Podd: Check Your Thread

#164: Sewing Wins and Fails in 2024 with Lise and Meg

16 december 2024 | min

#163: How to Effect Change This Winter with Jeanna Wigger

9 december 2024 | min

#162: How to Solve Your Next Sewing Problem with Kim Witten

2 december 2024 | min

#161: How to Refashion with Portia Lawrie

25 november 2024 | min

#160: What We Do Now

18 november 2024 | min

The results of the recent US elections represent a massive blow to the future of our planet. The fight for equality and all forms of social justice have also suffered a huge setback. So, what do we do now?

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(image source: Lucas Favre via Unsplash)

I outlined the mission and values of Check Your Thread in the following episode:

Ep. #71: Making Personal Manifestos with Kim Witten

Episode transcript:

So at time of recording it’s been about a week since hearing the news of the results of the US election. How are you feeling? If you were happy with the result, you’ve basically helped press fast forward on the climate crisis and this episode is not aimed at you. If you’re feeling devastated, awful, numb, broken or disappointed, and you need some help working through it, please stick around. I want to share with you MY response to the question ‘What do we do now?’

Today’s episode is not the usual type of CYT episode. There’s no intro, no upbeat music, no sustainability wins or fails. I’m getting straight to business. If this happens to be your first time listening to this podcast, I obviously hope you get something from this episode, because otherwise I wouldn’t be bothering making it. But please know that you need to listen to some of the others to actually get a flavour of what we’re about.

So what IS this about. This is basically the episode that I need to hear right now. I have a voice and a platform, not big ones, but I do have them so I want to use them to support anyone feeling like I do right now.

Like probably the majority of CYT heads, but certainly not all, I am absolutely devastated about the results of the US election. For so many reasons. I am utterly terrified for what it means for the planet and basically everything and everyone that lives on it. At the very point in history when we could use empathy and a broader consideration for the world and its people more than ever before, the opposite happened. It was a win for hatred, intolerance, rascism, climate denial, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, islamophobia.

It was a loss for anyone who isn’t pale, male, stale and wealthy, but also really anyone or anything living on this planet, even if they don’t realise it yet.

If you’re in the US, my heart goes out to you because you’ll feel the effects more immediately, of course. But we all will be suffering the repercussions in some form, before long. From the racist misogynists in your town feeling newly emboldened to spout their vile beliefs with impunity, to the inevitable speeding up of climate change thanks to more support given to fossil fuel extraction.

If you’re heartbroken and terrified like me, I know you know that you’re not alone. If you’re currently feeling like you want to hide under a blanket and do nothing, please know that there’s no rush to feel anything else.

But personally, I’m coming out of that phase, and I’m feeling a different energy now. And I’ve definitely seen others with this same, eff-it all, the gloves are off evergy too. That energy, all energy, is powerful and I want to harness and direct it somewhere useful.

So I’ve started by going back to my vision and values, the ones that I outlined in episode 71. They inform every action I take.

My vision is this:

A world where the impact on the environment is factored into every decision.

Well, clearly we can no longer hope for help on the governmental and big business scale, in the US at least.

And my values are:

Limiting my contribution to climate change where possible
Understanding and acting under the assumption that The Personal is Political
Helping to redress income inequality
Helping to redress racial inequality
Helping to redress homophobia
Promoting feminist thinking
Creating joy
Finding a balance between living as sustainably as possible, and having a happy, fulfilling life.

It certainly feels like all of these values have been utterly stamped on by the election results. But I refuse to give them up. Whilst there is a child left breathing on this earth I am not going to give up on these values. I promise you.

Please remember, the government, corporations and big business are not everything and do not hold all the power, although they’d like to think they do. We have so much power and freedom to act OUTSIDE of the ballot box. There is SO MUCH we CAN do, every single day with every decision we make and every action we take.

Everything we do, everything we are seen to be doing, has power. You might feel hopeless and that you can’t affect change, but I promise you, you have agency. And if we all get laser focused on the world we want to live in, and make moves to create it, every single day, we WILL effect positive change. We WILL get to a more just, more inclusive society and we WILL start to mitigate some of the effects of the climate crisis.

So, with my vision and values as my guide, here’s what I propose we do now. I’ve been inspired by a podcast I like to listen to that always releases an episode on fridays full of affirmations. I’ve basically nicked that idea for this. Obviously, not everyone is in the position to do everything, and some actions will be more applicable to you and your circumstances than others. So please pay attention to the ones that resonate with you. You can repeat them note them down, stick them on a post it, tell your friends and loved ones, whatever you need to do to keep them with you and help you enact them in your life.

So here’s what we do now. We fight. We don’t throw our toys out the pram. We WILL fight for a more just, more inclusive world with regeneration at the core of our activities.

We don’t have to feel love for all humans. Arguably, a lot of them do not deserve it. But a lot of them do. We will fight by focusing our energies on those that need us, and the planet that we all share.

How do we fight? We fight with our actions and our resources.

We will actively move to strengthen our local communities. If we don’t know our neighbours, we will start by smiling at them and saying hi. To those who we already smile at and say hi to, we will stop and chat to. To those who we stop and chat to, we will take steps to further those connections in whatever way feels do-able. We will offer to help and share resources with our neighbours, and we will not be embarrassed to ask for help when we need it in return.

We connect with organisations, groups and endeavours in our local area that are doing good things in areas that are important to us. We contribute our time and skills if we are able. Maybe that’s volunteering at a local food bank or offering up our skills to a local repair cafe. Perhaps it’s joining a local march or protest. We can do alot on our own, but if we can plug into existing set-ups, then we can make bigger waves more quickly.

We check in with our friends and relatives regularly. Whether we live close by or far away. Isolation is dangerous, so we will keep connected.

We look after our bodies. We can’t fight to the best of our ability if we’re not healthy, and increasingly we can’t rely on the health systems in our respective countries. We try to eat a balanced diet, be aware of our nutrition. We get fresh air and move our bodies regularly. We know this is not optional. We prioritise sleep, because that is when we heal. We will stop sacrificing sleep to look at our phones, to watch more TV, even to sew a few more seams. Even when sleep is a struggle, we will give our bodies the opportunity to sleep.

We prioritise rest. Rest is not optional. Rest is essential. We work from a place of rest, not rest from our work. We will schedule time to rest into our calendars, if need be. No more pushing rest to the bottom of the to do list.

We keep a check on our mental health. We keep an eye on our emotional state, we notice when things are starting to feel too overwhelming or out of balance. And we take action and seek support BEFORE things tip too far.

We regularly engage in things that nourish our soul. We read great books, we laugh at comedy, we fill our ears with awesome music and entertaining podcasts. We explore different pieces of culture to help us expand the range of things we can turn to when we need to feel joy.

We get outside and connect with nature. That might involve digging in our yard, or planting herbs in a window box. It might mean a walk in the park or a camping trip. We notice and reflect on the changing seasons, and the way that looks where we live.

We make things with our hands. We engage with the crafts we love, making things we’re proud of. And we stop to appreciate them and our developing skills before starting another project.

We make our homes comfortable, pleasant places. We are thoughtful stewards of our space and our belongings. We prevent food waste. We prioritise local and seasonal foods when possible. We remove items that we no longer use or don’t serve us, and we get them into the hands of others who will use and enjoy them.

We keep our belongings in use for as long as we can. We mend them or get them mended where possible. We don’t upgrade our phones just because our phone contract tries to sell us on that new-phone feeling. And we extend that approach to every belonging we have. We replace or upgrade only when necessary. And we unfollow or unsubscribe from any person or business that makes us feel that buying a new thing is the key to being happy.

We accept responsibility for the resources we consume, and act accordingly. We acknowledge that physical items have a cost beyond their monetary value. We think carefully before bringing items into our home, or into the homes of others when we give people gifts. We understand that petroleum based products will remain on this planet for some form for millenia, and will break down and poison the planet as they degrade.

We reduce, refuse, reuse, refill and recycle wherever possible.

When celebrations and gift-giving seasons draw near, we consider alternatives to physical gifts.

When we have decided to purchase a physical item, we are careful about where and with whom we spend our money. We prioritise quality and longevity. We explore if the item could be acquired second hand. We support small, local and independent businesses over large chains when at all possible. We NEVER shop with Amazon, Temu, Shein etc.

We move our money and investments to banks that do not fund fossil fuels. We switch our energy providers to those that invest in renewable energy. We understand that the fossil fuel industry is about to get a boat load of additional governmental support, so we encourage everyone we know to not give the our business.

We are mindful of how we move around our world. We walk, bike or take the bus or train if possible rather than driving in a car, particularly if we are making the journey alone. We question our need to fly, and the frequency of flights we take.

We engage with social media in a way that feels joyful and enlivening, and doesn’t distract us or detract from our off screen lives and relationships, or our mental health.

We give genuine compliments to others as often as we can, preferably on qualities or achievements that aren’t related to their physical appearance. We tell people we admire them, respect them and are inspired by them when it’s true. We applaud them for their positive actions and efforts.

We tell the people we love that we love them, as often as we possibly can.

Thank you for listening. I hope this has helped you feel brighter and more positive. Remember you have power and agency and I believe that you can use them to push things forward.

#159: Small and Shared Space Sewing, Part 2

11 november 2024 | min

#158: Small and Shared Space Sewing, Part 1

4 november 2024 | min

#157: The challenges and joys of micro business with Bevan O’Daly

28 oktober 2024 | min

#156: How to Run an Ethical Textiles Shop with Bevan O’Daly

21 oktober 2024 | min

#155: Make it Your Own with Elisalex Jewell

14 oktober 2024 | min

#154: Clothing Self-Sufficiency

7 oktober 2024 | min

#153: The Provenance of Materials and Techniques – Shams with Allie Davis

23 september 2024 | min

#152: Sewing for Stillness and Community with Mel Keane

16 september 2024 | min

#151: Explaining Deadstock Fabric with The New Craft House

9 september 2024 | min

#150: Momentum and Motivation with Meg Grandstaff

2 september 2024 | min

#149: Replay – Harvesting Materials with Eliu Hernandez

26 augusti 2024 | min

#148: Replay – Mending Workshops with Carla & Meg / Community Glue

19 augusti 2024 | min

#147: Replay – The Joy of Reclaimed Fabric with Sarah aka Sew Love NZ

12 augusti 2024 | min

#146: Replay – Hand Stitching Clothing with Louisa Owen Sonstroem

5 augusti 2024 | min

#145: 5 Simple Tactics to Save on Sewing

22 juli 2024 | min

#144: London Destash Fabric Swap 2024

15 juli 2024 | min

#143: No Small Business on a Dead Planet

8 juli 2024 | min

#142: Values Based Spending and Making with Shams el-Din Rogers

1 juli 2024 | min

#141: Resourcefulness, Resilience and Wealth with Laura Oldanie

24 juni 2024 | min

#140: Sew Organised Style Podcast – The Nest Community

17 juni 2024 | min

#139: Behind the Scenes of Podcast Making with Maria Theoharous

14 juni 2024 | min

#138: Making Sewing Podcasts with Maria Theoharous

10 juni 2024 | min

#137: 5 Ways to Update Unworn Me-Mades

3 juni 2024 | min

#136: Activism in Real Life with Beedy Parker

27 maj 2024 | min

Does the climate and ecological crisis just feel too massive to deal with sometimes? When it all feels so overwhelming, it can be tempting to tap out completely and disengage. That’s totally understandable. However, my guest today, Beedy Parker, shows us that it is entirely possible to participate in climate related activism and action, whilst continuing to lead a happy and exciting life. From attempting to influence legislation to hemming her neighbours' trousers, Beedy has been getting stuck in since 1970. Sadly, we can’t all be Beedy, but we can all take heart and inspiration in her example.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

The leather glove thimble is made in Japan by Little House but it probably sourced most easily via Etsy.

