What started as a dream has become something much bigger than Kenya imagined.
For another summer, JUKI Ambassador Kenya welcomed young sewists to I’m Sew Fantastic, her summer sewing camp created to give children the opportunity to learn sewing, explore fashion, and discover what they can create with their own hands. Now finishing its third summer, the camp continues to grow, bringing together new students, returning campers, families, volunteers, and an incredible community of partners who help make the experience possible.
And while the students may come to camp to learn how to sew, Kenya has discovered that the lessons they take home reach far beyond the sewing machine.
“Surreal!” Kenya says when asked how it feels to look back on how much the camp has grown. After this year’s fashion show, she returned home, sat on the sofa, and cried. The feeling was a mix of disbelief, joy, gratitude, and exhaustion.
“I truly have no words to explain the feeling,” she says. “Being able to encourage young people and teach them a skill is next level.”
A New Group, A New Energy
This year brought 17 students to camp, 13 of whom were new. After having many of the same students return during the previous two years, Kenya found herself working with a completely new mix of personalities and creative energy.
“They were wild, crazy, rambunctious, and completely different from one another,” she says. “They did not come to play around!”
The students were eager to get to the sewing machines and start creating. Their enthusiasm pushed Kenya to give even more of herself to the experience, while the constant laughter and giggles made the days even more memorable. But perhaps the most important part of the camp happened before the machines were even turned on.
Each morning, students grab a Post-it note and Sharpie and write down why they are “I’m Sew Fantastic” that day. They then gather in their social circle, where each student reads their affirmation aloud before placing it on a large pink heart on the wall. It may seem like a simple exercise, but Kenya has seen how powerful it can be.
“By the time we are done, they are on beast mode and ready to conquer the day,” she says.
The activity gives students a chance to practice speaking positively about themselves and encourages them to build their confidence, find their voice, and believe in who they are.
Creativity Meets Challenge
The camp curriculum continued to grow this year, introducing students to new techniques and challenges while giving them opportunities to think like designers.
Students practiced sewing straight lines and curves on paper before moving to fabric, helping them develop hand-eye coordination and build confidence with their machines. They worked on straight stitches, zigzag stitches, backstitching, cutting, pressing, garment construction, bag making, denim, upcycling, and textile design. Returning and more advanced students also had the opportunity to work with a serger.
The campers were challenged to think beyond simply deciding what they wanted to make. Kenya encouraged them to consider why they wanted to make it, who they were designing for, and how they could make each piece feel uniquely theirs.
When challenges inevitably arose, the students learned another important part of sewing: things do not always go perfectly the first time. Sometimes, that meant taking a 20-minute break outside to run around, laugh, dance, or enjoy an ice cream sandwich before returning to the machines.
“Creativity is not always clean or easy,” Kenya explains. “But if they trust themselves, keep showing up, and keep stitching, they can create something amazing.”
From Goodwill Finds to Runway Looks
Two of the students’ favorite activities this year were Upcycling Week and textile design.
During Upcycling Week, the Kenya and “I’m Sew Fantastic” partnered with Goodwill of North Georgia and were given just 15 minutes to find specific items in the store. Inspired by Kenya’s own Project Runway experiences, the challenge gave the students a limited amount of time to shop before returning to the workroom and transforming their finds into completely new looks!
The students also created their own textile designs through a partnership with Mimaki, which printed their designs onto fabric. For many of the kids, seeing their own designs come back as real fabric was unforgettable.
“Some of them do not even want to cut into it,” Kenya jokes.
Then came the moment they had all been working toward: the fashion show.
More than 150 guests gathered to cheer the students on as they walked the runway in creations they had made themselves. The evening featured bags, upcycled looks, textiles, denim, and finale pieces, with parents, volunteers, designers, board members, and community partners all working together behind the scenes. And once the students stepped onto the runway, Kenya watched their confidence transform.
“They were strutting down that runway with so much confidence, heads held high, shoulders back, hips turning like they do this regularly,” she says.
The students were recognized with I’m Sew Fantastic trophies, gift cards, and varsity jackets, celebrating not only technical achievement but also perseverance, creativity, and showing up every day ready to give their best.
More Than a Sewing Machine
For Kenya, one of the most emotional moments of the summer came from a student named Lauren.
