About Us
Needle Sharp offers modern and chic monthly sewing subscription boxes for making your own clothes, as well as high quality garment fabrics, gorgeous independent patterns, and one of a kind sewing kits. We believe that sewing should be a delightful experience, and we set out every day to help you create projects that will bring you joy!
How We Started
Have you ever been asked, “If you had unlimited money, what would you do with your life?” This simple question is often used to help you figure out how to turn your passion into your dream job. Though Needle Sharp’s founder, Mary, had never said it out loud, for her, the answer was usually “Open a craft store.”
In 2015, Mary learned to sew. A dress on a blog caught her eye, and on a whim, she decided to force her mother, who had sewn for decades, to help her make the outfit. First and foremost, Mary wanted something new and interesting to try. However, there was a more meaningful reason to learn to sew. In 2013, her mother had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and sewing was something the two of them could share before it was too late. Her mother could pass down her sewing knowledge, and Mary could have a pretty dress to wear afterwards. It seemed like a win-win.
So, over two days, they bought supplies, cut fabric, and fought with a sewing machine from the sixties. Mary whined as she had to take out stitches over and over, and her mother assured her that a seam ripper was one of the essential tools of sewing. And in the end, Mary got a really cool dress!
Thus a love of sewing began, and in 2017, Mary decided to take the leap and open her version of a craft store: Needle Sharp. Her goal was to help her customers discover the delight and joy of sewing, just as her mother had shared with her. Plus you get cool clothes to wear out of it. Definitely a win-win!
Our Mission
Our number one goal is to make it easier for you to sew beautiful clothing. Whether you’re getting overwhelmed by starting a new hobby or struggling to find time for your current one, we want to help you make clothing that you both love to sew and love to wear. For our subscription boxes and sewing kits, that means streamlining everything, taking the headache out of getting all the supplies you need for a sewing project, and putting them in one place so you can focus on the best part – the actual sewing. For our patterns and fabric we search high and low for only the best drafted patterns and the highest quality fabrics so when you put your own project together, you know you have everything you need to aid in your sewing success.
Who I Am
Hi, I’m Mary. While I only came to sewing as an adult, in many ways, my whole life has been leading to creating Needle Sharp. As a child, I did nearly every craft you could think of, from clay jewelry to embroidery to quilling, though I never pursued any of it beyond a hobby. After college, where I studied French and Film, I worked as a freelance assistant editor in documentary film for two years before beginning a job at Barnes and Noble where I worked for ten years, moving up the ladder to become a manager at two of their stores in Manhattan.
After taking the leap in 2017 to open Needle Sharp, I realized the company was a culmination of my love of crafting in my youth, my knowledge of computers and design from my editing years, and my invaluable experience in retail from Barnes and Noble. Every day, I feel like I'm learning and improving as a sewer, and I want to help people out there in the world the way my mom helped me.
See What Mary is Sewing
Dramatic Floral Anna Dress from By Hand London
Silk Noil Zadie Jumpsuit by Paper Theory Patterns