SEWRENDIPITY
SEWING PROJECTS FOR A ZERO WASTE LIFE | SEWING VS WASTE WHEN CLEANING
SEWING

SEWING PROJECTS FOR A ZERO WASTE LIFE | SEWING VS WASTE WHEN CLEANING

During this difficult pandemic period, sustainability is perhaps not too high on people’s agenda. If anything, an undesirable side effect was the shunning of reusable options, especially outside the house. Moreover, we have also unwittingly increased the amount of disposable plastic, be it wipes, plastic gloves, disposable face masks, as well as take-away containers or other unrecyclable packaging when you did not have another choice based on what is available in the shops. However, life will go back to normal at some and we should go back to the good habits that we might have started forming with regards to…

26 May 2020
Leave a comment
SEWING CHALLENGES | IN OR OUT?
ACCORDING TO ALEX

SEWING CHALLENGES | IN OR OUT?

The Sewing Community sure love their sewing challenges. And of course, they all come with a hashtag… Myself, I am a bit on the fence, with my bum probably hanging slightly on the ‘against’ side. So, I wanted to explore this subject in one of those ‘conversation opener’ posts that I indulge in on the blog from time to time. I also did a quick straw poll on Instagram, and very much looking forward to discussing the pros and cons and getting your thoughts on the matter as well. Let’s dive right in. Sewing challenges – what are they? If…

11 February 2020
22 Comments
WHAT TO DO WITH HANDMADE CLOTHES YOU NO LONGER WEAR
SUSTAINABILITY

WHAT TO DO WITH HANDMADE CLOTHES YOU NO LONGER WEAR

If you are anything like me, with the swift transition from summer to autumn, or whatever this non-stop rain season is called, you might have been swapping your warm-weather wardrobe for the colder months one. I did that a few weeks ago and it provided a perfect opportunity to reassess and review my clothes in light of newfound style insights, changes in my preferences and wardrobe demands in my job, for both handmade and RTW items. This type of exercise usually comes with a massive purge. So I did a bit of thinking, a bit of research and I’d like…

23 October 2019
12 Comments
SUSTAINABILITY AND SEWING | WHAT IS THE MOST SUSTAINABLE FABRIC?
SEWING

SUSTAINABILITY AND SEWING | WHAT IS THE MOST SUSTAINABLE FABRIC?

In case you missed it, there is an Instagram photo challenge running at the moment, focusing on sustainability in sewing. I’m really terrible at those, but it did make me realise I haven’t posted any sustainability posts in quite a while. So I decided to cover a topic that I get asked about all the time, both in the sewing community, amongst my friends and family, but also at work. You might remember I am a sustainability professional in my day job, so my role is to advise designers and product techs how to make a garment as sustainable as…

6 September 2019
10 Comments
FIBRE MOOD MAGAZINE | ISSUE 5 REVIEW
SEWING

FIBRE MOOD MAGAZINE | ISSUE 5 REVIEW

A new sewing magazine appeared in the sewing community a while ago and it took me up to issue 5 to pay attention! Have you heard of Fibre Mood? No? Well, now’s your chance to find out more, so read on, as I promise it’s worth it! I was vaguely aware of some of their patterns, but I did not associate the name Fibre Mood with a physical magazine until I saw it on the shelves at WH Smith a few weeks ago. I had gone in to browse through the current Burda issue, to see if I fancy anything.…

15 August 2019
6 Comments
I MADE MY OWN TRAINERS AND SO CAN YOU
SEWING

I MADE MY OWN TRAINERS AND SO CAN YOU

I have been dreaming about making my own footwear for a long time now. And if you ever looked into it even remotely, you will know that it’s an expensive, complicated and time-consuming hobby. There are so many steps, tools and ingredients that you need to make proper shoes that are not espadrilles or other forms of simple sandals. But a few months ago, I went on a course and I darn well made my own leather trainers by myself! I am so proud to be now able to put together outfits that are 100% made by me, excluding underwear,…

8 August 2019
8 Comments
Zero Waste Sewing Patterns you should try
SUSTAINABILITY

Zero Waste Sewing Patterns you should try

When talking about sustainability in the fashion industry (and, by extension, in home sewing), one of the concepts that comes up often is zero-waste design (or sewing patterns). It’s a very interesting approach, that looks at the pattern cutting process in a completely different way, resulting in shapes that are functional, simple looking, but also very cleverly assembled at the same time. I have been meaning to sew my own version of a zero-waste pattern for a very long time, so I started doing some research to see what is available for home sewing. The bad news is that obviously…

7 June 2019
21 Comments
Sustainability vs Sewing | Is it killing creativity?
SEWING

Sustainability vs Sewing | Is it killing creativity?

I wrote a little while ago about losing my sewing mojo. I got a lot of great responses from the sewing community, a lot of empathy and a lot of advice. Thank you all again for engaging and sharing. (Btw,  I’m still not there yet in finding my sewjo, though working on it). There were some particular comments that really made me think about this topic from a different view-point and what can be the underlying cause. One person told me on Instagram that they feel scrutinised by this new trend of slow sewing and all the conversation about sustainability.…

23 May 2019
15 Comments
SEWING PROJECTS FOR A ZERO-WASTE LIFE | SEWING VS WASTE IN THE KITCHEN (PART 1)
SUSTAINABILITY

SEWING PROJECTS FOR A ZERO-WASTE LIFE | SEWING VS WASTE IN THE KITCHEN (PART 1)

Sewing for a zero waste life is turning into a series here on the blog. If you missed the initial post on fighting the Big 4 of disposable plastic with your secret weapon, sewing, you can check it out here. I also tackled waste in the bathroom in this post. Well, dear readers, the time has come now to tackle the waste in the kitchen that can be defeated with the help of our sewing skills, therefore cutting out waste from our lives and benefiting the environment. Plus such great scrap-busting ideas as well… So here are a few ideas…

29 March 2019
10 Comments
ON SEWING AND MOTIVATION |11 IDEAS FOR WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR SEWING MOJO
SEWING

ON SEWING AND MOTIVATION |11 IDEAS FOR WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR SEWING MOJO

Dear readers, I haven’t sewn in more than a month. Ok, I took up a pair of jeans for my husband, but that doesn’t really count, right? I am in a massive motivation slump when it comes to getting lost in my sewing room – which even a few months ago was the easiest thing in the world. If anything, I had to stop myself from doing too much of that and not be antisocial. A few weeks ago, I even had a sewing date with my pal Kate from Time to Sew, and instead of actually sewing, I ended…

24 March 2019
15 Comments