Hi! My name is Afi Ruel. I am a sewist and artist. I make clothes I can wear. Welcome to my virtual artist’s cove.
I found out last Summer right before my grandmother passed away that I am a third generation sewist. My grandmother and my mom were both very talented sewists who made customized and tailored garments for themselves, their families and their loved ones. Although neither of them taught me how to sew, sewing is in my DNA. I learned how to sew in a month-long, weekly beginner’s class when I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan (Go Navy!). I’ve been sewing since then and I’ve come a long way since that beginner’s class 14 years ago. Now I’m designing my own patterns and (as of 2024) learning how to digitize and scale them so that I can share them with other sewists. I also have a sewing community that’s designed to support sewists as they learn the craft and grow their skill sets.
In addition to sewing, I love art. For a long time, I didn’t draw or paint because I never knew what to do with art. It also didn’t help that I was told that “there’s no money in art”. But, I also reconnected with my love for art in Okinawa and am growing my skills daily. My Art by Afi collection currently has wearable art products with my digital art. I’ve come a long way from that girl who surprised her art teacher in the 6th grade with a drawing that was much better than her behavior in class!
On this site, you will find sewing resources and wearable art. After each post on the blog, you can leave questions, comments or thoughts. It’s how we grow as artists!
Please share any resources you find helpful and make sure to connect with me on YouTube and Pinterest!