Beedy Parker is a committed naturalist and social and environmental activist living in Maine, USA.

Read more about Beedy (unfortunately this link doesn’t seem to work in Europe, frustrating I know!).

This is another piece about Beedy.

Beedy recommends sourcing a copy of ‘The Needleworker's Constant Companion’, first published in 1978.

I referred to an article by Christina Garton called Weaving While Neurodivergent on the Handwoven Magazine website that is a fascinating read.

Check out Beedy’s pants bags and felted wool slippers:

Wool Yes, Plastic Fleece No By Beedy Parker, Camden, Maine

So how about wool, anyway? Here is a wonderful natural fiber that grows on the backs of gentle animals, who, Shmoo-like,* provide meat and manure, and even milk and cheese. When sheep are rotated through pastures, they improve the land and keep the farm open – and yet, the use of wool for clothing and blankets seems to be disappearing, as are the sheep. People who raise sheep in New England and around the world receive less and less money for their fleeces and must depend solely on the meat market for income. What's been happening in the world of wool?

I went on a woods hike this fall with an environmentally minded group and was surprised to see that everyone else was wearing recycled plastic fleece jackets and pullovers, the same people who, five or 10 years ago, would have been wearing beautiful hand knit sweaters and woolen Maine hunting jackets. Even their mittens and scarfs and caps were mostly synthetic. Well, I guess the weather is warmer these days, and the advertising blitz has been successful, and that "fleece" really is sometimes made of recycled plastic soda bottles, which adds a measure of virtue to the apparel, but is this really what we want to wear?

Do we want to wear "oil," with its unfortunate "cradle-to-grave" trail of pollution? Synthetics made of oil attract their relatives, oily stains and synthetic odors and solvents, the outgassing of other plastics in our environment, and these pollutants sink in and stay. To 5 reveal the true nature of plastics, try this little fiber test (cautiously): Singe a few threads of different fabrics with a lighted match. The cotton (or any vegetable fiber) gives off a pleasant wood smoke odor. Wool smells like the burning hair that it is. Synthetic plastic fabrics melt into a sticky black puddle that gives off noxious fumes, a transformation into its original self, as shocking as the melting of the witch in "The Wizard of Oz." This stuff poisons people when it is mined, when it is refined and manufactured, when it outgasses in normal use, and when it is burned in municipal waste; whereas wool comes out of the land, via photosynthesis and protein synthesis, and when we're done with it, microbes can reintegrate it into the land.

Many things have changed in our lives since the days when wool was the dominant fiber in cold weather countries. We now spend most of our time indoors and in temperature controlled cars; we hardly need coats. We don't walk much and our health suffers accordingly. In the past we trusted our wool jackets and socks that breathed when we sweat; that could shed all but a long soaking rain, and even then, would dry from the inside out from body heat and would continue to keep us warm. It was the survival stuff of the Northern winter! Now we don't seem to need it any more and we have forgotten the simple ways of taking care of it: airing out, brushing (coats and jackets), spot cleaning with soap and water, and a gentle soaking to wash. When sweaters get thrown in the washing machine, they come out shrunk and felted. (Then I buy them at rummage sales and make wonderful slippers out of them.) People now tend to send wool clothing to the dry cleaners, which is expensive and brings home the toxic vapors of the chemicals used in cleaning. And most of us have learned that we shouldn't expose ourselves to the chemicals in moth balls, because they affect people as well as moths. In the days before cheap, sweatshop clothing, we didn't have so many clothes and wore them more, but when you have too many unused woolens, they're vulnerable to the moth that loves still, dark places. With wool, it's often "use it or lose it". Just to jog our memories, here's how to wash wool: Soak for several hours in warm water with mild soap or mild detergent (a bathtub is good for blankets and coats), giving it a swoosh now and then to urge the water through the cloth; rinse gently in warm water till the soap feel is gone; press the water out by hand and hang the item to dry – and dry as flat as possible – on a rack (or a clothesline for blankets). Avoid drastic temperature changes and rough handling while the wool is wet. (It's the shock of agitation and change that creates felt.) Remember that woolens don't need to be washed all the time. Once a season is often enough (honors) and even less for blankets. In the interim, spot clean, shake out, brush and air as needed.

Wool fabrics used to come in many textures and fiber blends: the sturdy, cool Palm Beach fabric of military summer wear, British "Vyella" cotton and wool blends in beautiful prints for shirts and dresses, the linsey-woolsey linen blends of yore, the softness of lambs' wool and silkiness of cashmere. Warm, woven wool blankets become long lasting family heirlooms. Some weaves were light and airy, some tough, hardened and very durable; some were even machine washable. Some people think of wool as itchy and uncomfortable, because woolen underwear was commonly worn in the winter by country people, but now we can afford to wear cotton underwear and shirts next to our skin, with wool on the outside if we are sensitive.

To me, the saddest part of the decline of wool, besides the loss of income and open pasture to our farms, is the loss of a fabric that can be understood and even made, by a child, from fleece to sweater. Compare this to the synthetic, which is a remote and even dangerous mystery, wrapped in patent secrecy. It's like comparing a bicycle where you can see how the peddles, gears and wheels work and feel the centrifugal force that holds the bike steady, as opposed to the increasingly "black box" design of our computerized cars, where you just buy it and drive it. The sheep's fleece can be sheared, washed, carded, spun and knit or woven, all by hand, most of which are pleasant and tranquil activities, encouraging thought and conversation. So consider adding a few wool items to your wardrobe. Think about taking up knitting again (socks are easier than you think). And start saving up for a beautiful Maine-grown blanket. Maybe we can bring back the fleece on our green pastures.

* "Shmoos" were lovable creatures in the "Li'l Abner" comic strip (in the late 1940s) who turned into delicious food, clothing and building material when people looked at them with desire.

#135: How to Triage your Mends with Jeanna Wigger

20 maj 2024 | min

#134: You Can Mend Clothes

13 maj 2024 | min

Are you interested in mending your clothes but you’re just not sure where to begin? For this episode, we’re taking a different approach to the topic of mending in that this episode is for complete beginners, no prior knowledge of sewing is needed or assumed AT ALL. But for the regular listeners who already engage in sewing and mending, this episode is kind of for you too. It’s an excellent resource to forward on to people in your life who are interested in keeping their clothes in use for longer, and who you feel might be open to learning how to do it for themselves.This episode is one part pep talk, one part practical guide. You’ll be left feeling empowered to start repairing your own clothes.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

The climate action NGO WRAP has published studies on the impact on keeping our clothes in use for longer.

The items I think you need for a basic but very effective mending kit:

So you’ll need:

Hand sewing needles: try to find a pack that includes needles that range in thickness. Different thicknesses of needle will be suitable for different thicknesses of fabric.
Sewing thread: go for reels polyester or 100% cotton thread made by a known brand like Guterman, Meltler or Coats/Moon. Cheap, or very old, sewing threads are liable to break. If you bought a sewing kit that includes some thread, treat yourself to some stronger, higher quality stuff anyway. It’s a good idea to keep a small range of common colours in your kit (black, white, navy, red, grey and cream perhaps) which should cover the majority of your projects, and add other colours to your collection as you require them.
Small, sharp scissors or thread snips: a basic, shop-bought sewing kit may or may not include these but they are definitely necessary. Cheap thread snips are available in most haberdasheries, but sharp nail scissors will also do.
Pins: a pack/tub of sharp pins is very helpful to keep things in place during your repair or alteration. Only an octopus could successfully complete every project without some pins. Pins that come with little plastic shapes or spheres attached to the end are easier to pick up.
Safety pins: a few safety pins in a range of sizes will likely come in very handy. They can be used instead of pins for some projects to keep things in place, and you will be less likely to get stabbed whilst using them. Safety pins are also invaluable for threading elastic through a channel.
Seam ripper (AKA stitch ripper/quick unpick): these sharp metal hooks with plastic or wooden handles are useful for removing stitches carefully. Using scissors or snips to do so is more likely to result in holes in the fabric.

Additional items and materials to allow you to make patches and expand your repertoire of repairs:

Tape measure: This is for working out how big you need to cut a patch. Fancier, retractable tape measurements are available if you wish, but the basic kind that you sometimes win in Christmas crackers is also fine!
Tailors chalk or fabric marking pen/pencil: This is for drawing out the size and shape of the patch you require before cutting it out. There is a wide range of fabric marking tools available. From the basic triangle shaped tailor’s chalks, to chalk wheels that dispense chalk dust, to marker pens with ink that disappears when you iron it. They all do a similar job, so buy whichever appeals to you and see if you like using it.
Fabric scissors: they are going to make cutting fabric to create patches a joy. Using other types of scissors such as paper scissors or kitchen scissors is an option of course, but using blunt or unsuitable scissors for the task will be frustrating and may damage the fabric. So use non-fabric scissors at your own risk.
Fabric scraps: As you can imagine, these are to make the actual patches. You’ll need a variety of types of fabric, basically try to gather a selection that represent the types of fabrics you’d find in your wardrobe, seeing as those are the items you’ll be fixing. It is particularly useful to have scraps of denim, T-shirt jersey and stable, woven cotton (like shirt fabric). Fabric scraps can be harvested from old garments that are beyond repair.
Iron: this will allow you to improve the finished look of your repair. It is also essential for making neat patches, and at a later date using fusible interfacing if that’s something you eventually get round to. Make sure the base (the soleplate) is clean and free from any burnt-on residue. Keep a piece of light-weight, 100% cotton woven fabric with your iron to use as a pressing cloth.
Ironing board: obviously goes hand-in-hand with an iron, but I’ve always found it can also provide a useful surface for resting your project on whilst you work. A heat resistant surface like a kitchen worktop covered with a clean towel can be a substitute at a pinch.

