Madison Ostroff does not only sew, but uses her creativity to help everyone around her. She grew up watching her Lola sew and has not stopped since she got her first needle and string. 

Maddy is a junior at Emerson High School and has a passion for the arts. This year she was inducted into the National Art Honors Society as well as helping and being active in the art club since seventh grade. Maddy has been participating in theater starting in middle school and has been in all the plays at her time so far in EHS. The past few years she has also performed at the annual Coffee House and lastly is a member and captain of the color guard team. 

She learned how to sew during the Covid-19 pandemic. Both her parents are involved in the medical field and she found out that nurses were in need of hats. Her Lola, who has been sewing since she was a kid, was the one who taught Maddy how to sew. 

Together they went to the store to buy a bunch of fabrics and she started to sew every night.

“I would sew till like five in the morning all throughout the night making those hats and my mom would bring them to work with her to give to the nurses. I would make them out of fabrics I bought or out of old scrubs that were donated” Maddy said. 

Ever since she started sewing she has found peace and relaxation in creating different things. She started making clothes which turned into her creating outfits used in the school play and as the color guard uniforms.

Last year the high school play was Cinderella. When looking for Cinderella’s dress to buy, there was nothing found that they liked. She then volunteered to make one. 

“I made a draft for the dress out of curtains in one night and the actual dress was finished within two to three days. There were a lot of fixes that I had to make and add different parts to make it work. It took a lot of experimenting and was not fully finished until about the week of the show” Maddy said. 

When Maddy also recently made her team’s color guard uniforms, she worked swiftly finishing all of them in two days. Although each one took three hours to make, she sewed all day and night.

“Sewing is a side hobby for me but I have been offered to be paid for things that I make. I want to be a nurse when I grow up” she said. 

Through sleepless nights crafting and producing outfits for others, she has also made clothes for herself. Last month the Emerson Band went on a trip to Disney. Maddy made herself outfits to wear at each different park which was inspired by different characters. She made tops, dresses, and skirts that she wore each day.

Although sewing will not be Maddys future as her main career, she will always enjoy creating pieces for not only herself, but to give to those around her. 

“Anyone can sew, you just have to practice enough” said Maddy.