Sew AVL

SEW AVL is a small town shop that makes you feel right at home. The owner Karmen was very kind, friendly, and full of local knowledge as we shopped for souvenir gifts and hiking trails alike. She made me a custom, beach vibe button down and it’s certainly one of a kind. Would happily recommend her to anyone wanting a personalized gift for themselves or friends and family.

Couldn’t love Sew Avl more if I tried! Karmen is so friendly and so helpful! I took beginner sewing lessons with extremely minimal knowledge going in, after the lesson I feel so confident with my machine! She is so patient and insightful and full of great tips and ideas! Her studio and shop is so warm and inviting and her sweet pup was such a joy! Highly recommend, you will love it all, just like I do! :)

Working with Karmen was truly one of the most meaningful parts of our wedding journey. She helped me design two absolutely gorgeous, one-of-a-kind jackets that I surprised my fiancé with ahead of our wedding, and the entire experience was magic from start to finish. Karmen took my vision and elevated it—working thoughtfully with the outdoorsy, adventure-inspired fabric I loved and helping create designs that felt both deeply sentimental and visually striking. She paid such close attention to detail and made sure every choice felt intentional and personal to us. The jackets even feature characters from one of our favorite Studio Ghibli films, Princess Mononoke, which made them feel incredibly meaningful and uniquely ours. We’re having a destination wedding with several outdoor events, and I truly cannot wait to wear these pieces—they feel like wearable memories, not just clothing. Karmen has an amazing ability to translate emotion and story into design, and I’m so grateful to have worked with her. If you’re looking for something custom, heartfelt, and beautifully crafted, she is the real deal.

My favorite store!! I love the vibe here. Really pretty clothes with lots of fun designed patches. I got a cute patch but you can also get patch sewed here within less 10 minutes.

Highly recommend Karmen to anyone in the Asheville area. She is a locally owned business. She's very friendly and easy to work with. If you have a project in mind she will help you materialize it. She didn't have a certain patch I was looking for on hand so she created one herself (see picture). Very talented and very fair, highly recommend.

I had an eight year old, tired backpack with my military patches. Bought the identical backpack (Swiss Army) and wanted the patches taken off the old one and put on the new one. AVL accepted the project and did a fantastic job. They were quick. Beautiful work. Fair price. If you have a sewing project, give them a call. They are beyond awesome.

Had a quick consultation with Karmen about adding some upcycled floral elements to a mens basic seersucker short-sleeve button down. It was a new experience for me and a lot of fun! Turnaround is quick, the work is professional, and the reveal upon pickup is of course the best part. Rock unique stuff and support a talented local artist!

Karmen is wonderful! Very creative & a great seamstress in a good location. She is super customer friendly. Check out her great Second Hand / Thrift shops finds she sells. She can customize it for you. She has become my "go to" for any mending needs. So glad I found her. Keep up the good work, Karmen!

What a joyful, creative experience we had! Left truly inspired by Karmen. What a gem! I’m now online shopping sewing machines… so I think that’s a great sign. I took my stepdaughter and her friend for an appliqué workshop and we left with cute, new-to-us, up-cycled clothes and the itch to create more! Thank you, Sew AVL. We’ll be back!!!!

✨DELIGHTFUL✨ I popped in because the display out front was very cute, despite my lack of sewing skills. There are racks of clothing that have already been embellished with embroidery or patches, or fringe, and other adornments to choose from easily. Or if you want to create your own piece like I did, Karmen has racks of plain quality pieces. The first item I picked up and tried on was an aubergine chore jacket that fit perfectly! I then selected 2 patches out of the many options, and Karmen sewed Morris, my new giraffe friend, on the back after we selected a spot together. I kept shopping down Biltmore Ave and came back when I was done, long after she was finished affixing Morris to my new-to-me jacket. I also selected a small quilted patch with 3 foxes on it that will serve as my first tiny sewing project, I want to put the foxes on a front pocket. Thank you for chatting and putting your unique creativity into the world Karmen!