Check Your Thread: Sewing More Sustainably

I know that CYT listeners love to hear how sewing is being used to positively impact the lives of others, so I know you’re going to love today’s episode! For years, Mel Keane has been improving the lives of members of her community who are struggling through various types of volunteering. This has included setting up sewing workshops to help people clothe themselves and their families, as well as to build skills and confidence. The workshops Mel facilitated at a refugee centre helped forge a sense of community for people who found themselves isolated. And more recently, the sewing classes she runs help the participants find a sense of calm and stillness in otherwise very stressful lives. 

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Find Mel on Instagram (@melaniekeane).

Visit The Lighthouse’s website to learn more about where Mel volunteers:

The Stash Hub app helps Mel keep track of the donated fabrics. 

Mel starting (non-scrub) garment making using the PJs pattern in Tilly and the Buttons Love At First Stitch book.

She then moved on to Closet Core Pattern’s Carolyn Pajamas pattern.

Mel is active in the @SewOver50 community and helped start up @surreysews.

You can help them raise money for Sewing Stillness by attending the SewFizzTeaCated fundraising event that is taking place on Saturday 19th October 2024:

…or by participating in the #SewFizzTeaCated24 sewing challenge:

Mel will be hosting a session at The Virtual Sewing Room on Wednesday 18th September. 

Many of us sewers feel confused and even wary of the term deadstock fabric. Does buying fabric labelled ‘deadstock' really save it from landfill or incineration? Or are we enabling fabric producers and fashion brands to get away with overproduction, incentivising it even? And what’s the difference between ‘deadstock’ and ‘overstock’, and how, as consumers, can we tell the difference? 

This week, you’ll hear my conversation with Hannah and Rosie from London-based The New Craft House as they unpick this topic for us, leaving us all with a greater understanding. From school friends, to craft bloggers, to workshop facilitators to fabric purveyors, the current incarnation of their business is made possible by navigating the excesses and waste of the fashion industry. In this conversation Hannah and Rosie are super open and candid about how their business runs, and their plans and hopes for its more sustainable future. 

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Find The New Craft House online, via Instagram (@newcrafthouse) and IRL at their London studio:

They explain the nature of deadstock fabric on their website:

#sewyourselfsustainable is the hashtag they created to encourage the sewing community to explore more sustainable practices during September. 

Do you want to hang with me and regular guest Meg Grandstaff as we grill each other about sewing plans and goals, and cackle over basically everything? This episode is a chatty conversation in which we have a catch up about our current creative obsessions, projects and plans. 

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You can follow Meg’s sewing and knitting endeavours, as well as learn more about #scrapbustingseptember via Instagram (@the_grand_stash).

Previous episodes with Meg Grandstaff include:

Meg has been working on:

Meg tried the Seasonal Stash organisation system I came up with. You can hear about it and check out the FREE downloadable PDF version. 

Meg took an alterations class at Sew On Central in Evanston, IL, USA

Check out Meg’s incredible, reversible fabric:

…and her Gingham with lobsters fabric!:

Meg’s thinking of using pattern McCalls 6696 to make her shirtdress. 

During Scrap Busting September last year, Meg pieced together scraps of black jersey to make a Lago Tank:

My downloadable resource, How to Sew Clothes with Fabric Scraps, can help get creative and resourceful with scraps. 

I highly recommend making a meditation cushion using this tutorial by The Daily Sew. 

I made a yoga bolster with removable cover for my friend:

My failed vest/gilet knitting project:

This week’s episode provides a window into the ideas and processes of quilt artist Eliu Hernandez. Much of Eliu’s practice focuses on the reuse of existing materials, and he’s taken this further than you might previously have thought possible! I loved nerding out about denim with him, and even if denim isn’t your jam, this conversation may help you take reusing garments to a whole new level. We also discuss the portability of hand stitching and unpicking, crafting as a new parent, and consider the likelihood of a pair of jeans having been worn to rob a bank! 

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Find Eliu via his IG account @madeorremade. 

Eliu has made a series of quilts entitled ‘Waist Not’, which are made almost entirely from reclaimed materials, including the backing and thread used for quilting (see below).

‘Cutting Up Jeans’ is a fabulous little zine that Eliu made in collaboration with quilt artist Zak Foster. 

Find out more about Zak Foster. 

Eliu is friends with fellow quilt artist, Heidi Parkes. 

Listen to my subsequent episodes with Heidi:

Eliu makes use of the reclaimed zips from deconstructed jeans by making these wonderful, and very useful, zippered pouches (see below):

A selection of Eliu’s reclaimed, handmade, leather thimbles:

We can all agree that mending items when they break to keep them in use out of landfill for longer is important. Repair cafes and organisations have been popping up across the globe to help facilitate keeping stuff in use for longer. But how much do you know about the inner workings of these groups and how they operate? And how much fun is it to volunteer for them, or even start one from scratch? My third replay episode of the summer is my conversation with Carla Bruni and Meg Grandstaff from Community Glue Workshop in Chicago. It’s a fascinating sneaky peek, as well as informative discussion, with Community Glue’s founder Carla and resident textiles mender Meg. 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Check out the Community Glue Workshop website and follow them on Instagram (@communityglue). 

