The UFO Catalogue (complete and unabridged)
We’ve all got them, haven’t we? UFOs or UnFinished Objects. Projects lying around the house that just need a hem or buttonholes – maybe you lost interest, or lost weight….or it didn’t turn out how you expected and you screwed it up in a ball and threw it at the wall. I regret to admit…
Read MoreFinished! A Year of Zero Waste Sewing: November and December
Yesterday afternoon I finished the final instalment of what’s turned out to be a two-year project, A Year of Zero Waste Sewing. It’s a book I’m experimentally publishing in instalments as zines. Each zine comes as a file to print out at home (it prints out on 3 double-sided pieces of paper, which are folded…
Read MoreFREE sewing library bookplate
Do you have a library of sewing books at home? I’m guessing that you do. I sure do! Sewing books have been on my mind lately, as I’ve been considering the front and back sections of A Year of Zero Waste Sewing (at this stage I haven’t quite finished the November and December instalments, but…
Read MoreGetting closure on the denim jacket
This blog post has been two weeks in the making – I was thwarted by an electrical storm last week which took out our modem and phone line. But after services were restored and I was ready to hit publish, Mr H happened to see it and said he didn’t like what I’d done with…
Read MoreAbsolutely riveting: re-using jeans pockets
The jacket I’m making from old jeans now has pockets unpicked off one of the original pairs. (Are you also making a jacket from jeans? The previous posts are here and then here.) I’ve had lots of useful advice for re-using the jeans pockets; thank you for all the ideas. The two big issues were…
Read MoreProgress report: denim jacket
A couple of weeks ago I began making a jacket out of denim jeans. The jeans had been rejected by the opshop and I used 3 pairs. The jacket is my sew-a-long project for Zero and Zen, a course I’m co-presenting with Kate Ward. I’ve since started the sashiko stitching which is going across the…
Read More10 DIY Present Ideas
It’s coming up to that time of Christmas and end-of-year gift giving. The truly organised will have started present-planning back in June or July, but that isn’t most people! If you’re planning to make gifts, here are 10 ideas: 1. Water bottle holder (free pattern) The pattern and instructions are here. Make one from a…
Read MoreNew zero waste pattern: Optimatium dress
Hi Everyone! I have a new zero waste pattern. Introducing the Optimatium dress. The pattern is in Tauko magazine, Issue #9. The theme of the magazine’s issue is Blue. My take on the theme was “Blue can be conservative, in a good way”, and Optimatium is a conservative dress. Optimatium is Latin for conservative or…
Read MoreJacket Making for Zero and Zen
During the week I started sewing a jacket as my project for Zero and Zen, an online course that artist Kate Ward and I are offering. We offered this course last year and it was very popular; it combines sewing a modular jacket (with me) with learning to stitch various sashiko stitch patterns (with Kate),…
Read MoreSleeves, Triangles, and the Arc T-Shirt
Last week’s post had (I thought) satisfied the head-scratching on using triangles as sleeves. But was it “correct”? Here’s a quick re-cap: This is how I thought the sleeves might be formed: Here it is tried in fabric, full-scale. It works OK, although I’m not sure how to control the width of the sleeve for…
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