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…

Read More

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…

Read More

Stitchin’ away at those zero waste jeans

Zero waste jeans front knee patches sewn

Work is part way through the zero waste jeans project (last week I cut them out and the week before I did research and procrastinated). I’m happy with how things are going so far and I’m enjoying putting them together. I forgot to buy a zip so I’ve done everything possible before the fly front…

Read More

On a quest for zero waste jeans

Zero waste jeans fabric

An item which isn’t on my sewing bucket list (but should be) is to make a pair of zero waste jeans. What do I mean by zero waste jeans? I mean a pair of jeans cut using 100% of the fabric, with no scraps, offcuts or waste. The layout needs to fit neatly within the…

Read More

3 Useful sewing ideas

3 Useful sewing ideas

A short post this week, with three unrelated sewing ideas I hope you’ll find useful…   Unpicker cover The Clover unpicker, while expensive, is considered by many to be the unpicker of choice, with its smooth sharp blade and comfortable handle. However, it comes with a flimsy sleeve to protect to blade (which I lost). …

Read More

A small gallery of Visible Mending

Visible mending

Hello Folks, I’ve been preparing some samples for a visible mending workshop in November. While I tend to be a fan of invisible mending (as explored in this post), I do like the combination of embroidery, denim, running stitch and creatively working through the household’s mending pile. The technique is very simple and kinda fun.…

Read More

The Jeans Recycling Challenge the final analysis

the-jeans-recycling-challenge-the-final-analysis-jeans

The Challenge: Transform a torn pair of jeans into something useful, re-using every part of the jeans.         The jeans recycling challenge is now finished.  I just couldn’t find a use for the final scraps; they were too scrappy.  They didn’t end up in the bin -I added them to a cushion…

Read More

The Jeans Recycling Challenge the last leg

the-jeans-recycling-challenge-the-last-leg-all-the-scraps

The Jeans Recycling Challenge: Transform a torn pair of jeans into something useful, re-using every part of the jeans. The story so far…                           I haven’t quite finished the jeans recycling challenge yet.  I still have the slippers to sew, and some small…

Read More

The Jeans Recycling Challenge

The Jeans Recycling Challenge back view of bag

The Challenge: Transform a torn pair of jeans into something useful, re-using every part of the jeans. These jeans belonged to my sister and were worn during The Maternity Years.     What I have been wanting to make for a while is a jeans handbag, after a friend visited with one she’d made.  There…

Read More