Sylvia Green Seamstress
Hello, I'm Sylvia Green, a self-taught seamstress/hobbyist born and raised in Winnipeg. Sylvia moved to Thompson in 1988 at the age of 19. She works with leather, furs, wool, fabrics, and some beads. Sylvia started to get into crafting out of desperation to heal and stay focused after being injured in a work hazing accident while working for the province.
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In her quest to heal she started off learning how to knit, then quilt. Word had gotten out that Sylvia could sew and many of the members of our community encouraged her to always go that step further. She found her craft evolving continuously from hemming pants, to altering wedding gowns, working with sequins and rhinestones. Sylvia then decided to take it a step further and get into working with leather. This is when she met a remarkable Cree artist named Cynthia Boehm who was originally from Norway House. Her teachings were by far the most influential in Sylvia's craft. Once she became comfortable, she then added her own personal touch. She is never done learning, and evolving, and is always working to expand this craft into more.
Sylvia really is not sure if she truly has a favorite piece, to be honest. Lately, she has been exploring different types of mitts and loves working with colors. This year she added a few more items like the natural gauntlets and headbands; now starting to get into hats, hoping to add mukluks and jackets in the near future as well as fur teddy bears. A couple of her fun pieces were hand-knitted baby bunting bags with fur hood trim. She likes to work with colors that remind her of old fur trading times like the Hudson Bay colors.
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Much of her materials come from Bill Worb Furs but she am always open to other sources. Also, if she is lucky enough to be able to reuse a fur coat, Sylvia will jump at the opportunity. She would rather not see beautiful items wasted when they can be repurposed into something spectacular. She also gets excited when someone will bring her an old piece that’s been worn down but has sentimental meaning to them since it was made with love by a family member that has past and they have chosen her to bring back life to it. It’s a special honor to be trusted with that task.
