‘It’s therapy’: the Bradford sewing group stitching communities back together
The Yorkshire Women’s forum is bringing textiles back to the former mill town while building connection and friendship
The clatter of sewing machines fills the Manningham Mills Community Centre in Bradford. Around 20 women sift through boxes of cottons, jacquards and other scraps of materials saved from landfill. Some work quietly, others natter away, admiring their handiwork.
Sewcialise is a weekly sewing group run by the Yorkshire Women’s Forum, a social enterprise founded in December 2024. The organisation was set up to support women across Bradford through creative workshops and sustainability-focused projects, building confidence, connection and wellbeing. Sewcialise is its flagship project hosted at the community centre.
The forum began after a conversation over a bonfire between old friends Tanu Patel, a former social worker, and Shazia Ahmed, a former lawyer. “I’d reached a point in my life where I wanted to do something to give back,” says Ahmed.
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Around the same time, Patel was invited to a community meeting at the centre, which is based at Lister Mill, a former textile mill. The surrounding area, like many mill towns, has faced long-term economic deprivation following the decline of the textile industry. Manningham was ranked the most deprived ward in Bradford in 2019, with some of the lowest levels of health outcomes in the district.
The hub had served residents for a long time, but the engagement with its activities was limited. Patel suggested an idea — to bring textiles back into the mill through a sewing club.
She received a £1,000 donation from a member of the community to buy the first sewing machines, in memory of her mother who had been a local teacher.
“It all happened organically, as good things do,” says Patel.
Sewcialise takes place each Monday, and is often open for eight or nine hours at a time. “We created a hub, not a class,” says Patel. “Women have commitments. What works at 10am this week won’t work at 10am next week. So we say come when you can. You’ll never be late, and you’ll never leave early.”
Skill levels vary — from women who have never threaded a needle to those making tailored jackets from upcycled fabric. One participant, Amra Ejaz, proudly presents a skirt she’s working on. “This is my most recent one,” she tells me, smiling. “I made it from scratch.”
Others learn at their own pace. “One lady was ecstatic when she could sew in a straight line,” Ahmed says. “She’d never managed it before. Now she makes clothes for her children.”
Judith Marbles, head of people and commission services at the community centre, says the women have transformed the building.
“The buzz when all the ladies are in — it’s wonderful,” she says. “They’ve brought the community back into the mill.”
Beyond sewing, the hub has become a broader space for learning exchange across generations. Younger women teach older ones how to use Facebook and Instagram; older women pass down knitting and crochet techniques. The forum staff also run other sessions throughout the week — upcycling workshops and a gardening club, as well as a dementia and menopause support group.
One of the group’s regulars is local Tracy Cooper. She’s open about having faced challenges in the past, including recovery from alcoholism. She worried she might have been judged for it, but she found the opposite.
“I’ve made loads of new friends,” says Cooper. “I have a speech impediment, so I was scared to talk to anybody. But the ladies here have helped me, and I’ve grown in confidence.”
Looking around the room, she adds: “We might not have the same skin colour, but I’ve felt really accepted here. The ladies have made me feel so comfortable and welcomed.”
The founders are proud, above all, of the atmosphere. “We’ve created a village environment in the mill,” says Patel. “Women share food, stories, laughter, tears. They pop in and out as you would back home in the village. The door is always open.”
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That open-door ethos is important. Many of the women have spent years isolated — some are empty-nest parents, carers, dealing with loss or are simply lonely.
One 89-year-old attendee comes every week with her daughter Irna. Irna’s mother worked in a sewing mill in Bradford decades ago with her best friend, who died last year. Coming so Sewcialise helps her deal with the loss.
“She loves it,” Irna says. “My mum wants that intellectual stimulation. She was a teacher back in Pakistan, so she wants to feel like she’s doing something of value. She feels like she actually has skills she can contribute — that makes a huge difference.”
Some items made by the attendees are sold to fund further projects. Others feed into charitable work, including a Hats for the Homeless winter campaign and an initiative called Bags for Trees, where proceeds from craft sales go towards planting trees.
“We’re blessed,” says Patel. “We get a lot out of it and we need it just as much as the other ladies.”
