Getting 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…

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Absolutely 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…

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Progress 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…

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Jacket 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),…

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Sewing success! A bigger bumbag

The larger size bumbag I started sewing last week is now finished (and my children’s predictable bum jokes continue…). I’m so thrilled with how this bag turned out! I took the zero waste waist bag pattern I made 2 years ago and simply got it printed it out at double the size, to make a…

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A Bigger Bumbag

(Or as my children said: it’s a bag for a bigger bum, Mum!) For some time I’ve been thinking about making a larger version of the zero waste waist bag to wear as a cross body bag. I saw a larger version on Instagram which inspired me, and then lately a friend said she’d just…

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6 Ways to Wear a Tartan Skirt

Hi Everyone, I’m back on this blog after 4+ weeks of “sick leave” with covid. Feeling tired but a lot brighter now. Sue Stoney’s blog post on her tartan skirt has given me the nudge I needed to think about tops for my own tartan skirt. The zero waste Clair skirt is my favourite-ever zero…

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Free pattern: water bottle holder

This pattern appeared in my newsletter a few years ago, and the ones we made have been so spectacularly useful that I thought I’d share it as a blog post. I made them with my children, and they’ve taken them on school camps, on walks, to swimming and on their bikes. My children made their…

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The jeans waist expansion project

My waist measurement fluctuates wildly these days, growing by up to 10cm/4″ (ie 2 sizes). I don’t think I can conveniently blame the pandemic – I think it would have happened regardless. My tummy muscles are shot to pieces, post-partum and beyond, and I’m becoming a woman of a certain age. Those blog photos where…

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New pattern: zero waste bag duo

Hi Everyone, I have a new zero waste pattern. Actually it’s two patterns, both bags. It’s in my Etsy shop now; please enjoy 25% off for the next month. Both patterns are together in the same listing. They’re very suitable for walking, cycling….or making as presents for the walker or cyclist in your life! Both…

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