Quilted Together: The Story of Sew Carefree

Written by Bailey Hughes
Photographed by Maddie McMurry

Walk into Sew Carefree on any given day, and you'll find bolts of fabric lining the walls, sewing machines humming somewhere in the back, and more than likely, a handful of people gathered around a couple of tables working on something together. It's a comfortable place, the kind where you can tell people come back regularly, and not just for fabric.

In 2015, Kerri McDaniel's father went out looking for the right sewing thread in Jackson and simply couldn't find it. That small frustration set something in motion, and before long, her parents opened Sew Carefree together. Her father handled machine repairs, while her mother worked the floor.

Kerri, who now owns and runs the shop herself, will be the first to tell you she wasn't exactly the obvious person to eventually take it over. Growing up, sewing held little appeal for her. She tried making clothes for her kids when they were small, but with a finicky machine and more frustration than fun, it never stuck. It wasn't until her late husband surprised her with an embroidery machine–around the time her parents were getting the shop off the ground–that something clicked. From embroidery, she found her way to quilting and became increasingly involved in the business along the way. 

Eventually, Sew Carefree became hers.

Ask Kerri what the shop is all about, and she'll tell you they live by their mission statement, which has always been and always will be the same: 

"Sew Carefree is the quilt shop we would want to shop in."

That simple, yet profound philosophy shapes everything. From the way they train customers on every machine they sell, to the fact that they service and repair those machines in-house. This is what drives Kerri to help curate a new customer’s interest in the hobby, or to listen to what they want to make and match them to the machine that fits their needs, not just the one with the biggest price tag. 

 Sew Carefree is also a family affair. Kerri's mother still handles inventory. Her father still does machine repairs. The young woman who greeted me at the door for our interview? That was her daughter. Her daughter's husband and his cousin have both done repair work for the shop. 

Running a business with the people you love comes with its own set of challenges, but it also means that when you walk through the door, you're not just a customer. You're walking into something far more personal.

Sew Carefree's class offerings are broader than most people expect: machine embroidery, quilting, home décor projects like bags and casserole covers, clothing patterns, and even stuffed animals. Private lessons are available for those who want one-on-one attention. And for anyone who's taken a class but gotten stuck mid-project at home, there's Open Sew, held every Thursday, where customers can come back in, bring their work, and get the help they need to push through. Kerri points out that what makes in-person learning so much better than something like a YouTube how-to is that you can actually replicate it. 

"In those cooking videos, they never tell you exactly how much seasoning to use. You can see the right idea, see the right combinations, but they never tell you how much."

A real teacher, she says, can stand next to you, look at your seam, and tell you exactly what's going wrong and why. That level of guidance is what turns first-timers into regulars. She estimates fewer than 10% of students from a beginner class never come back. And the rest? 

They're hooked.

There's a question Kerri hears often, sometimes spoken out loud and sometimes written all over a new customer's face: Why would someone make a quilt when you can just buy a blanket? The answer, she's learned, is something you can't really explain. You have to experience it. 

When people start coming to classes, they begin to understand that quilting isn't about the blanket at all. It's the fact that when it's finished, it's entirely and completely yours.

"Then you've got something that's handmade with love, that's your fabric choices, your colors, what you like, and it's yours–and I think that's what makes them come back."

The craft of sewing also benefits your brain. In a world that doesn't slow down, there's something about sitting at a machine, matching seams and pressing fabric, that has a way of quieting the noise. And there's the sense of accomplishment waiting on the other side–even through the moments when you wonder why you ever took it on. Then it's done, and suddenly you remember exactly why.

Kerri has a way of talking about community that makes it sound like the best-kept secret in Jackson. She'll point out that quilting long ago used to be done by hand, sitting in a circle, and while the machines have long since replaced that image, the circle itself never went away. It just moved inside Sew Carefree's walls.

"Everything's more fun when you do it with somebody."

She also pushes back gently on the idea that the craft is expensive. When the conversation turns to the cost of a top-of-the-line machine, or the supplies it takes to make a single purse, Kerri has an answer for that too. 

"What hobby isn't?” she pointed out. “If you truly love your hobby, whether it's golf or fishing or camping, which one is cheap? None, right?"

And she makes an equally good point about why people show up in person rather than ordering online:

"You don't do it because it's cheap. You do it because you love it."

Owning a specialty retail shop isn't easy and carries a lot of weight for Kerri.With the economy tightening and discretionary spending being the first to go, the constant challenge is competing with online retailers who don't offer what she offers, but do offer convenience. Alongside the competition, there are other kinds of hard days. There are weeks when the shop is quiet, and the responsibility of keeping the doors open–for her family, her staff, and the community she's built–sits heavy on her shoulders. But Kerri stays hopeful.  

"The only thing that really keeps me pushing is faith, and that God had hands in everything... I just trust through it all,” Kerri said with confidence. “It's all gonna come out okay in the end.”

And what does she get out of it? Not a fortune, but something else Kerri seems to value more.

“No one gets rich by running a sewing business. But you do make friends, you develop relationships, and you get to see other people grow and what they can do."

As for Sew Carefree’s future in Jackson,  her answer is grounded and hopeful in equal measure. 

"Hopefully still here, thriving and doing great.”

If there's one thing Kerri asks of the Jackson community, it's simple: remember that Sew Carefree exists. However, she is still realistic. She knows they can’t carry everything the big guys carry, but she wants, more than anything, to be someone’s one-stop shop for all things sewing. 

"We aren't Joann's, we're not Hobby Lobby. Sometimes we don't have everything you're looking for, but if I can get it for you, I will."

That, maybe more than anything, is what Sew Carefree is at its core. It’s not the biggest shop, and probably not the cheapest option, but it is a place where someone who genuinely cares will meet you where you are, and do their best to get you what you need.

“If you get anything from this, please remember your small businesses,” Kerri reminds us. “If you added us all together, we probably employ more people than the big ones."

Sew Carefree is located at 2078 Hollywood Drive, Suite A, Jackson, Tennessee 38305. You can browse their classes, shop fabric and machines, or book a service appointment at sewcarefree.com. Give them a call at (731) 736-3996, or follow along on Facebook and Instagram.