And lastly, a couple of useful additions:

Buttons: obviously it’s great when you can catch a button that’s coming loose rather than completely falling off and getting lost, then the buttons will on your garment will all continue to match. But as well all know, that isn’t always the case. So keep a little selection of standard looking buttons in a variety of colours and sizes. Some buttons have two or four holes in them, other buttons have a bit that sticks out with a hole through which is called a shank. Like fabric scraps, buttons can be harvested from old clothes, and make sure to keep any spares that come attached to your shop-bought clothing.
Iron-on patches: if you like the look of ready-made, iron-on patches, then they are a great tool for quickly covering up a hole or stain. If you see any that appeal to you, buy them to have on hand.

Common repair tasks and resources for guidance:

Stitching a button on:

This video by Treasurie shows the three different types of button.

Repairing the broken stitching in a seam:

This video by Rokolee DIY shows both back stitch and a ladder stitch techniques.

Repairing a hem:

This video by GreenecoStyle shows the blind stitch approach to fixing an invisible hem.

If the original stitching at the hem is visible, then I’d recommend a backstitch to replicate the look of sewing machine stitching.

This video by Sewn Company shows how to do backstitching more neatly.

Repairing a tear:

This video by Rokolee DIY shows how to use a whipstitch to close the tear by bringing the edges back together and use a scrap of fabric on the inside to stabilise the repair at the same time. This is a good idea if the tear has occurred in an area of weakened fabric.

This video by @elhrfy shows a more challenging approach but shows how you can effectively deal with a tear in fabric that probably occurred when the garment got caught on something and the surrounding fabric is in good condition.

To Repair a hole or stabilise a worn out area:

This video by This Little Farmhouse walks you through how to make a patch that goes behind the hole.

Katrina Rodabaugh’s book ‘Mending Matters’ is an excellent resource for making and applying both external and internal patches.

This blog post by Indestructables includes two methods, an iron-on no-sew approach, and a hand-stitched approach:

Other books:

Check out these other episode of CYT:

Happy mending!

#133: Mending in Public

6 maj 2024 | min

#132: A season of mending with Jeanna Wigger

29 april 2024 | min

#131: Self-Drafting for Fitting Success with Elisalex Jewell

22 april 2024 | min

#130: Zoe & Kim go to The Stitch Festival

15 april 2024 | min

#129: How to Sew Clothes From Fabric Scraps

25 mars 2024 | min

#128: Scrap Strategies, Part 2

18 mars 2024 | min

#127: Scrap Strategies, Part 1

11 mars 2024 | min

#126: Sew the Precious with Stephanie Canada

4 mars 2024 | min

#125: Vintage Sewing Not Vintage Values with Stephanie Canada

26 februari 2024 | min

#124: Fearless Sewing with Tony Rea

19 februari 2024 | min

#123: Sewing When Your Wardrobe is Full

12 februari 2024 | min

#122: Zero Waste Sewing for Kids with Liz Elliott

5 februari 2024 | min

#121: Creative and Resourceful Sewing with Judy Williment-Ross

29 januari 2024 | min

#120: How to care for your sewing machine with Bizz McKilligan

22 januari 2024 | min

#119: Seasonal Stash Organisation

15 januari 2024 | min

Do you have a system for organising your fabric stash? I didn’t until recently. In this episode I’m sharing my own method of organisation that I’m calling the ‘seasonal stash’. This system is allowing me to unlock the potential in what I already own, whilst stopping it from feeling overwhelming. Could the ‘seasonal stash’ system help YOU?!

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

(image source: Mel Poole via Unsplash)

**CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE FREE DOWNLOADABLE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE**

The Seasonal Stash Guide

This is a simple step-by-step guide for implementing the Seasonal Stash system for sorting and organising a fabric collection. It won’t take you long to implement, and once set up, requires little maintenance.

This will help you to:

unlock the potential in the resources you already own
shift any negative feelings you may have about your collection
plan projects and ACTUALLY SEW THEM.

Sounds good? OK let’s do this!

The first three steps I’d recommend for whatever system of stash organisation you want to implement.

Step 1) Gather your fabric.

Gather it all in one place to sort and organise. Ideally, we also want to be storing it in the same spot as well going forwards. If at all possible, keep all your fabric lengths together in the same room, if not the same cupboard / set of shelves / collection of storage tubs.

This will prevent you from:

forgetting what you own
losing items you’ve already bought/acquired
being unable to compare suitable fabrics for a project plan
annoying those you live with with random smaller stashes of fabric dotted around your home

Step 2) Edit.

To paraphrase William Morris: have nothing in your stash that you do not believe to be beautiful or know to be useful. Just hold each item and answer, honestly: Do I think this is lovely and / or is it useful? If so, am I actually going to sew with it?

Tips to help the editing process:

Keep this step running smoothly and quickly: just react to each piece, place it in the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ pile, and move on
Work out what you’ll do with the NO fabric another day. That concern will slow you down. Today we sort and organise only

After the editing step you should be looking at only the pieces that:

you genuinely like
aren’t particularly exciting but you can see yourself using, like lining or toiling / muslin-making fabric

Step 3) Set aside anything small or scrappy.

Think about what that means to you. Some examples of definitions may include:

anything that is too small to make a garment from
anything too small to place a pattern piece on
Anything smaller than an A4 or letter sized piece of paper
Anything under 50cm

Whatever your definition is, put aside those pieces to be stored separately. Scraps and leftovers are a great resource for sewing, however, finding uses for them will be much easier if they’re not wedged in between the longer and weightier lengths.

**Note: the only exception to this might be if you have scraps of one of the lengths of fabrics in your collection. You might be able to cut some pattern pieces from the scraps when you come to use the length, so you should probably store those scraps with the rest of the length**

If you have any garments that you’re keeping to either refashion or harvest fabric from, separate those out too.

Step 4) Separate your fabric into 3 piles.

Currently you’re just dealing with your main stash of garment-sized fabric lengths. Once again, go through them piece-by-piece and place them into one of three piles.

Pile #1:

In this pile place the fabric pieces that are suitable for the season you’re currently in or are about to transition into. Only include the pieces that you have plans for, even if those plans are fairly loose.

Pile #2:

In this pile place the fabric pieces that are suitable for the next six months to a year (basically fabrics suitable for a season or two ahead of what you’re currently experiencing). Again, only include the pieces that you have plans for, even if those plans are fairly loose.

Pile #3:

Everything else! Because you have already done the work, at this point your stash only contains items you genuinely want or can see are useful. Therefore, the pieces in this pile deserve to be here, you just don’t know what to do with them yet.

Step 5) Positioning the piles:

Depending on how much fabric you own and the shape / size / orientation of your storage situation, each ‘pile’ might actually be multiple piles.

Place Pile #1 where it is most visible and most accessible.
Pile #2 ideally goes behind or underneath Pile #1, still pretty accessible if possible, but not in constant sight.
Pile #3 can go away, out of sight. But preferably not completely inaccessible should inspiration strike.

Step 6) When the seasons change:

When a season comes to an end, it’s time to rotate the fabric around. Follow these sub-steps:

Go through each remaining piece from Pile #1 and think about why each piece from this pile didn’t get used. If necessary, redistribute those remaining pieces into one of the other piles.
Go through Pile #3 to remind yourself what’s there, and see if any project ideas spring up
Swap Pile #1 and Pile #2 over so they are seasonally relevant again
Put it all back!

**When to swap things over**

Finally, a note on when to do Step 6. The timings I’ve suggested above require swapping your fabric round every three to six months. However this whole system is, of course, entirely open to interpretation and customisation. You could make your ‘sewing seasons’ shorter or longer. Or you may decide to to swap things over and reevaluate when you discover the pieces in Pile #1 aren’t inspiring you. You always want to be looking at a collection of fabric that you’re excited to sew with!

Happy Sewing!

#118: Last Sewist Standing with Lise Bauer

8 januari 2024 | min

#117: Fabric Goals for 2024

1 januari 2024 | min

#116: Improv Scrap Play with Sherri Lynn Wood

11 december 2023 | min

Would you like to get more creative with your fabric scraps, but you’re just not sure how to approach it? You could be missing out on a whole heap of fun, if only you could learn how to be more receptive to their potential. My guest this week is improv quilting artist and teacher, Sherri Lynn Wood. Sherri Lynn defines the two types of creativity as ‘active’ and ‘receptive’. As garment sewers, we are used to actively creating the garments that we’ve envisioned. However, Sherri Lynn encourages us to access the second type by playing with fabric scraps and existing textiles, to see what we can create without a clear idea of the finished outcome. Whether that play becomes a quilt, a garment, or something else…

Find everything Sherri Lynn Wood is involved in, past and present, on her website. You can also follow her on Instagram @sherrilynnwood.

Find all the workshops in the Found Color series.

Learn about Sherri Lynn’s improv quilters’ community, Bravepatch.

Eli Leon was a scholar and collector of African American quilts.

Quilters that inspire Sherri Lynn:

Sherri Lynn’s book, ‘The Improv Handbook For Modern Quilters

A Guide to Creating, Quilting & Living Courageously’, was published in 2015.

Sherri Lynn is offering a free warm-up class at the start of the series, which takes place on 6th January 2024. Sign up via her website.

Sherri Lynn recommends that garment sewers with scraps try strip piecing:

My pieced cardigan that I was wearing during our conversation:

Suay Sew Shop in LA is a fascinating businessthat are doing wonderful things to keep textiles in use for longer.

Listen to my episodes with improv quilt artist, Heidi Parkes:

My scrap pieced denim dungarees that I was wearing during our conversation:

Wool batting by Fairfields is Sherri Lynn’s preference if she’s buying new batting.

#115: Winter of Care and Repair with Jeanna Wigger

4 december 2023 | min

Is your pile of items to be repaired getting out of hand? Do you struggle to find the motivation to tackle it all? My guest, Jeanna Wigger, invented a challenge called Winter of Care and Repair, and it might be just the push you need to get on top of things! We talk about the fun and satisfaction that can be found through acts of repair, as well as the unique challenges and growth opportunities that come through completing a season-long personal project.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Jeanna Wigger wearing an outfit of invisibly mended clothes:

You can follow Jeanna on Instagram @thepeoplesmending.

