Yarn magazine issue 43: Getting closure

Yarn magazine issue 43

Yarn magazine issue 43 came out this week featuring my very last article, aptly named Get some Closure.  It’s been almost six years since I began writing articles for Yarn, and ten years since they published my first project.  There are no terrible reasons why I’ve decided to stop being a contributor; I’ve simply just…

Read More

Book review Zero Waste Fashion

Book review Zero Waste Fashion

The book Zero Waste Fashion by Timo Rissanen and Holly McQuillan (Bloomsbury 2016) has arrived and I’m keen to share my thoughts on it with you.  I ordered it last month when I wrote Considering zero waste fashion, which has become my second highest visited post. I cannot deny a frisson of excitement went through…

Read More

Sewing mythbusters: twisting thread

Twisting thread three spools of thread

I’ve just tested a theory I heard of a long time ago and always wondered about.  The theory is: When handsewing, does thread threaded from a spool twist more than if it were threaded from a bobbin?  In other words, does it matter which end is knotted?  Have you ever tried this to see?  I…

Read More

2 Good Reads

2 Good Reads

Lately I’ve been on a reading diet of fashion industry books, and just finished two really interesting ones.   The Thoughtful Dresser: The Art of Adornment, the Pleasures of Shopping, and Why Clothes Matter by Linda Grant (Scribner, 2010) is a great book for reading in the bath while eating chocolate!  It’s a book about…

Read More

Free pattern: children’s shorts

free childrens shorts pattern

Hi All, Last week’s pajama pants pattern draft has been tested on my favourite seven-and-a-half year old with great success!  I made her a pair of shorts in a very brightly printed cotton.  The fit is great and she really likes them.     I followed the same draft with three changes: The crotch depth…

Read More