A remarkable seamstress works to keep the fine art of sewing alive

Published 11:19 am Tuesday, February 9, 2010

By day, Nancy Sipple sells houses on Vashon. But when the real estate agent comes home at night, her nimble hands take the lead — sewing, embroidering and quilting masterpieces that have garnered local and international attention.

Sipple, who first crafted outfits for her doll Patsy at the age of 7, is opening a school of fiber arts on the Island this month so she can teach and share her passion with others in the community.

From smocking to crocheting, Sipple, 64, will offer workshops in a home adjacent to her own, which she has transformed into Nancy’s School of Fiber Arts, replete with sewing machines and other tools of the craft that brings Sipple so much joy. Tucked into a curve of Cove Road, the home’s main room has been transformed into a simple school. Small mannequins donned with brightly colored girls’ dresses stand in one corner; some of Sipple’s intricate wool embroidery and vibrant quilting work lies on a table nearby. Soon, the empty seats will be filled with eager aspiring fiber artists, when Sipple’s first daylong sewing workshops are offered next weekend.

Beginning the school, Sipple said, is a natural progression in her career as a seamstress and fiber artist.

“I have big plans,” said Sipple, who was a silversmith for 20 years and has a degree in fine arts with an emphasis in metals. “I’ll be teaching the things I’m passionate about.”

Though she is humble about her successes, Sipple has received several honors for her work, including grand prize in an international quilting competition. This month, a baptismal gown she made for her granddaughter graces the cover of Sew Beautiful Magazine, a national publication with an audience of 50,000. Sipple’s hand-embroidered cotton and lace gown and bonnet beat out pieces by several big-name designers, Sipple said — an unexpected recognition she’s delighted to have received.

“I’m so flattered,” said the lifelong sewer, who will have a monthlong art show at The Hardware Store Restaurant in June with sculptor Thomas Baker.

Her hand-embroidered piece, which will be featured in Sew Beautiful’s “designer details” segment, took her two months to craft — “about right for a baptismal gown,” Sipple said — and is one of thousands of items she has created over the years.

“You name it, I’ve made it,” she said — from men’s suits and wedding dresses to quilts and fabric boxes.

She is passionate about the merits of hand sewing and embroidery, which she says is an art and a source of joy for her.

“There is no comparison between hand work and machine embroidery — not to mention the pleasure I get out of doing it,” said Sipple.

With the emergence of technology making machine embroidery affordable has come an influx of machine-made items. But they look machine-made and lack the heart that a hand-crafted piece has, she said.

“When you’re hand-sewing and hand-embroidering for somebody, you’re putting a lot of yourself into that piece, and I think you can see it and feel it,” she said. “There’s no way to mimic hand-embroidery techniques.”

Machine embroidery has a place, she said, in mass-produced clothing and items like baseball hats, but she doesn’t want to see the art of hand embroidery die.

“What concerns me is as (machine work) gets more and more prevalent, people can’t tell the difference any more and don’t care,” she said. “The fine art is getting rarer and rarer, and that’s a shame.”

Sipple, a Vashon real estate agent for 13 years and Island resident for 21 years, is looking forward to teaching classes in fiber arts because she is excited about sharing her passion and craft with others, she said. She has experience as a teacher; she’s taught various fiber arts classes at Pacific Fabrics in Seattle.

The school will offer courses in beginning and advanced sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, smocking, dressmaking, basketry and weaving — “any kind of fiber art,” Sipple said.

She’s hoping, she added, that the school will become a destination not only for aspiring Island craftspeople, but for those around the region as well.

Other Islanders in Vashon’s fiber arts community said Sipple is a respected artist.

“She is the envy of all the patchmakers because her squares always come out square — they lay flat and they’re perfect,” said quilter Catholine Tribble. “Everything Nancy makes is always so unique.”

Sipple’s work is “exquisite,” said Mary Carhart, who has known Sipple for 10 years.

“Everything she does is absolute perfection,” Carhart said. “I can barely wait to take one of her classes. I will sign up for everything she’s doing and enjoy every minute of it.”

Nancy’s School of Fiber Arts

Call 463-5560 or e-mail nancy@fiberarts.biz for information about upcoming classes. The first classes, on sewing basics, are offered Sunday, Feb. 21 and 28. Other upcoming classes are on embroidery, smocking and Japanese temari embroidery.