The challenge was previously mentioned on the podcast in my conversation with regular guests Shams:

Episode #32: Textile Activism with Shams el-Din Rogers

Engage with other participants via the hashtags #winterofcareandrepair and #winterofcareandrepair2023.

Jeanna and I are both fans of writer and podcaster Gretchen Rueben. Gretchen developed the Four Tendencies personality framework, of which I am obsessed!

Katrina Rodabaugh, author of ‘Mending Matters’, played a key role in Jeanna’s mending journey.

Jeanna’s beautifully mended knit cardigan:

Previous guest, Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald, creatively mended this stained toddler top:

Image source: Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald

Additional ideas of what could constitute an act of repair from Jeanna:

- laundry care! level up your stain removal knowledge or learn about alternatives to washing such as spot cleaning or alcohol spritzes to refresh clothes between washes

- depill a sweater with an electric depiller or a sweater comb

- jewelry repair - fix a clasp or replace a battery in a watch (or take those items to a repair shop)

- hand wash and air out wool knitwear

- use a leather treatment on leather handbags, boots, jackets, furniture, etc

- replace worn shoelaces

- clean up or polish shoes

- overdye a garment or other textile that needs a refresh

- alter a garment for yourself or someone else

- repair something with stitches that isn't clothing (like a pillow, bag, dog toy, curtain, etc). Remember, anything with stitches can be mended!

#114: More Sustainable Haberdashery with Richard Mendham

27 november 2023 | min

#113: More Sustainable Gifts to Make & Buy

20 november 2023 | min

#112: Gardening More Sustainably with Pippa Chapman

13 november 2023 | min

If you’re a fan of making your own clothes, chances are you might also be into growing some of your own food. And like this week’s guest, garden consultant Pippa Chapman, highlights, once you start trying to be more sustainable in one area of your life, that approach usually spreads to other areas. In this episode Pippa actually takes the reins and gives me a consultation about my own little garden. She offers up advice on how I can use my space more productively and successfully.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Garden consultation

Find Pippa Instagram’s feed @pippachapman_thoseplantpeople and Those Plant People’s Youtube channel and website.

The Cloud Gardener specialises in garden designs for balcony places.

My post about saving seeds from shop bought baby plum tomatoes.

Pippa’s design for a milk bottle slug/snail trap:

Stephanie Hafferty is a proponent of the No Dig approach to gardening.

Pippa’s design for a double palette planter:

Huw Richards is a permaculture inspired gardener with a popular Youtube channel.

My takeaways from the garden consultation:

Train courgettes to grow upwards
Grow pumpkins and BNS up washing lines to form a canopy
Look for squash variety Crown Prince
Try slug and snail trap (see pic above)
Try growing some perennial vegetables including perennial kale varieties Taunton Deane, Daubenton Kale and Panache Kale
Look out for Babington Leek
For the shady area, consider Caucasian Spinach - which can be encouraged to grow upwards, plus salad leaves and swiss chard
Plant spring bulbs to provide food for pollinators early in the year
Edible flower options can provide food for humans and pollinators. Look for Daylilies (Latin Hemerocallis) - you can eat every part of the plant, Campanulas - siberian bellflower and Allium Molly - edible flowers for adding to salads
Add mulch to the soil in Nov/Dec
Incorporate water into the garden, a container with shallow edges, so bees and other pollinators can drink
Decomposing wood provides a habitat for some insects
Consider comfrey as living mulch and to make fertiliser from it

#111: Joyful, Mindful Sewing with Lena King

6 november 2023 | min

#110: Knitting & Stitching Show 2023

30 oktober 2023 | min

#109: More Sustainable Thread Options with Richard from James Tailoring

23 oktober 2023 | min

#108: A More Sustainable Halloween

16 oktober 2023 | min

#107: Sewing is Political

9 oktober 2023 | min

#106: Reframing A Relationship with Clothing with Heidi Parkes

2 oktober 2023 | min

#105: A Habit of Curiosity with Heidi Parkes

25 september 2023 | min

#104: How to Successfully Shop for Second-Hand Sewing Machines

18 september 2023 | min

#103: Swimming in A Sea of Scraps with Meg Grandstaff

11 september 2023 | min

#102: Sustainability in Food Production with Helen Metcalfe

4 september 2023 | min

#101: How to Prioritise Sewing with Jenny Drew

28 augusti 2023 | min

#100: 100 Lessons from CYT

7 augusti 2023 | min

#99: Sewing Confessions with Julia and Naomi

31 juli 2023 | min

#98: Zero Waste Patterns Book with Birgitta Helmersson

24 juli 2023 | min

#97: Introduction to Garment Fabrics

17 juli 2023 | min

#96: Pattern Fitting Q&A with Kate Roberts

10 juli 2023 | 36 min

#95: Refining Fit with Kate Roberts

3 juli 2023 | min

#94: Garmology Podcast – Design for Repairability with Rosanna Watson

26 juni 2023 | min

#93: Sewing for Social Empowerment with Poornima at Kundakala

19 juni 2023 | min

#92: Self Coaching for Sewing Success with Kim Witten

12 juni 2023 | min

#91: Self Knowledge for Sewing Success with Kim Witten

5 juni 2023 | min

#90: Introduction to Pattern Hacking

29 maj 2023 | min

#89: Threads of Sustainability with Bridget O’Flaherty

22 maj 2023 | min

#88: Natural Dyeing Q&A with Amy Taylor

15 maj 2023 | min

#87: Sew Sustainable Fair 2023

8 maj 2023 | min

#86: Garment Alterations with Naomi Fata

1 maj 2023 | min

#85: Everyday Activism with Rachel AKA the Crap Activist

24 april 2023 | min

#84: What is Me-Made-May?

3 april 2023 | min

#83: The Role of Refashioning with Portia Lawrie

27 mars 2023 | min

#82: Fabric First with Rachel Kirby

20 mars 2023 | min

#81: Travel, Sustainability and Sewing with Shams el-Din Rogers

13 mars 2023 | min

#80: Rescuing Resources with Noah Hirsch

6 mars 2023 | min

#79: Cultivating a responsible sewing business with Sarai Mitnick

27 februari 2023 | min

#78: Slow Sewing and Seamwork with Sarai Mitnick

20 februari 2023 | min

#77: Stashes and Spaces with Shams el-Din Rogers

13 februari 2023 | min

#76: Sewing for Body Changes, Part 2

6 februari 2023 | min

#75: Go Recreate with Linnea Larsson

30 januari 2023 | min

#74: Recognition and Responsibility with Alexis Bailey

23 januari 2023 | min

#73: The Seeds of Slow Sewing with Alexis Bailey

16 januari 2023 | min

#72: Sewing for Body Changes

9 januari 2023 | min

#71: Making Personal Manifestos with Kim Witten

2 januari 2023 | min

Happy New Year! I propose we kick things off by creating personal manifestos that will see us through 2023 and beyond! By defining our own personal vision, mission, strategy and tactics, never again will we need to ask ourselves, ‘What should I be doing right now?’ or ‘Is this course of action right for me?’.

I’ve invited my friend and former coach, Kim Witten, whose work focuses on strategic expert thinking, to guide us through this incredibly beneficial process. Kim is also an experienced crafter and we discuss different mental approaches to picking up new skills, and how she applies self coaching through her journey as a beginner sewer.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Find more about Kim Witten and her coaching on her website.

Sign up to her weekly ‘Hold That Thought’ newsletter to help you turn your overthinking into expert thinking.

Start developing your vision with Kim’s free Vision Statement Worksheet.

And here’s more from Kim on the differences between vision, mission, strategy and roadmap.

Outline of a manifesto (AKA plan or anything else you wish to call it!):

Vision - what is the world you wish to live in?
Mission - what it takes to create your vision, the ‘work’ to be done.
Strategy - the best approach toward making good progress, how you’ll go about it.
Tactics/tasks/roadmap - laying out the specific tasks and activities you need to do. All of your tactics, when prioritised and placed on a timeline, will create a roadmap.

Check Your Thread / My Manifesto:

Vision:

A world where the impact on the environment is factored into every decision.

Mission:

Help people make more sustainable choices by giving them information, ideas, inspiration and agency.
By starting to sew more sustainably, it’s then possible to do lots of other things more sustainably. That these ideas and approaches can spread out into many areas of life.
Spread the idea that living more sustainably can be fun and fulfilling, not about hand-wringing, eco-snobbery or depriving yourself.
Check Your Thread reflects the values of a wider community of people having ideas and interesting conversations, and making things happen. Our Check Your Thread sub-community feels positive, supportive and fun.

Strategy:

Balance between seriousness and joy, inspiration and fun
Specific ideas and concepts are applicable to broader ways of being
Continually making more resources that allow people to engage with ideas with content in new ways, levels
Organic growth through genuine interactions, explorations of common goals

Tactics:

Check Your Thread Podcast
Instagram / Social Media
Me Made May
Speaking opportunities / teaching / going on other podcasts
Making resources

In addition to my manifesto, I outlined my values and principles:

Limiting my contribution to climate change where possible
The Personal is Political
Helping to redress income inequality
Helping to redress racial inequality
Helping to redress homophobia
Promoting feminist thinking
Creating joy
Finding a balance between living as sustainably as possible, and having a happy, fulfilling life.

Kim’s best investment in 2022 was signing up for sewing classes at Ministry of Craft in Manchester, UK. There she learned to make this wiggle dress (image by Alison Leese at Ministry of Craft):

Next up on Kim’s sewing table is a project from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual book:

The Pietra Pants pattern by Closet Core Patterns was a game-changer for Kim, allowing her for the first time to make custom-fitting trousers that suit her stature. Her first version, made at Ministry of Craft:

For more information about Me-Made-May and how you can take part in 2023, check out this page.

#70: The Fold Line with Kate Underdown

12 december 2022 | min

#69: Making Mindfully with Judy Williment-Ross

5 december 2022 | min

#68: Visible Vs Invisible Mending

28 november 2022 | min

This episode is a fun exploration into the qualities of, and differences between, visible and invisible mending. What are their strengths and when are they likely to be victorious?

Taking a deeper look into these approaches to mending can give us a clearer idea of how we want to tackle each repair job we are presented with. Which one will you deploy for your next mending project?

