This sewing business is experiencing a boom thanks to renewed interest in sewing.

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Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Sewing business thrives as people start sewing during downtime
There's a sewing boom happening as people turn to hobbies old and new to pass the time during the pandemic.

LOS ANGELES -- There's a sewing boom happening as people turn to hobbies old and new to pass the time during the pandemic.

Scott Goodman has owned the Sewing Machine Warehouse for decades and said he was satisfied if the business grew 5% each year. Now he says it's grown more than 10 times the amount because of all of the stay at home orders.

"I've always loved it but, I picked it up even more. So when the pandemic hit, because, you know, everybody was isolated indoors, so that got me a chance to get more reacquainted with all the sewing machines that I have at home, and especially the embroidery machine because I'm passionate about embroidery," said customer Jennifer Davis.

Another customer, Danielle Balderrama, got so into sewing that she started making her own outfits.

"I don't like wearing the color black, and all I had during COVID was just black. And so I decided, I need to make some fun color outfits that I can exercise, I can do hiking, I could stay at home or if I need to run a quick errand, I just put on my matching mask and then I'm out the door," said Balderrama.

Balderrama eventually started to sell her matching outfits.

She's not the only one who took her love for sewing and turned it into a business.

"One day I drew one of the Animal Crossing characters, and I asked people like, would you guys like to see it on sweaters? And a few people said, yeah, so I posted a few slots open for commissions and it completely took off from there," said Granada Hills resident Ariana T.

"I grew my following up to 12,000 followers in a very short amount of time, and I'm currently booked with waitlist until January of characters from Animal Crossing," she said.

Sewing enthusiasts said the hobby has been a way for them to keep busy and be more creative while staying at home.