Why I Became a Digital Fabric Printer

"Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19

The most common question I get when someone finds out I'm a digital fabric printer is, "What made you get into that?"

People usually assume I have a degree in art, design, or fashion, something that would explain it. But my answer is always the same.

"In a nutshell, God told me to."

That's usually when I get the chance to share my testimony. I follow it up with something like this: "I don't know if you're a person of faith or not, but I am. You might think I'm absolutely crazy, and that's okay if you do, but I'll share my story with you if you want to hear it."

If you're interested in hearing how I became a digital fabric printer, I want to share it with you, from the very beginning. It's a story about a bargain sewing machine, a lot of prayer, and a God who cares about details far smaller than most people would expect Him to.

And if you're new to WayMaker and had no idea we were a faith-based business, I want you to know something important: you are welcome here. I hope this story gives you a real picture of who we are and why we do what we do.

The Beginning

Let's start at the very beginning, long before I knew God was leading me to something much bigger than myself.

Sometimes there is a catalyst in your life, but you do not realize it until years later. It may seem small, even irrelevant, at the time. But God is using it to lead you somewhere far down the road, to a destination not even on your radar.

My unknowing catalyst was a sewing machine.

The Sewing Machine

I found it on a Black Friday sale for just $50. I told myself, "If I never use it, I've wasted $50 on far worse things." It felt like a small indulgence, not a turning point. I had no idea it would be the fuse on a path God was paving years in advance.

For a long time, that sewing machine stayed packed away. I was single, living in Texas, and life moved on. I did not forget about it exactly, but I certainly did not use it. It sat untouched, waiting quietly like a seed underground.

God does that sometimes, doesn't He? He plants something in your life and then lets it lie dormant. No obvious growth. No clear purpose. Just waiting. But He knows when the season is right.

Fast forward a few years. I was now married, living in a small town in Kansas, and newly pregnant.

One day, my husband said, "You need a hobby."

And just like that, I remembered the $50 sewing machine.

I dug it out of the box, dusted it off, and downloaded a pattern for burp cloths. Yes, burp cloths. And yes, I needed a pattern for them.

Maybe you've been there too. Starting something new and feeling like even the simple things need step by step instructions. That's okay. It's more than okay. Because the important thing is not what you start with, it's that you start.

I carefully taped those pages together and cut out that peanut shaped burp cloth. I cut every individual shape not knowing you could stack your fabric to make cutting easier. I worried I was doing everything wrong but kept going. I assembled about 20 burp cloths over the next week.

Then I met Danielle.

Danielle

You could say the sewing machine was the fuse, but Danielle was the match that lit it.

She was also new to our small town. Her husband worked with mine, and she lived just a few houses down. We became instant friends.

Imagine my surprise when she started talking about sewing. I lit up. I had a million questions, and she had answers. She introduced me to online sewing groups, free digital patterns, and the magic of glue sticks for "taping" those endless paper patterns.

That match had been struck.

Suddenly I realized I could make clothing. Not just burp cloths or quilts, but leggings, shirts, real wearable pieces. It unlocked something in me.

From there, I fell deep down the rabbit hole. Learning how to shop for fabric, how to read patterns, how to construct garments.

And somewhere along the way, I fell in love with fabric. Head over heels. Overnight hoarder.

In those early years of motherhood, my husband would occasionally ask, "What do you want to do when the kids go to school and you go back to work?"

And without hesitation, I always answered, "I'm not sure, but I can tell you one thing. I never want to own a business."

Have you ever heard the saying, man plans, God laughs? My repeated declaration of never wanting to own a business is laughable now. Looking back, I see that God was building something all along.

Next: Man Plans, God Laughs, where the idea I swore I'd never chase finally found its way out.