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Basic materials mending:

Strong thread suitable for hand sewing to stitch up holes, rips and tears, and for stitching on patches.
If you’re likely to try darning, some darning yarn, or possibly leftover knitting yarn should also be in your mending materials stash.
Fabric scraps for making patches. These can be harvested from old garments that have gone beyond wearability, and leftovers from previous sewing projects. It’s useful to have a mix of woven and knit fabrics and different thicknesses so you can create patches for different types of garments.
A selection of buttons in a range of sizes. Although pretty much anything goes in terms of holes or shanks, colour, shape or texture, a replacement button will have to be the same size or a little smaller than the missing one. You can always close up a button hole a bit if the new button is a bit smaller, but you’re inviting a bit of a headache if you try to make the buttonhole bigger to accommodate a larger replacement button.
Scraps of fusible interfacing. These are useful to strengthen a weakened area, particularly because it’ll give you more grace with your choice of fabric for patching, or your choice of reinforcing stitch.
Eventually you may find it useful to also have a collection of Iron on patches, lengths of bias binding, and pieces of elastic in different widths, but you can gather those as the need arises.

Basic equipment for mending:

Hand sewing needles are a must. A little pack of different sizes to match with different thickness of fabric will make your life easier.
Scissors that cut fabric and snips to cut thread.
A tape measure or other measuring tool. These can help you figure out how big to cut a patch or what length and width bias binding you might need.
Some kind of fabric marking tool such as a water or heat erasable pen or a chalk pencil.
A seam ripper AKA stitch ripper or quick unpick.
Pins and safety pins to keep what you’re working on in place.
An iron will also be handy to apply the fusible interfacing and prepare neat looking patches.
Certain visible mends might be quicker or longer lasting if a sewing machine is used.

Mending inspiration and knowledge:

Books:

Mending Matters by Katrina Rodabaugh which is all about subtle, visible patching and decorative Sashiko stitching.
Modern Mending by previous-guest Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald is a wonderful primer on all sorts of mending techniques and encourages creativity at every step.

Instagram accounts:

@mendingmayhem, a community that celebrates mends in the wild
@roberta.cummings a creative maker and mender whose work often focuses on colourful, visible darning
@akemi__harada is an artist and maker incorporating boro
@blue_movement2017 creates stunning garments using traditional Japanese techniques including indigo dyeing and boro
@yung_curmudgeon (AKA Noah Hirsch) is a talented and bold repairer of everything, as well as a previous guest on this podcast.
@tomofholland is one of the first champions of visible mending that I became aware of

#67: Zoe and Julia Sew with Reclaimed Denim

23 november 2022 | min

#66: Conscious Yarn Choices with Saskia de Feijter

14 november 2022 | min

#65: Sewing Sunflowers with Jess Redgrave

7 november 2022 | min

#64: Sewing Trends More Sustainably

31 oktober 2022 | min

#63: Sewing and Personal Power with Brandon Hayden

24 oktober 2022 | min

#62: Made My Wardrobe with Lydia Higginson

17 oktober 2022 | min

#61: Sewing to Keep Warm

10 oktober 2022 | min

#60: Exploring Female Culture and Identity with Sophie Passmore

3 oktober 2022 | min

#59: Tools for Life with Grace Whowell

26 september 2022 | min

#58: Sewing on a Budget

19 september 2022 | min

The second part of a two-part mini series about sewing and saving. Episode 58 focuses on how we can keep sewing-related costs down to make it more accessible to those working with a tight budget. Specifically we look at saving money on machinery, fabric, haberdashery and sewing patterns. This episode is packed with tips and approaches to allow us to do more of the kinds of sewing we most enjoy, whilst spending less.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Check out the free Olio app for sharing food and non-food items, borrowing/lending equipment, and selling handmade items locally.

Sign up to the Trash Nothing app in the UK to receive regular updates of offers and requests for free stuff in your area.

The Boomerang Bags organisation are looking for sewers and resources to make fabric bags to distribute to a number of excellent causes.

Listen to Episode 9: Overlockers & Coverstitch Machines with Julia Hincks to hear the many top tips Julia shares about using and caring for these machines.

Listen to Episode 21: The Joy of Reclaimed Fabric with Sarah AKA Sew Love NZ to get inspired by charity shopping/op-shopping/thrifting for fabric as an alternative to regular fabric shops.

Listen to Episode 4: My 5 Favourite Scrap Projects and Episode 14: Quick and Cheap Handmade Gift Projects for lots of fun things you might like to make with your scraps and leftovers from previous projects.

Instagram hashtags such as #scrapbusting, #scrapbuster and #sewingleftovers provide a wealth of ideas that may get your creative juices flowing.

Listen to Episode 42: Highest Possible Level of Use with Shelly Sommer which explores a really important concept that underpins everything related to the reuse of materials.

Find all the posts from my long-running Free Pattern Friday blog post series. Every first Friday of the month I post about a free sewing pattern or tutorial I recently road-tested.

The updated ‘My Favourite Free Children’s Sewing Patterns’ blog post contains links to almost every type of sewing pattern you’d need to make a wardrobe full of kid’s clothes!

With Christmas or a birthday looming, visit my ‘40 Free Patterns for Gifts for Kids’ post for some project inspo.

The excellent Peppermint Magazine releases a free sewing pattern with every edition. Their archive is a real treat.

#57: Can Sewing Save You Money?

12 september 2022 | min

#56: Sustainable(ish) with Jen Gale

5 september 2022 | min

Writer, podcaster and speaker Jen Gale is one of my biggest inspirations. She is a busy mum of two living a ‘normal’ life, whilst continually seeking out ways to limit her family’s environmental impact. She shares her discoveries across different media, including via her books and her podcast, Sustainable(ish), which is an amazing resource for fascinating, inspiring conversations. In this episode (#56) we talk about how Jen finds the courage to face the realities of the climate crisis head on, the underlying concept of sustainable(ish), and her ‘year of buying nothing new’ challenge, a decade after she first attempted it. Jen also offers her perspective on the role that sewing, and sewers/ists, could play in reducing the impact of the climate crisis.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Julia Hincks can be found at House of Miss Sew.

She wrote the excellent The Coverstitch Technique Manual, and you can book for her in-person class via this page on her site.

Jen Gale is the maker of the amazing podcast Sustainable(ish).

Jen also runs the Knackered Mums Eco Club and hosts Carbon Literacy talks.

Vinted is the app that is making Jen’s current Year of Buying Nothing New much easier!

Jen produced a series of podcast episodes in conjunction with Organic UK, they are episodes:

72 (all about bees, one of my favourites!),
73 (which includes Guy Singh-Watson, the founder of Riverford),
74 (about food)
75 (about how organic systems can help fight the climate crisis).

Melissa Hemsley is a cookbook author and sustainability champion.

Katharine Hayhoe is a climate scientist.

Episode 82 with some members of the Knackered Mums Eco Club is one of Jen’s favourite episodes.

And we both LOVED Episode 87 with the Crap Activist, who you can find on Instagram @thecrapactivist.

Episode 122 features the incredible climate/Cop26 explainer Laura Young, @lesswastelaura on Instagram.

Jen has written two books:

Becky Barnes is the ‘sustainable stylist’ that Jen employed to help her get more from her wardrobe. Also on Instagram @beckybarnesstyle.

I cannot recommend Episode 138: How Much Impact can Individuals Actually Make with Tom from The Jump enough!

image source: The Jump

#55: The Challenges of Zero Waste Design with Birgitta Helmersson

29 augusti 2022 | min

#54: A Journey to Zero Waste with Birgitta Helmersson

22 augusti 2022 | min

#53: First Birthday / Ask Me Anything with Zoe, Julia and Naomi

15 augusti 2022 | min

#52: Grow, Cook, Dye, Wear with Bella Gonshorovitz

25 juli 2022 | min

#51: Creating Connection with Barley Massey

18 juli 2022 | min

Barley Massey is the owner of Fabrications, a wonderful shop, studio and maker’s space on Broadway Market in East London. Barley is an artist, maker, teacher and activist who uses her space to explore and to teach resourcefulness through creativity. A fundamental aspect of Barley’s work is the fostering of real-life community, providing support, connection and inspiration in an area with increasingly disparate inhabitants. I got to meet Barley in her maker’s space and have this conversation with her face-to-face. It was a real privilege to hear her thoughts and perspectives, including the amazing work she does through her ‘Remember Me’ service.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Image source: Fabrications

Find out about all aspects of Barley’s business, Fabrications, HERE.

It can also be found on Instagram @fabricationshackney.

The full schedule of events taking place at Fabrications, including the fortnightly craft club, can be viewed HERE.

Find the various London locations of the Library of Things HERE.

Image source: Fabrications

Discover Barley’s incredible upcycled bags and accessories HERE. See one of her cross-body bags made from a men’s suit jacket below:

Image source: Fabrications

Listen to Riccardo’s podcast episode, #7: Experimental Sewing with Riccardo Guido HERE in which he talks about his work with Barley making sweatshirts from scraps (inspired by the work of Zero Waste Daniel HERE).

Riccardo and Barley are both big fans of Wendy Ward’s work. Listen to Wendy’s podcast episode, #2: How To Sew Sustainably with Wendy Ward HERE.

Find Wendy Ward’s books that include a number of patterns Barley uses in her classes HERE.

Learn more about Barley’s incredible Remember Me service HERE.

See the fantastic curtain made from ties in the makers’ space below:

Find out about the incredible quilting tradition of Gees Bend, Alabama HERE.

Barley is inspired by artist Lucy Orta (HERE) who has worked with clothing and homelessness HERE and HERE and with food waste HERE.

#50: The Future of Fabrics

11 juli 2022 | min

#49: Sewing as Art and Political Action with Shams el-Din Rogers

4 juli 2022 | min

#48: How to Knit More Sustainably with Saskia de Feijter

27 juni 2022 | min

Episode 48 gets stuck into the sizable ‘sister’ topic of how to knit more sustainably! I had the pleasure of talking to knitting podcaster, community leader, marketing expert and former yarn-shop owner, Saskia de Feijter from Ja, Wol and A Smaller Life podcast as the second part of our recent podcast swap. She explained to me how as a beginner knitter, I could approach knitting from a more sustainable angle. Then we dug into the similarities between our respective crafts and communities, and also the differences (spoiler: there aren’t many!). I particularly loved exploring the topic of stashes and resource accumulation, as well as Saskia’s awesome tips for using up leftover yarn. Saskia is such a fun, interesting and knowledgeable person, and I think she has the loveliest voice!

