INTERVIEW: Meet Joanna, Vacilando’s Production Seamstress
For the Scrap Collection, we gave our remote production team carte blanche and a few loose parameters to make whatever they dreamed up from our leftover fabric scraps. Each and every quilter and seamstress that we work with is wildly talented and creative in their own right - we wanted to provide an outlet for that creativity while repurposing our fabric scraps into something beautiful and useful.
Joanna joined the Vacilando team in July 2020 during one of our busiest periods of growth. As one of our production seamstresses, she makes our small-batch quilt coats in her home studio in Florida, skillfully executing each step from piecing to quilting to coat assembly. With a focus on garment making, she’s a multidisciplinary craftsperson who dabbles in quilting, knitting, and pattern drafting. Joanna’s passion for handmade heirlooms that have story and heart, along with her curiosity and drive to perfect her craft, make her the perfect fit for the Vacilando team.
We asked Joanna a few questions about her background and sewing skills - let’s get to know her!
How long have you been quilting?
I made my first quilt about eight years ago, but have been garment sewing for many years before that.
How did you learn how to quilt/sew?
One of my earliest sewing memories is making a little drawstring bag with my grandmother as a kid. We made lots of other things through the years like doll clothes and Halloween costumes, and I learned to sew with those projects. I sewed fairly consistently since then, but devoted myself more seriously to garment sewing over the past few years. Somewhere along the way, I got into natural dyeing, and I taught myself to quilt mostly to find a good use for all the fabrics I was dyeing.
Where is your studio?
Tarpon Springs, Florida
What machine do you use?
Juki TL-2010Q
My most valuable tool?
It’s a toss-up between my Hera marker and my cheap, floppy clear 2”x18” ruler—the first thing I bought for making my first quilt and something I still use every day.
Favorite fabric color?
I work with a lot of chambrays when making the quilt coats, and I just love the different textures and weaves in the chambray fabrics we use. I also love the earthy pink we use on the South Quilt Coat.
Best sewing tip/hack?
I have a little hack for reducing fabric waste that has been helping me lately. I have a bin under my desk to collect larger scraps as I sew. This bin is for the pieces I think are big enough to do something with later. Every week or so, I sort the fabric scraps and fold them up and store them in a big drawer. I also have a little basket hanging off my desk next to my machine to toss my thread and tiny fabric and batting scraps in—things that I can’t use in scrap projects later.
Squares + rectangles, triangles, or curves?
Curves!
What’s your favorite thing about quilting/sewing?
There are so many smaller projects that go into making a quilt coat. We’re basically making several small quilts and then cutting out the pieces that make up the parts of the coat from those small quilts. I love piecing and quilting even more so, but one of my favorite parts about working on the quilt coats has got to be cutting the pattern pieces from the quilted fabric. It’s the first stage of the process when you can really start to see the coat coming together. It’s always an exciting part of the process.
What’s your least favorite thing about quilting/sewing?
Running out of bobbin thread in the middle of a line of quilting has got to be my least favorite thing about quilting. I think every sewist can attest that this only happens at the least opportune moment. I also keep a few bobbins wound at all times, because winding bobbins is probably my second least favorite thing to have to do mid-sewing.
Your favorite Vacilando piece?
The West Quilt Coat and the Wanderer Quilt Coat—our collaboration with Little Korboose—are my current favorite things I’ve worked on. However, the South Quilt Coat will always have a special place in my heart as it was the first coat I made on when I came onboard.
Preferred drink and snack while you’re working?
The cold brew, tea, and coffee are always flowing in my studio.
Preferred drink and snack after you’re done working?
I always work up a big appetite after a long day in the studio. My ideal post-work treat would probably be a tofu banh mi and boba from my favorite tea shop.
What’s your most memorable travel moment?
I have so many great memories from my trip to Japan, but running into a wild boar at Fushimi Inari with my partner late one winter night has to be at the top.
What are you up to when you aren’t making quilts/sewing?
When I’m not sewing, I’m probably birding, riding my bike, or learning to skateboard. I also love the mental challenge of picking up a new hobbies. My latest one is spoon carving.
Where can we find you on the interwebs?
I’m on Instagram @joannakoulianos.