Photos from some of the Community Glue Workshops can be enjoyed in the show notes from the original episode. 

You can follow Meg’s sewing and knitting endeavours, as well as learn more about #scrapbustingseptember via IG @the_grand_stash.

Living in a way that limits your negative impact on the planet gets a bad wrap. It’s often viewed as restrictive, limiting, frustrating, dull, even joyless. This week’s episode is a replay of my conversation with a maker who blows that whole notion completely out the water. Sarah Lancaster, AKA Sarah Sew Love, is a New Zealand based sewing teacher, maker and sustainability phenomenon with a vibrant aesthetic and buckets full of positive energy. We talk about lots of things, from the social enterprise she started to teach people sewing and mending skills at music festivals,, to her love of creating with reclaimed fabric to make her fantastic product range. Sarah explains how making more sustainable choices can bring your life extra layers of enjoyment rather than restricting it, and if you don’t feel uplifted and inspired by the end of this episode, then I’ll give up podcasting! 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Follow Sarah Sew Love and her joyful aesthetic via Instagram (@sewlovenz).  

Sarah also has a website that brings together all aspects of her work and creativity. 

Her Etsy shop where Sarah sells handmade bumbags and towel ponchos is called SarahSewLove. 

Watch the amazing video of Sarah showing how to wear your bum bag depending on your dancing style.

At the time of recording the conversation, Sarah worked for Xtreme Zero Waste in Raglan, New Zealand. 

Other businesses and enterprises mentioned:

Have you ever sewn an entire garment by hand? Or even considered it? This week’s episode is a replay of a very popular conversation from the CYT archives with hand-stitching expert Louisa Owen Sonstroem. Louisa explains why you might want to do more stitching by hand rather than machine, and gives advice on how to start. 

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Louisa Owen Sonstroem has a website and can be followed on Instagram (@louisaowensonstroem). 

Find out more about Louisa’s book. 

Her book can be bought in PDF form via her Etsy shop. 

In the UK, Louisa’s book can be bought in paper form from Beyond Measure. 

Sometimes sticking to a tight budget can feel really complicated, as well as frustrating. But if you’re looking to spend less on your sewing, then I have five super simple tactics for you that require very little effort to implement. AND, what is even more awesome is that each one will automatically help you reduce the environmental impact on your sewing! 

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Image source: Tomáš Petz via Unsplash

Check out related episode:

Tactic #1: Finish a project before you start a new one. 

Related listen:

Tactic #2: Sew from your fabric stash.

Related listens:

Tactic #3: Buy less fabric than you need.

Tactic: #4 Remake a sewing pattern you made before. 

Related listen:

Tactic #5: When buying a sewing pattern, if it comes in both paper and digital PDF formats, go for the PDF.

Related listen:

Attending a fabric swap can be the most fun ever! It’s one of the most ethical ways to offload your unwanted fabric, plus it will also give you access to new-to-you fabric that you’re excited to sew with. AND you’ll get to meet other passionate sewers. In this episode you’ll be coming along with me and friend-of-the-podcast Catherine Weight as we attend the London Destash Fabric Swap. The event took place in January 2024 and was organised by Yvette from Stash Hub and Sarah from Olive Road London. Listen right to the end where Sarah shares some incredibly helpful tips on how you can organise a fabric swap of your own!

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

For a Covid-safer meet-up, check out these tips.

The London Destash Fabric Swap was organised by Sarah from Olive Road London and Yvette from Stash Hub app.

Sarah wrote an excellent post sharing heaps of tips on how to organise a successful fabric swap. 

Catherine Weight (@kittyandthetiger on Instagram) came with me to the Knitting and Stitching show in 2023. Listen to what we got up to:

Also attending the fabric swap was Tanya from Bornella Fabrics, who featured in the Knitting & Stitching Show episode also. 

Here's what Catherine brought back, plus the two wonderful garments she's made so far from fabric from the swap:

This the stack of fabric I took to the swap and the items I’ve made so far from my own fabric scores:

Thanks again to Sarah and Yvette for organising this wonderful event. 

It seems like every day, another small craft business announces that it’s closing down. In this solo episode I’m looking at the causes. What can we do to both support small businesses AND buy less new stuff for the sake of our planet?

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Image source: Tim Mossholder via Unsplash

Find out more about the Last Sewist Standing challenge:

This Forbes article, ‘The Benefits Of Shopping Small All Year Long’ by Jim Granat, was really interesting. 

The shoplocaluk.org website has some more useful information. 

I used the definition of the cost of living crisis from this fuelgenie.co.uk article. 

Enjoy Gina Ferrari’s Substack.