Meet Our Guest Instructor Patten!

With how central Patten Laurel has become to the Vacuums R US team, it would be a shame not to brag about how wonderful we think she is! Patten is our guest machine embroidery instructor and is an absolute delight to learn from, no matter your skill level.

Her own crafting and learning began when she was young: from the women in the alterations department at her father’s clothing store Rich Schwartz. As a young woman, she would bring her sewing projects into the store to source feedback and ideas. She even won the Betty Crocker award in her Home Economics class in high school!

Though she has been sewing for 50 years, as well as knitting and other fiber crafts, Patten didn’t make the leap to machine embroidery until after she retired. While exploring an estate sale, she found a little embroidery machine, only able to create 4”x4” patterns. Spending only $67.50 for the machine, she began her machine embroidery adventure by using the built-in Disney patterns to make gifts for her grandchildren!

While her original beloved machine did eventually die, Patten has continued to learn and develop her craft. She is now learning how to digitize her own designs, and routinely participates in contests! She won her very first time participating in the Sweet Pea Designs monthly challenge! When she retired in the summer of 2021, she went looking for ways to stay busy, and fell into teaching sewing. She now teaches embroidery with us, as well as sewing classes to children in the summers, and other events around the Denver metro area! She has started to make such waves in the Denver embroidery community that she is now a published contributor to Creative Machine Embroidery, an embroidery magazine you can find at many craft stores! If you’d like to take a class from our very own famous expert, keep an eye on our calendar! Patten teaches machine embroidery events with Vacuums R Us once a month, focusing on developing embroidery skills and creating beautiful, functional projects.