Busy Pins & Needles – Learning to Sew
DECEMBER 21st 2025
Busy Pins and Needles is a family-run fabric shop located in Aberdare. Not only do they offer a wide range of craft supplies, but they also use these supplies to create stunning and unique creations that are exclusive to their store. They provide an extensive selection of fabrics, wool, and knitting supplies, along with sewing essentials. Their staff are highly knowledgeable and experienced, and can offer tailored advice to customers who need help.
PYC supported Busy Pins and Needles with a Micro Fund grant of £6,500 to assist with upscaling the business with expansion from retail products and services to educational services and crafting groups that can significantly benefit the community. They offer social connections, friendships, practical support, and emotional support to enhance the lives of people and also provide customers with valuable skills they can apply in the working world and potentially generate future employment opportunities.
“Our project has been very successful with people coming to our shop and learning to sew. We have had people with varying degrees of previous sewing knowledge come to us for guidance, some with vast experience, but have not had the opportunity to use their machines in a while and wanted one or two refresher lessons; and also some people who are complete beginners who have gone on to create some amazing pieces. We have also had people from a range of demographics and ages, with our youngest learning on a sewing machine being only 7.
One of our students who learnt how to use the machine, how to hand sew, some dressmaking techniques, and learnt how to alter garments has now started doing alterations for themselves and offers their services to their friends too.
Though some people come to us unsure about their relationship with sewing, some do a few lessons and decide it is not for them; many of our students are happy and have learnt some new skills that they can add to their CVs, hobby lists and can take with them into future studies or employment.
We have learnt through doing this, though, that most people prefer sewing lessons be on a one-to-one basis, and not a group thing, as they feel that they have more time and attention spent on helping them with their specific needs towards their specific projects when there is only themselves and the teacher in the lesson. Due to a very vast majority feeling this way, we recently decided, after a long while of deliberating, to reduce the number of group classes available and focus our attentions towards planning, organising and carrying out one-to-one sessions.
We are so proud of what our students have achieved”. – Charlotte Drinkwater, Manager of Busy Pins & Needles
PYC wishes company continued success in the future and they can be found on the web https://www.busypinsandneedles.co.uk/ or followed on social media: https://www.facebook.com/busypinsandneedles
The Fund was established by energy company Vattenfall to benefit the communities hosting the Pen y Cymoedd wind farm across the upper Neath, Afan, Rhondda and Cynon Valleys. It exists to support local people, groups and organisations to invest in themselves, their ideas and their communities.
The Community Fund has a substantial annual budget that is index-linked, meaning it increases in line with inflation. As an example, this equated to around £2.5 million in 2025. The Fund will continue to support communities until 2043, creating long-term opportunities for growth, resilience and positive change.
The Fund is managed by an independent, locally based not-for-profit Community Interest Company. It is overseen by a Board of Directors with strong local connections and delivered by a small but dedicated staff team with extensive community engagement experience. We are here to help ensure the Fund delivers on the vision and priorities of local communities.
Over the next 10 years, the Fund is focusing on investment in people, places and businesses — helping the Valleys to thrive, driving bold ideas, supporting transformation and creating lasting impact for current and future generations.