautiful community that supports each other through hardships and triumphs. We have monthly meetings, an annual Frocktails event, and several subgroups that meet to sew specific types of items. Click around our website to learn more and check out Karen's Cinema Stories!