Who hasn’t wanted to give a room an easy makeover with new curtains or pillows? Whether it’s because the season has changed, or the edges have frayed (I admit to patching dupioni silk pillows with duct tape, back in the day), the time comes to give the current fabrics a rest and switch them out.

An easy way to do that is to DIY and sew your own, of course, but those of us who aren’t blessed with the sewing gene (it skips generations, you know) have had to go for whatever the stores can offer – and usually that’s not cheap. But with all the sewing studios around town now, there’s no excuse not to learn. Check out these Portland sewing hot spots:
• SewPo– in the NE Mississippi Avenue neighborhood, even offers classes for kids and free “open sew” sessions. 830 N. Failing Street, Portland (503) 282-1372
• Modern Domestics and Bolt – two shops on NE Alberta who have partnered up. Bolt has curated a great selection of brightly colored print fabrics for when you don’t have the time or energy to browse at the megastore, Fabric Depot. Modern Domestic has sewing machines and classes (and open sew night, too). The shops are neighbors: Modern Domestic is at 1408 NE Alberta Street, Portland (503) 808-9910; Bolt is a few block east, at 2136 NE Alberta Street, Portland (503) 287-bolt
• Fabric Depot – the mother lode, on SE 122nd, is worth the time. It offers classes, and has (literally) everything. 700 Southeast 122nd Avenue, Portland (503) 252-9530
• Josephine’s Dry Goods– downtown, with classes and lovely fabrics as well. 521 SW 11th Ave # 100, Portland, (503) 224-4202