Young makers in Northwestern Ontario spent the week learning to design and sew traditional ribbon skirts, blending cultural heritage with contemporary style.
Over the past week, the sewing machines at Art Borups Corners have been humming with purpose. From Monday through to today, August 16, young people gathered in Melgund Township, Northwestern Ontario, to take part in a ribbon skirt making workshop that brought together tradition, creativity, and hands-on skill. Supported by the Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners Society, the sessions ran on Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday, giving participants room to settle into the work and truly learn the craft.
The workshop was built around more than just following a pattern. Youth were guided through the fundamentals of dress design, learning how to read fabric, understand fit, and make choices that turned a length of material into something wearable and personal. There was a real focus on the intersection of traditional and contemporary fashion—honouring the ribbon skirt as a meaningful garment while encouraging each participant to bring their own eye and sensibility to what they were making.
By the end of the week, participants had developed real sewing skills. Threading a machine, laying out a pattern, pinning, pressing, and finishing a hem—these are the quiet, practical arts that stay with you. More than that, though, the workshop created space for young people to see themselves as makers. There is something powerful about wearing clothing you built yourself, and every skirt that came off those machines this week carried that pride.
The final session wrapped today, and the room was full of colour, laughter, and the satisfying rustle of finished fabric.
The ribbon skirts created this week are beautiful pieces of clothing, yes—but they are also statements of capability, creativity, and cultural connection. Our thanks go out to Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners Society for making this gathering possible, and to every young person who sat down at a machine and trusted the process. You made something real.