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Find out more about Saskia, her business, her Ja, Wol knitting community, business mentoring and podcast HERE.

Listen to Episode #34 of A Smaller Life featuring me HERE.

Author and designer Anna Matlz has a website HERE. Her knitting book ‘Marlisle’ is pictured below:

Saskia recommends UK women owned yarn brand, The Grey Sheep (formerly known as ‘Little Grey Sheep’) is HERE.

I bought my kit to knit my first cardigan from We Are Knitters HERE. See below for the finished project.

An interesting and heartbreaking explanation of mulesing from the RSPCA can be read HERE.

Listen to Episode #29 of A Smaller Life called My Conscious Wardrobe HERE.

Saskia belongs to the Topstitch Makers Sewcial Community HERE.

Discover ‘The Act of Sewing’ book by Sonya Phillips HERE.

Saskia has also made the Estuary Skirt pattern by Sew Liberated HERE. See below:

The Instagram hashtag Saskia started is #knitpile.

The popular Ravelry community can be found HERE.

Find Dutch indie dyer Ovis et Cetera HERE. See my favourite colour of their yarns HERE, pictured below:

A fantastic, inspiring collection of ideas for leftover yarn from the Ovis et Cetera blog is HERE.

Find the London-based Wild and Woolly shop HERE.

#47: Introduction to Patching

20 juni 2022 | min

#46: DIY Drafting and Inclusive Sewing with Daisy Braid

13 juni 2022 | min

#45: The Art of Rescue with Noah Hirsch

6 juni 2022 | min

#44: Me-Made-May and Beyond

30 maj 2022 | min

#43: Communication & Conscious Choices with Kate Ng

23 maj 2022 | min

#42: Highest Possible Level of Use with Shelly Sommer

16 maj 2022 | min

#41: Using Sewing Patterns More Sustainably

9 maj 2022 | min

Sewing patterns are often the starting point for those of us who make our own clothes. In recent years we have witnessed an explosion in the amount and the variety of sewing patterns available to us. Plus, developments in technology and the sewing industry have resulted in patterns being available in different formats. Then, once we’ve bought a pattern in a particular format, there are options of how to use it. At CYT, our goal is to enjoy sewing whilst conserving resources and reducing potential waste where possible. So in this episode we unpick what choices we might make when buying and using sewing patterns and why.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Sewing patterns currently come in five formats:

1) the traditional patterns printed onto paper,

2) as digital PDF files that require printing out,

3) as projector files that gets projected directly onto the fabric,

4) as sets of instructions or measurements that guide you to draw the pattern directly onto fabric or

5) printed overlapping on large pattern sheets in pattern magazines and books.

Buying and Using Paper Patterns More Sustainably:

Find out where in the world it’s produced. That might impact the retailer you choose to buy it from.

Consider becoming a member of #teamtrace by tracing off the pieces before hand onto more paper first rather than jumping straight in and cutting out your size. On the surface it seems like you’re using double the materials, but by giving yourself space to test out fit and alterations on the practice go, you are likely to be preserving more resources overall.

If you plan to make any alterations, or suspect you might need to make any alterations in the future, tracing first rather than cutting straight is the absolutely best choice. You can play around on the traced off pieces and always have the original version to refer to. Or if your alterations don’t go to plan, you can trace the pieces again and start over. Tracing is also necessary if you want to retain all the sizes. You may wish to make another size for yourself or someone else in the future. Plus, by tracing off your pieces and keeping the original pattern uncut, it means that when you no longer want it, it can be passed on to another person, at a sewing swap perhaps, or by donating to a charity shop or thrift store.

If you cut into the original, and later find you need the uncut and unadulterated pattern again in the future, you’re going to have to buy the whole thing again, pattern, instructions AND packaging. Which would mean double the environmental impact of the original pattern. And if you do cut into the original you’ll be rendering it pretty much useless once you're done with it.

Therefore, if garment sewing is a passion for you, and something you can see yourself doing for a number of years, I’d recommend buying a large roll of recycled paper suitable for pattern cutting and tracing. But if you don’t fancy investing in a roll of paper specific for the purpose, rolls of large format printer paper, wall paper and wrapping paper can also do the job.

Using PDF Sewing Patterns More Sustainably:

Only print out a pattern when we are actually about to use it in case your plans change. You might end up not wanting to make the view you printed out, or you end up not making it at all and that will have been a waste of energy, paper and ink.

When you do print out your PDF pattern, there’s no need to print out the instructions. Instead, view the instructions directly on your laptop, tablet or phone.

Whether you’re using an A0 print out or A4/letter pages that have been stuck together, you can also choose to trace the size you need and retain the original printouts. As with paper patterns, this will save you the time and hassle of reprinting and sticking together pages if you wish to make alterations to the pattern and may need to refer to the original, or if you want to save the rest of the sizes for the future.

Printing and Using A4/letter PDF Sewing Patterns:

Check what pages you actually need. If the pattern offers multiple views, i.e. there are different style variations within the pattern, take some time to work out which pages you need to print out for the one you want to make to save you paper and ink. Some pattern companies will detail which pages you need to print out depending on the sizes or styles you require in the instructions. But for others, you might need to figure it out for yourself.

Check if the PDF file includes the LAYERS FUNCTION!!!! This will save you a lot of printer ink over time. To find the layers function, when you open up the PDF document usually in a programme like acrobat reader, check if there’s a logo on the left hand side that looks like a stack of squares. If it doesn’t show up as you open the file, you can find it by selecting view in the tool bar at the top, then show/Hide, then Navigation Panes, then Layers. If your pattern has that function, you can deselect the layers you don’t need by clicking on the tiny eye icons, and all the lines of the sizes you don’t need will disappear from view. Make sure you don’t deselect the pattern information layer though, because that contains all the writing and any markings are common to all sizes.

What paper are you using? If you can, I’d urge you to buy recycled printer paper. It’s only worth it for recycling services to collect paper and recycle it to make new products, as opposed to sending it to landfill, if there’s a demand for products made from recycled paper. We need to be keeping as much stuff out of landfill as possible.

Also related to paper, if you work in an office or other work place that regularly prints stuff out onto A4 or letter sized paper, is there a source of waste paper you could tap into?

Similarly, if you live with kids, or work with kids, or have a friend or family member with kids, their stream of artwork might also provide plenty of pages you can print your patterns out on the back of.

Stick the pattern pages together with glue rather than sticky tape so the patterns can be recycled when you’re eventually done with them. I use a thin layer of my kids’ PVA craft glue. Let your pattern dry before cutting out the pieces. Sticky tape is obviously plastic, which deems every page it touches unrecycle-able. Try to buy PVA glue in larger quantities and decant into smaller containers with a lid like empty jam jars.

Printing and Using A0/Copshop PDF Sewing Patterns:

Only get your pattern printed when you are ready to actually use it in case you change your mind and your sewing plans to avoid wasted resources.

Check which pages you actually need. If there are different views included in the same pattern, or different elements, hopefully they will be grouped as such so that you can avoid printing entire pages if necessary.

If the pattern has the layers function, an A0 printing service can also deselect the unnecessary lines which will save on ink. I also think it makes cutting out your pattern a lot easier if you’ve not got so many lines to confuse you. Check in advance if your pattern has the layers function, and if so, check which size or sizes you require, and ask them when placing your order to only print the necessary sizes.

If you’re getting your files printed by an A0 printing service, use a local service. Or if there isn’t one within your local area, at least one in the same country. You might choose to ignore this if you’re getting another physical product sent to you at the same time and the price of printing is reasonable though.

If you are using a postal printing service, batch your order so you’re getting a few patterns printed at once to save on postage and packaging.

#40: Experimend with Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald

2 maj 2022 | min

#39: Modern Mending with Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald

25 april 2022 | min

#38: Pledge and Participants #2 with Amy and Judith

18 april 2022 | min

Ep. 38 is the third and final episode in the mini-series all about the Me-Made-May wardrobe challenge. Expanding on last week’s episode about setting your own unique pledge, today we’ll flip it and discuss super-simple, basic pledges that still offer heaps of learning potential. If you’re just not sure what your wardrobe goals are, or you don’t have the headspace for anything complicated right now, this episode provides the solution. We also hear from previous podcast guests, Amy Dyce and Judith Staley, who also chose simple pledges for their challenges. They talk about the wealth of takeaways they accrued from this approach, and give us some thought-provoking insights about applying the lessons learnt.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

You can still learn A TON about your wardrobe, and make great strides in getting closer to the wardrobe you dream of by setting yourself a very simple, standard pledge. Picking an uncomplicated formula, as long as it is challenging but do-able for you, will still give you a chance to learn and play about throughout the month.

A great way to start is by finding out exactly what you have. Try to find a chunk of time to get all your handmade items out in one place.

Then cast your mind back a week or so, or pay attention to what you’re wearing for a few days. How many handmade items do you wear on average already?

Then set your simple pledge by choosing to up the frequency slightly, or by altering how you wear them.

For example, if you usually wear a handmade item twice a week, pledge to wear a handmade item three or four times a week. Or if you usually wear two handmade items each day, make it three!

OR keep wearing two handmade items each day, but make sure you wear a different outfit combination each day.

Find Amy Dyce on Instagram @craftandthrift HERE and find the website HERE.

Listen to Episode 5: Craft & Thrift with Amy Dyce HERE and Episode 6: Life, Sewing and Sustainability with Amy Dyce HERE.

Find Judith Staley on Instagram @judithrosalind HERE and the Sew Over 50 community @sewover50 HERE.

Listen to Episode 12: Sew Over 50 with Judith Staley HERE.

#37: Pledge and Participants #1 with Rebecca and Meg

12 april 2022 | min

This is the second episode in the mini-series all about the Me-Made-May wardrobe challenge. If you’re not sure how to get the most from taking part in MMM, this episode offers a guide to crafting your own, tailor-made pledge. Included are examples of a variety of unique pledges that might click with you, and lead you to heaps of useful lessons and insights about yourself and your wardrobe needs. We also get to hear from two previous podcast guests and repeat MMM participants, Rebecca Evans-Merritt and Meg Grandstaff. Both offer their own fascinating perspectives, experiences and takeaways from their own challenges, and offer advice for new participants.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

To pick a useful challenge for you, the first step is to get a handle on how your relationship with wardrobe currently stands.

If you can find the time, get all your self-made items out and have a look at what you’ve got.

Also have a think about how often you tend to wear handmade items already, and which ones see the most action. Think back to what you wore the past week. How many items were made by yourself?

