Check Your Thread: Sewing More Sustainably – Détails, épisodes et analyse

This week’s episode provides a window into the ideas and processes of quilt artist Eliu Hernandez. Much of Eliu’s practice focuses on the reuse of existing materials, and he’s taken this further than you might previously have thought possible! I loved nerding out about denim with him, and even if denim isn’t your jam, this conversation may help you take reusing garments to a whole new level. We also discuss the portability of hand stitching and unpicking, crafting as a new parent, and consider the likelihood of a pair of jeans having been worn to rob a bank! 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Find Eliu via his IG account @madeorremade. 

Eliu has made a series of quilts entitled ‘Waist Not’, which are made almost entirely from reclaimed materials, including the backing and thread used for quilting (see below).

‘Cutting Up Jeans’ is a fabulous little zine that Eliu made in collaboration with quilt artist Zak Foster. 

Find out more about Zak Foster. 

Eliu is friends with fellow quilt artist, Heidi Parkes. 

Listen to my subsequent episodes with Heidi:

• Ep. #105: A Habit of Curiosity with Heidi Parkes
• Ep. #106: Reframing a Relationship with Clothing with Heidi Parkes

Eliu makes use of the reclaimed zips from deconstructed jeans by making these wonderful, and very useful, zippered pouches (see below):

A selection of Eliu’s reclaimed, handmade, leather thimbles:

We can all agree that mending items when they break to keep them in use out of landfill for longer is important. Repair cafes and organisations have been popping up across the globe to help facilitate keeping stuff in use for longer. But how much do you know about the inner workings of these groups and how they operate? And how much fun is it to volunteer for them, or even start one from scratch? My third replay episode of the summer is my conversation with Carla Bruni and Meg Grandstaff from Community Glue Workshop in Chicago. It’s a fascinating sneaky peek, as well as informative discussion, with Community Glue’s founder Carla and resident textiles mender Meg. 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Check out the Community Glue Workshop website and follow them on Instagram (@communityglue). 

Photos from some of the Community Glue Workshops can be enjoyed in the show notes from the original episode. 

Listen to my subsequent conversation with Meg:

• Ep. #103: Swimming in a Sea of Scraps with Meg Grandstaff

You can follow Meg’s sewing and knitting endeavours, as well as learn more about #scrapbustingseptember via IG @the_grand_stash.

This is the second part of my conversation with Maria Theoharous in advance of our feed swap next week. In this part we find out just how organised IS the maker of the Sew Organised Style podcast?! Plus we share which of our previous guests have surprised us and how…

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

This is the second instalment of a two-part conversation. Listen to the first part:

• Ep. #138: Making Sewing Podcasts with Maria Theoharous

Maria Theoharous makes the Sew Organised Style podcast. 

Follow Maria on Instagram (@velosews).  

Days for Girls is an organisation that attempts to eliminate the stigma and limitations associated with menstruation. 

I worked out my manifesto with my friend and former coach, Kim Witten, and encouraged others to do the same in Ep. # 71: Making Personal Manifestos with Kim Witten.

Maria was deeply moved when Denise Archer relayed her experience of living with breast cancer and the after effects. 

Birgitta Helmersson surprised me with an Australian accent when we met up to record:

• Ep.# 54: A Journey to Zero Waste with Birgitta Helmersson
• Ep.# 55: The Challenges of Zero Waste Design with Birgitta Helmersson

The input of the CYT listeners to create the Scrap Strategies episodes have had a direct impact on my sewing.  

One day I would love to record a conversation with Zero Waste Daniel!  

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.  

This episode is something of a love letter to my favourite mending technique: patching! Mending with patches is a beginner friendly option for giving most types of clothing and fabrics a longer life. Depending on your choice of patching fabric, it can be a bold statement, or a subtle repair. It offers plenty of opportunities for creativity, it can be achieved without a sewing machine AND can be deployed when other mending options fail you. Expanding on the patching sections from my book, ‘Mend it, Wear it, Love it!’, in this solo episode I offer up ideas for creative patching and share practical advice on achieving a successful repair. Plus I talk through the steps for two different approaches to patching for those who are new to garment mending. 

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The step by step techniques outlined in this episode are adapted from my book ‘Mend it, Wear it, Love it!’ which you can find HERE. 

List of materials and equipment you’ll need for basic patching:

Fabric to make patch 

Fabric scissors

Iron

Tape measure

Fabric marking tool

Hand sewing needle

Thread (colour to match or contrast with your patch)

Safety pins (use regular pins if your fabric is likely to be damaged by safety pins)

Thread snips or small scissors

A basic running stitch technique is shown in THIS VIDEO. 

A basic whip stitch technique is shown in THIS VIDEO. 

Examples of Sashiko-style stitching that I have previously attempted:

Daisy Braid, AKA DIY Daisy, produces fantastic garment-making tutorials. Available via her website, and in a newly released book called ‘Sew It Yourself’, Daisy has made drafting and sewing simple, stylish garments incredibly accessible. By removing the need for prior experience of drafting or even using sewing patterns, Daisy’s designs can be created for bodies of any size with just some basic sewing skills. In this conversation, she tells me about her journey from being an op-shop obsessed teenager to a published sewing author, why her designs err towards minimal waste and the motivation behind her #nomakemarch challenge. 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Find out more about Daisy via her website HERE and on IG @_diydaisy. 

Details about her book ‘Sew It Yourself’ are HERE. 

Daisy’s former works place in NZ is The Fabric Store HERE. 

The Stephanie Top project in her book is based on the Rectangle Top tutorial on her website HERE. 