Lauren was always busy creating, sometimes spending more time hot-gluing rhinestones than sewing, and she even missed several days of camp. On the final day, she stayed late to catch up on her work. Somewhere between learning a TikTok dance and teaching a zigzag stitch, Kenya realized just how much more the camp had become.
After the awards and fashion show, Lauren asked if she could speak. She talked about how much she loved camp, then handed Kenya a single yellow rose and began to cry.
She thanked Kenya for believing in her and teaching her how to sew. Then she told her that she would never forget her and hoped Kenya would never forget her. Kenya cried too.
“In that moment, I realized this was always bigger than sewing,” she says.
What began as teaching kids how to use a machine, thread a needle, and make something beautiful with their hands had become something deeper. Parents had found community with other parents. Students had formed friendships. And Kenya herself discovered that she was learning just as much from the children as they were learning from her.
Their impact on her has become one of the most meaningful parts of I’m Sew Fantastic.
JUKI: Part of the Camp’s Foundation
Kenya is equally passionate about the role JUKI has played in making the camp possible.
“Listen… there would be no I’m Sew Fantastic summer camp without JUKI,” she says.
The program is designed to provide a full camp experience, including meals, supplies, sewing machines, and creative opportunities. While tuition is $1,000, Kenya says the average parent is able to contribute around $300, and sometimes nothing at all. Support from partners helps bridge that gap and allows more children to participate.
JUKI provides sewing machines for the students to use throughout camp and also provides a machine for the top student to take home. One of the first students to receive a machine was Jaliyah, who has since become a camp counselor. Her parents continue to send Kenya photos of the things she creates, and Jaliyah now hopes to attend design school.
For Kenya, that is what partnership looks like. “That is not just a donation. That is a seed planted in a child’s future.”
The machines have also become part of a safe creative space for students throughout the year. Sometimes, Kenya says, kids will call and ask if they can come to the studio simply to sit at a machine and create.
“They do not even want to talk,” she says. “They just want to sit at a machine, create something with their hands, and process whatever feelings they may be holding inside.”
A Village Behind the Vision
I’m Sew Fantastic is made possible by an entire community of partners and volunteers.
YKK supplies zippers, KAI Scissors provides scissors and cutting tools, Goodwill of North Georgia supports the campers’ upcycling activities, Mimaki prints the students’ textile designs, and the Emme Darnell Aviation Center provides a home for the camp.
SHEIN, OLISO, Ironmatik Ironing Boards, Jiffy Steamer, PepsiCo, and local produce partners also contribute resources that help create the full camp experience.
This year, volunteer Tammy became an especially memorable part of the camp. After responding to a call for volunteers, she committed to being there every day. She brought joy and laughter to the students and even embroidered the 4 sewists varsity jackets, created patches, and made the I’m Sew Fantastic trophies. Local sewing volunteers and fellow designers also stepped in throughout the summer.
For Kenya, all of these contributions represent something much larger: a community choosing to invest in young people.
The Dream Continues
And Kenya’s vision for I’m Sew Fantastic is still growing.
The organization is now a vendor in the Atlanta school system, allowing local schools to sign up for after-school programming. Kenya is also developing beginner and intermediate curriculum, expanding fundraising efforts, and continuing to build relationships with the partners who have supported the program.
One of her biggest dreams is to create a permanent I’m Sew Fantastic building with dedicated spaces for sewing, cutting, pressing, steaming, and more, while showcasing the companies and organizations that have helped make the program possible.
Ultimately, she hopes to expand beyond four weeks of summer programming into year-round classes covering pattern making, draping, sewing techniques, and other areas of fashion design. One day, she would even love to see I’m Sew Fantastic expand to other cities and become a certified junior fashion school.
But even with all those dreams ahead, Kenya knows the heart of the program will remain the same.
It is about giving young people a place to create, helping them discover that they can do hard things and build community. And, of course, sewing.
“I’m Sew Fantastic is sew much bigger than I ever imagined,” Kenya says. “It has truly turned into something sew freaking special.”
From every stitch to every runway walk, I’m Sew Fantastic is showing young people that when they are given the tools, encouragement, and space to create, they can make something beautiful and sometimes, they can discover something beautiful within themselves along the way.