By looking at what you’ve got AND by thinking about what you usually wear already, you’ll get some clues for a suitable pledge.

Is there a sticking point that you’re already well aware of? For example, you feel happiest in a dress, but rarely wear them. Or you have a whole load of clothes made from vibrant prints, but you’re not sure how to incorporate them into an outfit.

Remember, the main point of the challenge is to wear your handmade items more and/or in different ways. So with that in mind, hopefully you will start to get some ideas for a pledge that will push yourself slightly out of your comfort zone to allow yourself to learn and grow.

Find Rebecca Evans-Merritt on Instagram @revansmerritt HERE.

Listen to Episode 24: Conscious Making in Real Life with Rebecca Evans-Merritt HERE.

Find Meg Grandstaff on Instagram @megthegrand HERE.

Listen to Episode 22: Mending Workshops with Carla & Meg / Community Glue HERE.

#36: What is Me-Made-May?

31 mars 2022 | min

#35: Mask Making with Sophie Passmore

28 mars 2022 | min

Shortly after the COVID pandemic reached the UK in early 2020, artist and maker Sophie Passmore responded to the craziness and confusion by founding the Mask Makers UK community. This Facebook group became an important hub providing information, assistance and support to thousands of voluntary mask makers. More than two years later, Sophie is still keeping abreast with developments in mask-related science, advice and design progression and sharing it all for those who want and need it. Mask masking and the community Sophie brought together have evolved tremendously over that time. In this episode (Ep. #35) she tells me all about it: the highs, the lows, her motivations and the time she appeared live on Breakfast TV showing the nation how to make a mask from a T-shirt!

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

The Facebook group and community Sophie founded is Mask Makers UK HERE.

The first Co-administrator of the group is sewing blogger/writer/teacher Portia Lawrie. She can be found on Instagram @portialawrie HERE.

Designer Jacqueline Pang’s website Sewing Seeds of Love website is HERE. Her Smile Mask pattern (free) with a clear window can be found HERE.

Scrub making community groups set up in response to the lack of PPE earlier on during the pandemic, For the Love of Scrubs HERE and Facebook group Scrubs Glorious Scrubs HERE.

The Noah Rainbow fabric designed by Tessa Semple for use by the NHS below:

Sophie’s mask making videos can be found on her Youtube channel HERE.

The video that went viral (that Sophie accidentally deleted!) is the Reverse Nose Fold Mask video HERE.

Dr. Jocelyn Songer’s Maker Mask website containing science-based information for mask makers is HERE.

Find the pattern and instructions for Joan Fearnley Singer’s Mask for performers HERE.

Sophie’s appearance on BBC Breakfast on the TV can be viewed HERE.

Iris Luckhaus is a German designer and illustrator who developed a similar mask design HERE.

Sophie demonstrates how to make a mask brace HERE.

#34: Ethical Fabric Sourcing with Charlie Bradley Ross

21 mars 2022 | min

#33 Encouraging Kids to Sew

14 mars 2022 | min

#32: Textile Activism with Shams el-Din Rogers

7 mars 2022 | min

#31: Exploring Zero Waste Design with Liz Haywood

28 februari 2022 | min

For this episode, #31, I got to speak to Liz Haywood, a very talented designer who creates zero waste sewing patterns. After a 20 year career in clothing production, and writing and self-publishing a book called The Dressmaker’s Companion, Liz discovered ZW design and started making her own patterns using this approach. Two years ago, she committed to only producing patterns that are zero waste, and has been exploring and pushing the genre forwards ever since with her book Zero Waste Sewing and a range of standalone patterns. Excitingly, Liz has tackled the issue of grading and developed methods for producing an impressive range of sizes, and is now turning her attention to adding elements to help with fitting, two areas in which zero waste patterns have previously received criticism. We discuss all this and more, including her incredibly low levels of scrap generation and the only item Liz cannot foresee herself making a ZW pattern for.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

If zero waste design and patterns are new to you, you may like to listen to Episode 17: What are Zero Waste Sewing Patterns? HERE before this one.

Please listen to Liz talking in detail about her fascinating career in the Sew Organised Style podcast in 2021 HERE.

Liz’s self-published sewing book, The Dressmaker’s Companion, can be found HERE.

Find the previously mentioned and very excellent The Zero Waste Fashion Design book by Holly McQuillan and Timo Rissanen via Bookshop.org HERE.

Liz’s blog, The Craft of Clothes, which she updates weekly is HERE.

Zero Waste Sewing, Liz’s book featuring lots of ZW patterns to try is HERE.

For Liz’s standalone patterns and books, check out her Etsy shop TheCraftofClothes HERE.

Her first standalone pattern is the Tie Front Top HERE. See the top below)

The fascinating layout for the top is pictured below:

Her ZW doll pattern is HERE.

The childre’s ZW Cap Sleeve Tee pattern by Thread Faction I recently made is HERE.

Swimwear brand, Emroce, uses recycled nylon fabric and ZW cutting techniques is HERE.

Decode, a ZW clothing brand and design system, including manufacturing, based in Brooklyn, NY founded by Danielle Elsener is HERE.

Find the Zero Waste Design Online collective HERE.

#30: Tips and Takeaways from Made Do and Mend

21 februari 2022 | min

#29: Lessons From the 1940s

14 februari 2022 | min

This is the second instalment of my mini series about the Make Do and Mend campaign. As I was reading and writing about that era, I couldn’t help but think about the situation we find ourselves in today with the climate crisis. There was so much relating to the use and reuse of materials that felt so familiar to what a lot of us have been thinking and talking about more recently. Many of us are trying to work out how to consume less and be more resourceful whilst continuing to make stuff and be creative. In this episode, I share my thoughts on why there’s currently insufficient action happening to address the climate crisis. I then explore the idea that there are lessons we can learn from the experiences of the second world war that might be applicable today. Things that can help us live and create in a way that limits our impact on climate change.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Hear more from Sophie (@so_so_sew) about the International Women's Day challenge HERE. Remember to use the hashtags #IWDsewchallenge and #breakthebias.

Image source: English Heritage

The themes discussed in the episode are:

Community

Find out more about ‘Stitch it Don’t ditch it’ street mending sessions that take place around the world HERE.

Swapping

The facts borrowed from Jen Gale @sustainableish can be found HERE.

Pass on unwanted fabric and sewing supplies and raise money for an important cause via @destash_for_kids_with_cancer Instagram account HERE.

Fabric-a-brac in New Zealand HERE.

Alternative sources of fabric

Listen to Episode 26 with Eliu Hernandez HERE about reclaiming and reusing materials from unwanted jeans.

Wyatt and Jack make accessories from broken beach inflatables, bouncy castles and vintage deckchair canvas. Find their range HERE.

Freitag make backs from recycled truck tarpaulins HERE.

Image source: Freitag

Riccardo’s jackets made from the covering from a discarded leather sofa HERE and HERE.

Hear my conversation with Riccardo for Episode 7 HERE.

#28: Make Do and Mend

7 februari 2022 | min

#27: Zoe & Julia go Rag Rugging

31 januari 2022 | min

#26: Harvesting Materials with Eliu Hernandez

24 januari 2022 | min

#25: Handmade Period Pants with Yelena Buck

17 januari 2022 | min

#24: Conscious Making in Real Life with Rebecca Evans-Merritt

10 januari 2022 | min

#23: Sewing Goals for the New Year

3 januari 2022 | min

#22: Mending Workshops with Carla & Meg / Community Glue

27 december 2021 | min

#21: The Joy of Reclaimed Fabric with Sarah aka Sew Love NZ

20 december 2021 | min

#20: What thread should I buy?

13 december 2021 | min

Welcome to Ep. 20. In this solo episode, we literally check our thread! Of course, what fabrics we sew with is a big factor in the impact our garment sewing will have. And, increasingly, there are more and more options available to us to express our values and preferences in our thread choices as well. I break down the thread options for making our own clothes, then offer up some criteria on which to judge each option to help you make your mind up about what to pick. I mention a lot of specific brands and product ranges as examples you may choose to buy in this episode. See below for details of the products discussed.

The criteria I came up with for deciding which threads to use:

Is it made from a virgin resource or recycled one?
What environmental impact did the processing and dyeing have?
What social impact did the production have?
Will it biodegrade?
How much does it cost to buy?
How many colours is it available in?
What is the reel made of?
How strong is it?
How thick is it?
How shiny is it?

#19: Quilting and Considered Consuming with Shelly Sommer

6 december 2021 | min

Welcome to CYT! This episode (Ep.19) features a fascinating, wide-ranging and inspiring conversation with quilt-maker, Shelly Sommer. I thought we were going to be mainly discussing quilting, potentially as a way to use up fabric scraps and unwanted clothing, however Shelly is such an intelligent, thoughtful maker and human that our conversation ended up going off on a whole heap of interesting tangents.

We did talk about the traditions, purposes and changing role of quilts, and that led to her making lots of great points about more considered approaches to consuming. We also talked about creative collaboration, her job that is related to climate science, her thoughts on a circular economy plus various forms of activism and their role in creating social change. Shelly was such a pleasure, and although we got into some heavy topics, I really came away feeling positive and empowered.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Find Shelly Sommer on Instagram @encodedstudio.

Almost since she began sewing Shelly has used her skills to add bands to thrifted garments to make them longer. Some examples of Shelly’s lengthened garments:

Some information on the quilters from Gees Bend, Alabama HERE.

Listen to the powerful BBC World Service Documentary about the Gees Bend Quilters HERE (you need to have a BBC account or register for one to listen).

Shelly is part of the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild HERE.

The collaboration between Shelly and her friend using the antique letterpress can be seen HERE and HERE (and see below).

Shelly makes a collaborative quilt with the young people in her life when they turn 13. Her latest project uses reclaimed denim from her husband’s old jeans:

Latifah Saafir’s Glam Clam quilt pattern HERE.

My first attempt at a small baby’s floor quilt that used some pieces of work shirts HERE.

See a beautiful example of Shelly’s fabric scrap patchwork mosaics HERE (and see below):

Hilary Goodwin’s blog Entropy Always Wins HERE. Check out her incredible quilt about prescription narcotics HERE.

Sherri Lynn Wood HERE.

Chawne Kimber’s blog HERE.

One of Shelly’s favourite craft supply shop is Fancy Tiger Crafts that sends out their customers’ orders in fully recyclable packaging HERE.

#18: Rag Rugging with Elspeth Jackson

29 november 2021 | min

#17: What are zero waste sewing patterns?

