When you meet Carina, the founder of Sew Tribal, you instantly understand why children gravitate toward her classes. She radiates calm, warmth and a quiet belief that creativity belongs to everyone. Her workshops, now a cherished fixture in Gosport, are more than sewing lessons. They’re safe spaces where children can explore, express themselves and discover the joy of making something with their own hands.
But the story of Sew Tribal begins long before the first afterschool club, long before Gosport, and even long before Carina’s own children were born.
A childhood stitched with creativity
Carina grew up in a small village in Ireland, surrounded by women who made, mended and created as naturally as breathing. Her mum and granny always kept a sewing kit close by, fixing clothes, repairing household items and passing down the quiet art of “make do and mend.” Her aunt, who made curtains and interiors, became her first teacher.
“I must have been seven or eight,” Carina recalls. “I’d sit beside her cutting circles of fabric to make buttons for curtains. I loved it. The sewing machine just made me so happy.”
Those early memories of busy hands and fabric everywhere, and creativity woven into daily life, became the foundation of everything she does today.
A life on the move
Carina met her husband in 2008 while working parttime for a textile designer in London’s Oxo Tower. She went on to complete a Master’s in Fashion and Textile Design in Scotland before the couple moved to various places, including Portsmouth, where she began taking on small sewing jobs: repairs, military badges, baby blankets for friends. She even designed her first little logo for Sew Tribal.
But as a Navy wife, life meant constant movement. “We moved every year and a half to two years,” she says. “Once the girls were born and started school, I knew I wanted us to be rooted somewhere.”
In 2018, the family settled in Gosport, first in military housing, then finally buying a home in Alverstoke. Her husband still goes away for long stretches, but Gosport has become their anchor.
Finding her way back to textiles
Carina taught textiles and photography in schools fulltime for several years, but with her husband away for up to nine months of the year and two young daughters, now aged 9 and 11, it became impossible for Carina to juggle everything. “So I stepped back from teaching and asked myself what I truly wanted to do. And the answer was obvious. I wanted to return to textiles, design and working with young people.”
Carina rebranded Sew Tribal and trialled an afterschool club at her daughters’ school. It filled instantly.
“That was the moment I knew,” she says. “This is what I’m meant to be doing.”
A safe, creative space for every child
Sew Tribal now runs classes for children ages 7–11 in local junior schools and 7–16 at YourSpace on Gosport High Street. Carina also hosts regular “learn to sew” sessions at the Discovery Centre, they’re open to anyone, including homeeducated children who often struggle to access practical, handson learning.
Her sessions are intentionally calm, gentle and pressurefree.
“Some of the children who come are homeeducated for a reason,” she explains. “I want them to have a quiet, safe space where they can relax and be creative. There’s no rushing, no right or wrong. Just progress.”
The results are remarkable. Children leave with new skills, new confidence and something they’re genuinely proud of. Parents often message Carina to say how much it means to see their child engaged, calm and excited about learning.
Moments that stay with you
Ask Carina about her favourite memories and she lights up.
Before Christmas, she ran a fashion project where children brought in denim items to decorate in a way that expressed their personality. One girl, an animal lover, designed her piece with handdrawn and printed rabbits, foxes and cats, stitching them carefully into place.
“It was so her,” Carina says. “Seeing their personality come through and then watching how proud she was of her masterpiece. She was really wearing it with pride, and that was so lovely for me to be a part of.”
Another highlight was contributing to a community collage. Over three weeks, 33 of Carina’s students created fabric squares representing what Gosport meant to them. The final piece was a patchwork of identity, belonging and pride that travels around the community, hanging in various community venues.
Powered by community generosity
Local businesses have embraced Sew Tribal wholeheartedly. Costume makers, one specialising in theatre, another in ballet, regularly donate fabric scraps, which Carina repurposes for her classes.
Even the simple act of teaching someone to sew a button becomes a moment of connection. At YourSpace, she once helped a lady replace the buttons on a charityshop cardigan she had purchased, guiding her through the process and letting her choose from Carina’s eclectic button collection.
“It’s those little interactions that matter,” she says. “Textiles bring people together.”
Dreaming bigger
For now, Carina stores everything in a shed in her garden. It’s what she calls her makeshift studio. But she’s dreaming of something more:
“I’d love a dedicated studio space, you know a real creative hub for adults and children where there is a communal table for workshops, or desks that people can hire.
“When I was at university, everyone had their own workspace which was also their vision board. It was so inspiring. I’d love to recreate that for the Gosport community.”
Her daughters, Alice and Hanna, are constant helpers and creative collaborators. They test her ideas, help her understand what works for different age groups and share her love of making.
“They’re always into everything,” she laughs. “We make things together all the time.”
Gosport, she says, has been so welcoming to her family and her textiles clubs. “I’ve made so many connections. People have been so helpful. I’d love to collaborate more with other creatives.”
And that’s the heart of Sew Tribal: connection. Through fabric, thread and imagination, Carina is stitching together confidence, community and creativity, one child, one class, and one button at a time.
You can follow Sew Tribal by visiting:
Sew Tribal runs weekly Textiles after-school clubs at Crofton Hammond junior school on Thursday’s and Alverstoke junior school on Monday’s and Wednesday’s (term time only).
Weekly small group Textiles home education sessions run on Thursday’s 11am-1pm at YourSpace Gosport.
Follow for more details on Stitch & Sip Nights, Free sewing skills and what’s new with Sew Tribal.