About Us
The University of Sewing started in 2018, but our story starts over thirty years ago. Shop owner, Margaret Fette, didn’t discover sewing until she was in her early twenties, but once she began, she absolutely couldn’t stop! In the single decade between the ages of 21-31, Margaret made over 1,000 quilts, and found her life’s passion. She worked on Broadway, making costumes, taught advanced sewing techniques at Indiana University, and launched The Tailored Fit, a clothing alterations and tailoring business. She discovered that she had an incredible eye for garment sewing and fit, and parlayed that gift into a shop that catered to a wide range of individuals, from brides, to prom queens, to businessmen, and even the IU basketball and football teams!
When she settled in Bloomington, Margaret noted that there was a distinct lack of stores that served sewists who were interested in both quilting and garment sewing. She made it her mission to create a shop that would provide fabric for people who loved to sew everything:from bags to jackets, art quilts to baby blankets. She worked tirelessly with suppliers, determined to find the highest quality fabrics and notions at the most affordable prices for her customers. The University of Sewing began carrying Bernina sewing machines in 2018, becoming a certified dealer in 2020 just days before the Pandemic struck and closed all of the shops in town! Undeterred, Margaret spent that summer placing her entire inventory online, a move that helped to take the University of Sewing from a small town shop to a nationally recognized brand. She reasoned that sewists would still need to create, and she wanted to make sure she could help them in any way she could!
The Tailored Fit (the alterations and tailoring portion of the shop)closed down in September of 2023, so that Margaret and her staff could focus solely on providing their customers with the absolute best service, education, and sewing machines available on the market today. Their collective mission is simple:to be their customers’favorite fabric and sewing machine store. To that end, the University of Sewing now offers a wide range of classes, with a team that consists of makers and sewists with impressive backgrounds in quilting, embroidery, tailoring, and garment making. Education is their passion. This shop always puts the customer first, and we make it our mission to never upsell or oversell. Every single employee on the staff is given training in the workings of the Bernina and bernette lines of sewing machines, and is always willing to stop and help anyone who comes through our doors, or calls our phone. We will never turn you away, or make you feel intimidated. After all, we were ALL beginners once!
The future remains bright for the University of Sewing, as we continue to expand our garment fabric selections, develop classes for the absolute beginner up to the advanced creator, and provide in-house servicing for all makes, models, conditions, and ages of sewing machines. Now a Bernina Excellence Dealer, the University of Sewing carries more in-stock Bernina and bernette sewing machines than any other shop in the state of Indiana. We back up this selection with over 4,000 bolts of fabric, and an active classroom that holds a new class, activity, or event every single day. Our sewing machine service department continues to grow. We can service all makes and brands of home and industrial machines.
Daily we strive to make our customer service second to none. Margaret’s passion for creating is infectious, and we can’t wait to include you in our University of Sewing family!