22 november 2021 | min

#16: Patternmaking in Public Places with Louisa Owen Sonstroem

15 november 2021 | min

#15: Hand Stitching Clothes with Louisa Owen Sonstroem

8 november 2021 | min

#14: Quick and Cheap Handmade Gift Projects

1 november 2021 | min

Let’s be honest, for those of us who sew, spending a couple hours at our sewing machine is probably preferable to the same time spent wandering around the shops or trawling websites trying to find someone the perfect gift. In this solo episode, I’m sharing heaps of ideas for presents we can create for our loved ones that won’t take an age or cost us a mint. All these ideas should take no more than an evening to make, a lot of them use patterns or tutorials that are free, and pretty much all of them can be made from scraps and leftover fabric, or even unwanted clothing!

I’ve broken these projects down into four categories: gifts for makers, simple accessories and clothing, homeware and gifts for kids.

Gifts for makers:

Tool roll tutorial by The Book Hut can be found HERE.

Image source: The Book Hut

Stowe Bag pattern by Grainline Studio HERE.

Image source: Grainline Studio

Simple Accessories & Clothing Gifts:

Sorrento Bucket Hat pattern by Elbe Textiles HERE.

Sandcastle Bucket Hat pattern by Waves & Wild HERE.

Reversible Bucket Hat pattern by Oliver + S HERE.

The Orton Bag pattern by Merchant & Mills HERE. In the episode I have said this is one is free however, it is now a paid-for pattern.

The byTilly shopper bag from byGraziela Fabrics HERE.

Image source: byGraziela Fabrics

Scrunchie tutorial by Melly Sews HERE.

Mittens pattern made by using wool knitwear by fibreandtwigs on Etsy HERE.

Mandy Boat Tee pattern by Tessuti HERE. Read by review of this pattern HERE.

Luna Tank pattern by Helen’s Closet HERE.

Dominique Skirt pattern by Tilly and the Buttons HERE.

My favourite face mask tutorial by Sophie Passmore HERE.

Homeware Gifts:

Apron pattern by Tessuti HERE.

Workaday Apron pattern by Merchant & Mills HERE.

Image source: Merchant & Mills

Oven Mitt pattern by Bombazine HERE. Read by review of this pattern HERE.

Fabric Bowl Cover tutorial by Hearth and Vine HERE.

Image source: Hearth and Vine

Gifts for Kids:

40 Free Sewing Patterns for Gifts for Kids blog post HERE.

My Favourite Free Children’s Sewing Patterns blog post HERE.

Batman Costume tutorial by Fleece Fun HERE.

Image source: Fleece Fun

Pom Pom Tutu Skirt tutorial by Brit + Co HERE.

Princess Dress Up Apron pattern by It’s Always Autumn HERE.

Easy Apron pattern by Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom HERE.

Oven Mitt pattern by Made for Mermaids HERE.

Gift Wrapping:

Furoshiki Wrapping Cloths tutorial by Wellness Mama HERE.

#13: Natural Dyeing with Amy Taylor

25 oktober 2021 | min

#12: Sew Over 50 with Judith Staley

18 oktober 2021 | min

Judith is the creator of, and one of the main driving forces behind, the biggest sewing community on Instagram, SewOver50. Whilst providing a virtual hub for conversation and inspiration for everyone, SewOver50 also pushes for the increased visibility of older people within sewing related industries. In our conversation, Judith tells me about the rapid creation of that community and the goals behind it. She also shares how her own revelations surrounding her wardrobe and sewing output sparked the idea for the fantastically inspiring challenge: #so50sustainablesewing.

The blog post mentioned in the introduction about handmade washable period pants can be found HERE

Find Judith on Instagram @judithrosalind

Read about Judith’s revelation in 2018 related to her wardrobe and sewing output HERE and HERE

Stacey Doodley’s documentary Fashion’s Dirty Secrets HERE (not currently available on iplayer but lots of clips are available on Youtube).

The True Cost, a powerful documentary about the clothing industry, is available on Youtube HERE

See Judith below in one of her awesome tops made using the LB Pullover pattern by Paper Theory.

Judith has posted a lot about her Vintage Linen Coat Project, see below for the incredible way that she handled the rust spots, and read about it HERE.

She’s using the September Coat pattern by Merchant & Mills.

Judith’s Insta-pal @redrubyrose is a talented natural dye expert and accessories designer/maker.

See one of Judith’s natural dye embroidery patches HERE.

The Destash for Kids with Cancer account is HERE (@destash_for_kids_with_cancer)

Find the Sew Over 50 community @sewover50, Judith founded it and co-runs it with Sandy @sunnydayz06

The amazing blog and community, The Sewcialists is HERE (it’s no longer running but all posts are still up to enjoy)

Blanca @blakandblanca is an incredible older sewist who was the inspiration behind the Blanca Flight Suit pattern by Closet Core Patterns.

#so50sustainablesewing is the hashtag that is definitely worth checking out!

Wardrobe Crisis podcast by Clare Press HERE.

Maria @velosews made an incredible jacket from a used coffee bean sack (pictured below). Check out her fantastic podcast Sew Organised Style HERE.

A big source of inspiration for Judith, and many others, is Tricia @morrissews.

Equally, Sue Stoney @suestoney is a talented maker and prolific creator. Read her blog HERE.

The Envelope Dress zero waste pattern by Cris Wood.

#11: Sewing Vs. Kids

11 oktober 2021 | min

#10: Clothing Systems with Guy – the Light Touch

4 oktober 2021 | min

#9: Overlockers & Coverstitch Machines with Julia Hincks

27 september 2021 | min

#8: Is Sewing Sustainable?

20 september 2021 | min

#7: Experimental Sewing with Riccardo Guido

12 september 2021 | min

#6: Life, Sewing and Sustainability with Amy Dyce

5 september 2021 | min

#5: Craft & Thrift with Amy Dyce

30 augusti 2021 | min

#4: My 5 Favourite Scrap Projects

23 augusti 2021 | min

#3: African Textiles Today with Jacqueline Shaw

16 augusti 2021 | min

#2: How to Sew Sustainably with Wendy Ward

9 augusti 2021 | min

#1: Introductions

2 augusti 2021 | min

Check Your Thread

Hello! Welcome to Check Your Thread, a podcast about sewing more sustainably.

Om podden

Avsnitt

#164: Sewing Wins and Fails in 2024 with Lise and Meg

#163: How to Effect Change This Winter with Jeanna Wigger

#162: How to Solve Your Next Sewing Problem with Kim Witten

#161: How to Refashion with Portia Lawrie

#160: What We Do Now

#159: Small and Shared Space Sewing, Part 2

#158: Small and Shared Space Sewing, Part 1

#157: The challenges and joys of micro business with Bevan O’Daly

#156: How to Run an Ethical Textiles Shop with Bevan O’Daly

#155: Make it Your Own with Elisalex Jewell

#154: Clothing Self-Sufficiency

#153: The Provenance of Materials and Techniques – Shams with Allie Davis

#152: Sewing for Stillness and Community with Mel Keane

#151: Explaining Deadstock Fabric with The New Craft House

#150: Momentum and Motivation with Meg Grandstaff

#149: Replay – Harvesting Materials with Eliu Hernandez

#148: Replay – Mending Workshops with Carla & Meg / Community Glue

#147: Replay – The Joy of Reclaimed Fabric with Sarah aka Sew Love NZ

#146: Replay – Hand Stitching Clothing with Louisa Owen Sonstroem

#145: 5 Simple Tactics to Save on Sewing

#144: London Destash Fabric Swap 2024

#143: No Small Business on a Dead Planet

#142: Values Based Spending and Making with Shams el-Din Rogers

#141: Resourcefulness, Resilience and Wealth with Laura Oldanie

#140: Sew Organised Style Podcast – The Nest Community

#139: Behind the Scenes of Podcast Making with Maria Theoharous

#138: Making Sewing Podcasts with Maria Theoharous

#137: 5 Ways to Update Unworn Me-Mades

#136: Activism in Real Life with Beedy Parker

Wool Yes, Plastic Fleece No By Beedy Parker, Camden, Maine

#135: How to Triage your Mends with Jeanna Wigger

#134: You Can Mend Clothes

#133: Mending in Public

#132: A season of mending with Jeanna Wigger

#131: Self-Drafting for Fitting Success with Elisalex Jewell

#130: Zoe & Kim go to The Stitch Festival

#129: How to Sew Clothes From Fabric Scraps

#128: Scrap Strategies, Part 2

#127: Scrap Strategies, Part 1

#126: Sew the Precious with Stephanie Canada

#125: Vintage Sewing Not Vintage Values with Stephanie Canada

#124: Fearless Sewing with Tony Rea

#123: Sewing When Your Wardrobe is Full

#122: Zero Waste Sewing for Kids with Liz Elliott

#121: Creative and Resourceful Sewing with Judy Williment-Ross

#120: How to care for your sewing machine with Bizz McKilligan

#119: Seasonal Stash Organisation

#118: Last Sewist Standing with Lise Bauer

#117: Fabric Goals for 2024

#116: Improv Scrap Play with Sherri Lynn Wood

#115: Winter of Care and Repair with Jeanna Wigger

#114: More Sustainable Haberdashery with Richard Mendham

#113: More Sustainable Gifts to Make & Buy

#112: Gardening More Sustainably with Pippa Chapman

#111: Joyful, Mindful Sewing with Lena King

#110: Knitting & Stitching Show 2023

#109: More Sustainable Thread Options with Richard from James Tailoring

#108: A More Sustainable Halloween

#107: Sewing is Political

#106: Reframing A Relationship with Clothing with Heidi Parkes

#105: A Habit of Curiosity with Heidi Parkes

#104: How to Successfully Shop for Second-Hand Sewing Machines

#103: Swimming in A Sea of Scraps with Meg Grandstaff

#102: Sustainability in Food Production with Helen Metcalfe

#101: How to Prioritise Sewing with Jenny Drew

#100: 100 Lessons from CYT

#99: Sewing Confessions with Julia and Naomi

#98: Zero Waste Patterns Book with Birgitta Helmersson

#97: Introduction to Garment Fabrics

#96: Pattern Fitting Q&A with Kate Roberts

#95: Refining Fit with Kate Roberts

#94: Garmology Podcast – Design for Repairability with Rosanna Watson

#93: Sewing for Social Empowerment with Poornima at Kundakala

#92: Self Coaching for Sewing Success with Kim Witten

#91: Self Knowledge for Sewing Success with Kim Witten

#90: Introduction to Pattern Hacking