T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Nelly & Dash LLC owner and operator Sarah Rine teaches sewing to people of all ages at her St. Clairsville business.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Nelly & Dash LLC is a business teaching people of all ages to sew in hopes of curbing the rise of clothing going to landfills.

Located on the second floor of 98 N. Market St., the business aims to teach residents to fix minor repairs instead of throwing their clothes away.

“I think we need to reuse instead of throw away. So if we can replace a button on a shirt instead of buying a new shirt, then I think we’re keeping it out of the landfill, and we’re teaching self sufficiency,” owner and operator Sarah Rine said.

She said her business model focuses on smaller classes to allow her to spend more time with each individual in the group.

“Our class sizes are very small. We only take five, maybe six per class. We feel that if there are a lot of you in a class, you can’t get adequate attention if I’m trying to run between 10 to 15 students,” Rine said. “That way you’re getting the most attention. I’d rather teach the class three or four times and teach five students at a time, than not getting enough attention, because I packed it full of 15 students.”

Rine offers classes for beginners, as well as classes a parent can take with their child as long as the child is at least 10 years old. She teaches all experience levels, but a lot of her customers just want to get out of the house and learn a new skill. Most classes are project-based.

Rine said the Nelly & Dash LLC Facebook page is the best place to stay up to date with the different classes posted. Every month, there are at least two beginner classes where you can learn to use a sewing machine, how to wind a sewing machine, how to thread a sewing machine, and how to change a needle. She also offers classes on how to make a cosmetic bag. “We have a class coming up that’s a Saturday and Sunday class where we teach you to make a quilt. We do another class where we’re doing a tote bag. It changes every month, except for the consistency of offering a beginner twice a month, but the projects are always changing,” Rine said. “There’s a kids class that’s a scrunchie, just different projects. So if you check back on the Facebook page every couple days, you might see a new project, or see if a project has an opening that you want to fill. The beginner classes usually fill up within 12 to 16 hours, so they fill up pretty fast.”

Rine wants her students to focus more on the process and not perfection.

“We want you to get better at your skills and not worry so much about perfection,” Rine said. “We want you to enjoy the process versus having something come out perfect. Getting better and learning a new technique is what’s most important.”

In addition to classes, Rine also offers a sit and sew, where people come into her store for free and sit, talk, and eat, while learning new techniques from other people attending.

“It’s kind of like the old fashioned sit and sews, with the ladies who used to gather, but we’re open to absolutely anybody who wants to come,” she said. “We lead project-based sewing classes to introduce sewing to those new to the art or more technical classes for those wishing to learn particular skills.”

Opened in fall of 2025, Rine said that people interested in taking her classes do not need to own a sewing machine.

“We promote progress over perfection and enjoyment of the activity. Those who attend sometimes come in groups or sometimes by themselves, however they always leave having met new friends and having had a good experience,” Rine said. “We provide all the sewing machines and tools for a student to learn to sew and make the project that they are signed up for. I also give advice on things they may want or need when picking out a machine for home use so they can make a more informed decision on their purchase. I offer assistance in setting up and learning how to use their new machine as well.”

Rine also sells patterns and sewing necessities to sewing enthusiasts at her location. She plans to bring her crochet program back after taking a brief hiatus due to a teacher needing to take time off.

When speaking about the importance of teaching people sewing she said that she believes that there’s a trend in what people are calling “grandma hobbies,” where people are trying to bring back older fashioned hobbies and skills.

“I think there’s a real desire to learn from the past. But unfortunately, we’ve skipped a couple generations because that wasn’t such a big thing that people wanted to do. Well now there’s not a lot of people who can teach the older ways of crocheting and sewing and things like that,” Rine said, “We don’t have home ec in schools anymore, so kids aren’t learning it at school.”