Daisy’s Stephanie top variation worn as a jacket:

An example of Daisy’s patchwork:

People who inspire Daisy include:

• Geneva vanderzeil
• The Essentials Club 
• Rachel Burke
• Beci Orpin
• Birgitta Helmersson
• The London Loom
• Natalie Ebaugh
• The Buried Diamond

For Episode 45 I have a fascinating talk with Noah Hirsch, a maker, artist and scavenger based in Washington, USA. Both in his employment and in his spare time, Noah works to keep materials, particularly textiles, out of landfill. Noah tells me about the motivations behind his activities, his approach to repair and reuse and how to talk to others to inspire them to keep items in use for longer. In particular, I love hearing about his dumpster diving trips and the Sunnyland Free Pantry that he keeps stocked with mended clothes for members of his community in need of warm clothing. 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Find Noah Hirsch on Instagram @yung_curmudgeon

Noah works at a non-profit textile diversion enterprise called Ragfinery. Find them HERE and on Instagram @ragfinery_.

Find the awesome Clotheshorse podcast that aims to decode and demystify the clothing industry HERE. 

This frequently mended flannel shirt (see below) is the oldest item in Noah’s wardrobe that is still in regular rotation. 

Mending Bloc, the mutual aid clothes-mending group from Portland, Oregon, that inspires Noah can be found HERE.

Follow the Sunnyland Free pantry that Noah stocks with clothing on Instagram HERE. 

The patching technique that Noah was describing, we’ve since realised, is reverse applique. See an example that inspires Noah below:

A mend of Noah’s using the same technique:

As this year's Me-Made-May challenge draws to a close, Episode 44 offers us all an opportunity to gain insights from the experience. In this solo episode I share my thoughts and observations on what was different about this year’s challenge. Plus, I launch my free resource, the Me-Made-May and Beyond worksheet, which will help YOU capture your experience and take away key lessons from your challenge. These lessons can inform your future making plans, raising your chances of producing items you’ll love and want to wear again and again. 

Get your free worksheet by signing up to the Check Your Thread newsletter at the bottom of the home page HERE.

Already a CYT newsletter subscriber? You'll get your download link sent direct to your inbox.

For Episode #43, I’m speaking with experienced clothes-maker Kate Ng, who has spent years learning and thinking about conscious clothes making, and how to communicate these ideas. Through her wonderful blog and Instagram account Kate has dedicated untold hours to battling over-simplified messaging and greenwashing in ‘sustainable fashion’ and ‘sustainable sewing’. In this episode we also learn about her observations so far of the sewing scene in the Netherlands (her current home), the epiphany she had around fabric purchasing, and the inspiring IG challenges and hashtags she co-created. Kate always operates with intelligence and nuance, and the shift in her perspective to a healthier balance between ethics and the joy of making is a perfect example of this. 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Find Kate’s blog, Time to Sew, HERE and her Instagram account @timetosew. 

Fibre Mood, the sewing pattern and magazine brand that Kate has worked for is HERE.

More info on the Social Sewalongs Kate sometimes hosts can be found HERE.  

CocoWawa Crafts, sewing patterns designed by Ana, who currently lives and teaches in Amsterdam HERE. 

Take the Four Tendencies quiz HERE. 

Kate’s latest blog post, 5 Ways to Think About Your Fabric Stash is HERE.  

Kate’s favourite, The Kite Fold Tee by Made It Patterns can be purchased HERE (pictured below). 

Awesome Dutch pattern company, Misusu Patterns, with designs that are well suited to scrap busting HERE. 

My favourite Luna pants pattern by Made By Rae is HERE. 

Find previous-guest Wendy Ward HERE and on Instagram @thatwendyward. And listen to our conversation for the podcast in Episode #2: How to Sew Sustainably with Wendy Ward HERE. 

Kate’s other sources of inspiration:

• Sew Over 50 community HERE. 
• Suzy Quilts HERE. 
• Retold Vintage HERE. 
• Just Patterns HERE. 
• Pattern Fantastique HERE. 
• Fibre Mood HERE.

In this episode we’re getting conceptual! Episode #42 explores an idea that is fundamental to living as sustainably as possible: keeping resources at their highest possible level of use. This conversation is with awesome return-guest Shelly Sommer, who lays out the principles of a circular economy and why we should be aiming for this important goal, within our making practices and beyond. Shelly schools us on all this with her usual fun and joyful approach, whilst also sharing many practical, actionable tips for how we might enact responsible stewardship whilst sewing. In particular, she talks me through her method for making ‘new’ fabric from scraps, which is an approach I’m so inspired by and have been playing with ever since. 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Listen to my interview on the sustainable knitting podcast A Smaller Life HERE. 

Find Shelly and her incredible quilts and garment creations on her Instagram feed @encodedstudio. 

Listen to Shelly’s first appearance of CYT in Episode #19: Quilting and Conscious Consuming with Shelly Sommer HERE. 

Learn more about a circular economy on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation website HERE.

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

Listen to Episode #20: What Thread Should I Buy? HERE. 

Listen to Episode #15: Hand Stitching Clothes with Louisa Owen Sonstroem HERE. 

Check out Shelly’s scrap-busting mini quilts HERE (pictured below). 

Read about the dungarees I made my son from denim reclaimed from unworn garments HERE (pictured below).

The denim patchwork dungarees I then made with the leftovers can be found HERE. 

Find abstract quilting legend Sherri Lynn Wood HERE. 

Learn about the Gees Bend quiltmakers and their history HERE.