Valerie Soe - Sewing as Storytelling: Inside The New Movie The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook

In this episode of Sew & So, we’re stepping into a powerful intersection of storytelling and sewing with filmmaker and artist Valerie Soe.

Valerie is a fourth-generation Chinese American, born and raised in San Francisco, and like so many, her sewing journey started with a single machine—a 1970s Kenmore she still uses today. What began as a practical skill in high school, and later as a way to sew for her family, became something she would return to in a moment when it mattered most.

As an award-winning filmmaker and professor of Asian American Studies, Valerie has built her career around telling stories that reflect identity, memory, and community—stories she didn’t often see growing up. And in early 2020, when the world slowed down and uncertainty set in, she found herself both living and documenting one of those stories in real time.

Through a simple call to action, the Auntie Sewing Squad came together—hundreds of volunteers sewing masks for people who needed them, at a time when supplies were scarce and fear was high. Valerie was part of that effort, sewing alongside others while also capturing the experience as a filmmaker.

Her newest documentary, The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook, revisits that moment—what it felt like, what was created, and what it meant to come together in a time of crisis. Many of you may remember our earlier conversation with Kristina Wong. (Episode 75) Today, we return to that story through Valerie’s lens, with a deeper look at the impact of that movement.

This is a conversation about sewing as something more—more than a skill, more than a craft—but a way to connect, to respond, and to care for others when it matters most.

(3:25) Valerie talks about her first sewing machine – a 1970’s Kenmore – and the beginning of her sewing adventures

(4:53) What first drew Valerie to film and telling stories?

(5:34) How did she become involved with The Auntie Sewing Squad?

(7:00) How did she decide that the first film needed to be made?

(8:12) And the second film…why this one?

(9:05) Valerie talks about Kristina Wong

(11:14) Valerie was both film producer and Sewing Squad participant. How did this affect the film?

(12:45) This film was made during the time when Asian Americans were in danger. What was this like for her?

(14:00) What were the most unexpected and powerful moments for her in the film?

(15:25) How did the Auntie Sewing Squad serve the Navajo Nation and what affect did this have?

(16:48) Valerie talks about the tiny details of the film where sewing was a practical tool rooted in community care

(18:05) What does Valerie hope people will take away from the film?

(20:30) What’s next for her and what’s her dream?

(21:25) She takes us behind the scenes and explains the mechanics of making an independent film.

(23:17) Want to see the film? Go to The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook.com

(23:36) Anything we didn’t ask?

(24:10) Find Valerie at ValerieSoe.com and let her know you heard her on this podcast!

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