Check Your Thread: Sewing More Sustainably

If you’re a fan of making your own clothes, chances are you might also be into growing some of your own food. And like this week’s guest, garden consultant Pippa Chapman, highlights, once you start trying to be more sustainable in one area of your life, that approach usually spreads to other areas. In this episode Pippa actually takes the reins and gives me a consultation about my own little garden. She offers up advice on how I can use my space more productively and successfully. 

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Garden consultation 

Find Pippa Instagram’s feed @pippachapman_thoseplantpeople and Those Plant People’s Youtube channel and website.

The Cloud Gardener specialises in garden designs for balcony places. 

My post about saving seeds from shop bought baby plum tomatoes.

Pippa’s design for a milk bottle slug/snail trap:

Stephanie Hafferty is a proponent of the No Dig approach to gardening.

Pippa’s design for a double palette planter:

Huw Richards is a permaculture inspired gardener with a popular Youtube channel. 

My takeaways from the garden consultation:

Have you ever found yourself feeling unhappy with your sewing output? You’re making more items than your wardrobe can handle, or a lot of them are styles that you rarely wear in your regular life? Or both? My guest, Lena King, recently realised that her sewing output was no longer in alignment with her goals. In this episode she talks about what was going wrong and what she plans to do about it.  

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Follow Lena’s creative output and thoughts via Instagram @thatlenaking.

Lena also shares her thoughts in a longer format on her blog ‘The Unpick Stitch Papers’.  

The Seamwork / Colette Patterns Peony Dress pattern was one of Lena’s early successes in dressmaking. 

Read Lena’s initial post about losing her way with her sewing goals. 

#AnkaraFabricAppreciationWeek #sewankara23 is hosted by Lena and Juliet Uzor.

Lena’s Heather blazer looks amazing in Ankara fabric:

Lena worked hard to create a stunning Victoriana dress:

You can create a similar garment using Fabric Godmother’s Peony dress pattern.

How much is the mainstream sewing industry adopting a sustainability mindset these days? I went to the Knitting & Stitching show in London at the beginning of Oct 2023 to investigate. I tried to unearth any ethical and eco-minded motivations among the commerce taking place. So come with me and listen to the conversations I had and the conclusions I came to…

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Spending the day with my pal Catherine (@kittyandthetiger on Instagram)

Catherine and I attended the Knitting & Stitching show at Alexandra Palace in London in October 2023. 

I spoke to Jen Hogg who designs and sells sewing and knitting tools via her website, Etsy and through other retailers. Find Jen on Instagram @jenerates. 

Her most popular products are the seam circles and the silicon hot hemmer. 

Image source: Jenerates

Find the Stash Hub app on their website, on IG @stash_hub, or in your smart phone’s app store. 

You can catch up on all Yvettes ‘Stash Chats’ on YouTube, including one with me!

Lauren Tedstone was a contestant in the 2023 series of The Great British Sewing Bee. You can follow her on Instagram @madebylaurentedstone.  

Lauren introduced me to the Mimiquins custom mannequins and their creators. I then spoke to Jaire, one of the co-founders of the brand. 

Image source: Mimiquins

I bumped into Tanya from Bornella Fabrics who told me about her recent participation in a Street Stitching event.

Image source: Street Stitching

Louise from Ethel & Joan told me about her newest button, pin holder and jewellery designs. Find Louise’s business, Ethel & Joan, on her website, Etsy shop and IG @ethelandjoan. 

Do you worry about the hundreds of metres of polyester thread that most makers get through each year? Is the strength of polyester thread worth its lack of biodegradability? What are the viable alternatives available to us, and can we have the best of both worlds? My guest today is Richard from James Tailoring, a haberdashery business with the goal of bringing us better options. We get into how he started his eco-focused business, and making the best choices of thread for your projects.

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Find all the more sustainable haberdashery options Richard sources on the website James Tailoring.

I met Richard in April 2023 at the Sew Sustainable Fair in London. Listen to the episode I made including recordings taken at the event:

Listen to my previous thread-related episode:

Richard’s wife, Sharon, is the owner of and designer for Maven Patterns.

Find the James Tailoring’s selection of more sustainable thread, including the fine, medium and topstitching weights of Tencel thread I mentioned. 

Image source: James Tailoring

Does Halloween leave you feeling conflicted? You or your kids want to enjoy it, but the waste it generates leaves you feeling queasy? Today I break down how we can engage in Halloween costumes and decor more sustainably, using the ‘5Rs’ framework for guidance.  

Scary Halloween stats from Hubbub and Waste Managed:

Learn more about the 5 Rs, which are:

Read this eye-opening article about why composting is better than sending things to landfill. 

Today’s episode explores the idea that sewing, and the actions we take and choices we make whilst engaging in sewing, is full of social and political context. And why that’s a GOOD THING. 

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(image by Mika Baumeister via Unsplash)

Read the full explanation of the source of ‘the personal is political’ on Britannica. 

The materials of quilt making and garment sewing are the same. But what can quilt artists teach garment sewists about embedding meaning and connection into our creations? And should our sensory experiences of the textiles we wear alter our career paths? Just two of many intriguing threads of conversation that come up in today’s episode, the second of two with quilt artist Heidi Parkes. 

