Behind The Italian Stitch: the story of an Italian artisan living abroad
CIAO! My name is Sabrina. I grew up in Southern Italy, in the warmth of Naples — a city that gets under your skin, fills your senses, and never really lets you go. A year ago, I packed my bags and moved abroad to work as an Italian language teacher. It was not the plan I had imagined as a child.
When I was a child, I dreamed of becoming a journalist. I wanted to travel, to observe, to tell stories. I have always loved writing. I wrote short stories, and I even wrote a novel (a second one is on its way). Words were always my first language. But life, as it often does, surprised me.
Moving Abroad Without a Safety Net
I moved abroad without a guaranteed job and without certainty that things would work out. It was a bold choice — some might even say a reckless one. But it turned out to be one of the most transformative decisions of my life.
What I discovered in just one year living outside Italy completely changed my perspective. I found a world of people who are deeply, genuinely in love with Italian culture — the language, the food, the traditions, the history, the hidden villages, the old recipes. And I was shocked.
I had never imagined that strangers could love my country with such warmth and intensity. Sometimes, they knew Italy better than I did. They researched the most remote borghi, the oldest artisan traditions, the most authentic regional recipes — all in search of a real, unfiltered Italian experience.
Italian culture through foreign eyes
Teaching Italian to adults and children, running cooking workshops on true Neapolitan and Italian cuisine for German students — I was flooded with questions, curiosity, and passion. It was humbling and inspiring at the same time.
This experience made me ask myself: What is a piece of Italy that I can bring to the world? Something handmade, genuine, crafted with care and love?
The answer was already in my hands — literally.
The Italian Stitch: handmade crochet with a soul
I learned crochet from my mother and grandmother. It is one of those traditions passed down quietly, stitch by stitch, generation to generation, in the kitchens and living rooms of Southern Italian families. It is not just a craft — it is a form of memory.
I founded The Italian Stitch with two goals in mind.
First: to bring to the world a truly handmade Italian product — something that captures the essence of Italian artisanship, made slowly, intentionally, and with love. A piece that tells a story. A piece of home for anyone who loves Italy.
Second: to share authentic Italian culture — the real kind, not the clichés. Italy is often seen through a filter of stereotypes, and I want to gently push back on that. Through this blog, Italian Stories, I want to share my family’s traditions, my grandmother’s recipes, regional expressions, a little Neapolitan dialect, and the true, layered, beautiful culture I carry with me wherever I go.
Living abroad, carrying Italy within
I miss my family. I miss the smell of Sunday ragù, the noise of a Neapolitan market, the sea. But I have learned something important: you do not lose your roots when you leave. You carry them with you. They become more vivid, more precious, more defined precisely because you are far away.
That is what every piece I create holds inside it — a little bit of Naples, a little bit of my grandmother’s hands, a little bit of the Italy that lives in me.
Welcome to The Italian Stitch
If you love Italian culture, handmade craftsmanship, or simply beautiful things made with intention — you are in the right place.
Explore my handmade crochet collection in the Shop, take a look at My Work, or stay a while and read the stories behind the stitches.
Benvenuti!
Follow me on Instagram for daily Italian inspiration, sneak peeks of new creations, and everything that doesn’t make it to the blog. See you there!
