Four sewists with scoliosis share what it’s like to sew for their curvature of the spine, from fitting challenges to building confidence
Written by Michelle Grady
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Every body is beautifully unique and asymmetrical in some way, but those with scoliosis are likely to be more asymmetric than most. Scoliosis is when the spine twists and curves to the side, and it can cause shoulders to be uneven, one shoulder blade to jut out, or one hip to be higher than the other. Clothing can be uncomfortable to move around in, or even painful if a garment is pressing on or digging into areas like the hips, waist and shoulders. However, armed with a sewing machine, stitchers with scoliosis have the power to craft a wardrobe that's custom-made for their back’s curve.
Although her scoliosis wasn’t the reason that Laura – @green.circle.textiles on Instagram – started dressmaking, she says it's helped her to feel "more at home in my body and overcome my insecurities around my appearance due to my spine." Laura found out about her scoliosis as a teenager. "As my curve was quite severe and I was too old to use bracing, I was referred to a surgeon. At 15, I didn’t understand what it meant to live with scoliosis, and I chose to hold off on surgery. It is only recently that I have learnt how to manage my scoliosis in my daily life." She’s always wanted to be able to make her own clothes and loved watching Project Runway. Then, "in 2019, I had to stop work due to my disabilities and had a lot of time on my hands. So, I decided to use my recovery time to indulge my childhood dream and start sewing," Laura recalls.
For historical costumer, Vi, @misssnappydragon Instagram, it was also the creative possibilities that first attracted her to dressmaking, but she became increasingly motivated to sew a corset to fit her scoliosis as a base for her historical garments. Vi has a 34-degree curvature between her shoulder blades, "and it’s also got a rotation in it, so my spine twists on its axis, which affects me from head to toe. I also have fibromyalgia, so that and the scoliosis aggravate each other, which means there’s a lot of chronic back, neck and shoulder pain." A major moment in Vi’s scoliosis sewing journey came when she performed in The Great Dickens Christmas Fair in 2019. "I was wearing a corset bought from a good-quality manufacturer, but it didn’t fit me correctly," she explains, "so I was in pain for the entire run of
