Debbie's School of Sewing – which has been in business for 22 years – is teaching the basics of sewing not out of the students' needs to make their own clothes to save on money, but more for their creative self-expression.

Owner Debbie Vidinha said sewing is not just about the basics of patching and mending, it is also now about learning how to distress or make a new item look old yet still fashion forward.

Her students are mostly women of different ages, and also includes teens. Debbie said the reality design and sewing shows on TV have influenced a lot of her students into wanting to learn to sew to be able to design their own clothes. She further said, "there's a valuable social component to the class, we have a lot of mothers and daughters or two friends who come together, we have a good time."

The school has recently transferred to Debbie's home in Dartmouth. Debbie is a certified Master Seamstress from the University of Rhode Island.