#124: Fearless Sewing with Tony Rea

What would it be like if we could enjoy complete freedom within our sewing lives? Free from the shoulds and shouldn’ts, the fears and even past experiences? My guest, Tony Rea, tells us how this mindset took him from sewing newbie to top-three-finalist of sewing’s most famous competition: The Great British Sewing Bee. Plus, Tony shares his formula for sewing more sustainably (spoiler alert: it involves a lot of thrifted duvet covers…).

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Find out more about Tony on his website, and see his latest projects on Instagram @tonyr.maker.

Tony’s Etsy shop is stocked with handmade cycling caps in fun prints.  

This Postman Pat shirt was clearly inevitable:

If you find yourself in Plymouth, swing by the Plymouth Scrapstore.

Tony made a Fabric Godmother Peony dress for his wife to attend Christmas events in. 

Tony first encountered zero waste sewing patterns during the pattern challenge on GBSB:

Tony adapted Birgitta Helmersson’s ZW Block Pants and ZW Workwear Jacket patterns for his style and frame. 

Image source: Birgitta Helmersson. 

Tony wore a denim ‘suit’ created using these patterns which he modelled on the runway at the Knitting & Stitching show in London, October 2023. 

Tony recently embarked upon the Studio Trouser Low Waste pattern by Norwegian brand, Indigo Indigo (@indigoindigo.no on IG).