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Photo by Clare Britt @clarebrittcreative

This is the second part of my conversation with Heidi Parkes. Here the first half:

You can explore Heidi Parkes’ work via her website. Heidi also posts on Instagram @heidi.parkes, and has a YouTube channel.  

Heidi’s quilt ‘But, Was That Me?’ featuring the skirt she wore whilst teaching:

Photo by Heidi Parkes

We discuss the sewing for body changes episodes:

Heidi relates to some of the descriptions within The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N Aron. 

A recent creation made by Heidi from a quilt given to her by a former yoga student:

Photo by Heidi Parkes

Listen to Heidi’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast:

Heidi was inspired by artist Andrea Zittel’s uniform projects. 

Follow Heidi on Pinterest at HeidiParkesArt.  

Are you, like me, fascinated by people who have been able to express themselves in a variety of disciplines? My guest, Heidi Parkes, is an improvisational quilt artist, mending expert, garment sewist, and so many more things, living in Wisconsin, USA. Heidi explains how developing a habit of curiosity has allowed her to explore her interests whilst moving through different, but connected, creative worlds. This episode contains the first half of our conversation, make sure to listen to the second half next week. 

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Show notes:

Check out my chat with Yvette from Stash Hub app on YouTube.

Photo by by Tiffany Talbott @frontstreetimages

You can explore Heidi Parkes’ work via her website. Heidi also posts on Instagram @heidi.parkes, and has a YouTube channel.  

I thoroughly recommend that you listen to Heidi’s latest appearance on Zak Foster’s podcast Seamside.

Photo by by Tiffany Talbott @frontstreetimages

Check out the wonderful Soft Bulk lecture series of videos on YouTube.

Listen to my conversation with Heidi’s friend and fellow quilter, Eliu Hernandez:

Heidi references Brené Brown’s book ‘Atlas of the Heart’, which explores eighty seven emotions as outlined by Brown. 

Photo by by Tiffany Talbott @frontstreetimages

Heidi is inspired by (among many others, no doubt!):

The small quilts (as well as the large quilts!) are available through the shop on Heidi’s website 

See the Vignettes Quilt no. 2.

Have you ever bought a second-hand sewing machine and it turned out to be a dud? It didn’t work properly or perhaps it didn’t do the things you needed it to. If so, it may have discouraged you from getting a second hand machine again. And if you haven’t bought a second hand machine before, maybe you have some fears that’s put you off? In this solo episode, I’m going to share some key tips that will help you find a second-hand sewing machine that you’ll love. I’ll also share some tips for getting a machine for free! 

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My scrap-busting undies! Tencel/elastane jersey for the backs, pieced together cotton/elastane jerseys for the front. The pattern used is my FREE SoZo Undies pattern:

Image credit: Alicia Cristin Gerald via Unsplash

The London-based Library of Things has lots location across London, and has now spread to Brighton & Hove. You can borrow a sewing machine for £5 per day or £20 per week. 

If you are in the UK, you can probably find your local sewing machine servicing and repairs person via the Yellow Pages. 

Closet Core Patterns have a great free pattern and tutorial to make a sewing machine or overlocker/serger cover. 

What do you do when you’re swimming in a sea of fabric and yarn scraps? Previous guest Meg Grandstaff has recently been concerning herself with just this question! This week’s episode is a highly unstructured conversation between myself and Meg, who is currently hosting the #ScrapBustingSeptember challenge. We talk about scraps, of course, but also storms, stashes, shirt dresses and much more. 

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I am THRILLED to be able to share with you that I was a guest on Clotheshorse podcast! You can hear Part 1 of our conversation here and Part 2 here, or find them in your podcast app-of-choice.

You can follow Meg’s sewing and knitting endeavours via IG @the_grand_stash.

Listen to Meg’s previous appearances on CYT:

Meg is currently hosting the #ScrapBustingSeptember challenge, which encourages us all to make projects using our scraps and leftovers of fabric and yarn.  

I mentioned how I use both the Trello app and the Stash Hub App (both on my phone) to organise my sewing plans and projects. 

Learn more about the amazing enterprise, Community Glue, where Meg regularly volunteers. 

Meg is a repeat participant of Me-Made-May.

She enjoyed using the Me-Made-May Workbook this year to get more from her participation. 

Meg discovered the ‘Stitched Sewing Organizers’ by Annela Hoey (link goes to a British vendor’s website):

This is the project Meg wants to make form the book:

Sewing patterns Meg recommends for using scraps and leftovers of knit fabric:

Image source: Meg Grandstaff - undies made using the Stevie Knickers pattern by Paper Theory.

Meg has been hoovering up yarn leftovers by making socks and knitted scrunchies:

Meg and I are both massively inspired by clothing creator Zero Waste Daniel,  also @zerowastedaniel on IG. 

Meg’s scrap studio tunic from denim:

Image source: Meg Grandstaff - tunic made using the Studio Tunic pattern by Sew Liberated. 

Find all my Free Pattern Friday blog posts which review free sewing patterns and tutorials.