Check Your Thread: Sewing More Sustainably

Get a sneak peek into the Virtual Sewing Room, a business set up by Jenny Babey that offers online connection with other makers around the globe. Jenny invited me to talk in the VSR last month about my specialist subject: sewing more sustainably. You’ll hear from Jenny about what drew her to setting it up and why you might want to attend, and then you’ll hear the first half of the session I participated in. We get into the fundamentals, as I see them, of sewing more sustainably and I offer up some easy starting points. And we get into a discussion about zero waste sewing patterns, and Jenny and another attendee share their experiences. 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Find the Virtual Sewing Room website to learn more and book a session. 

During the Making for Charity sessions, Jenny often makes washable menstrual pads for the Pachamama Project to help fight period poverty.

A couple of the regular attendees took part in the Last Sewist Standing challenge last year, inspiring other attendees to be more mindful in their fabric purchases also. 

We also talked about the Stash Hub app as a way to track your project ideas and inspiration. 

Zero waste pattern designers we mentioned:

My version of the ZW Workwear Jacket pattern:

Do you love bringing new life into existing clothes? How do you decide when a vintage garment should be faithfully restored, or upcycled and transformed? And what is the environmental impact of saving old clothes from landfill anyway? This week I’m bringing you a fascinating conversation with micro-business owner, Debbie Murphy. Debbie explains how a youth spent sewing clothes to fit in with the style tribes of the 1980s led her to a career in costuming and vintage clothing restoration. She also shares how a health diagnosis sharpened her commitment to zero waste practices in her business, and the study that was done on her business which revealed incredible facts about the impact she's having. 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Check out Debbie’s creations on her website, Missfit Creations, and follow her on Instagram (@missfitcreates). 

We referred to the small and shared spaces sewing episodes. Queue them up to listen if you haven’t heard them already!

Read the study undertaken on the environmental impact of Debbie’s business. 

Debbie referenced mender, Suzie Ellis (@tailsandtextiles on Instagram) 

Do you have a passion for vintage textiles but have yet to work them into your wardrobe? Are you unsure of how to deal with the limited yardage of thrifted textiles? Marcia Riddington and Lisa Hughes, along with the rest of their collective, ‘Curtains for Couture’, share a desire to demystify working with existing textiles and to encourage people to wear what they really want. In this episode, Lisa and Marcia share their tips on sourcing, sewing and styling, so you too can wear ‘curtain couture’ with confidence and joy.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Follow Marcia Riddington on Instagram (@marcialoisriddington). 

Follow Lisa Hughes on Instagram (@vintage_dahling). 

Along with Jill, Sorrel, Claire and Nicky, they form the Curtains to Couture collective that can be followed on Instagram also (@curtainstocouture). Four members of the crew:

You can use their hashtag #curtainstocouture to share your own upcycled curtain creations!

The Sussex-based fabric and pattern company, Merchant & Mills, started the #lessthanametre hashtag, in part to showcase their range of ‘Less than a Metre’ patterns.   

Recommended patterns:

(image source: The Trapeze Dress pattern by Merchant & Mills)

Marcia recommends following mending expert Alexandra Brinck (@alexandrabrinck)

A detail from Marcia’s favourite pair of mended jeans:

The jeans are worn here with the jacket Marcia made from a thrifted needlecord tunic:

Marcia’s Christmas frock is a great example of how you can incorporate smaller pieces of fabric into a larger garment by combining them with other fabrics:

Do you find that sometimes you lack the necessary motivation to tackle your mending tasks? Like many Check Your Thread listeners, you might be taking part in the Winter of Care and Repair challenge at the moment, and the zeal you experienced at the beginning might be flagging at this point. But even if you’re not participating in that challenge, today I’m bringing you a dose of motivation to help you tackle the broken items that need your love and attention. We’ll hear from a bunch of lovely CYT patrons who have kindly shared what mending they’ve been up to, to remind us that we’re part of a wider global community of people who are all trying to care for our belongings.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

(image source: Elios Santos via Unsplash) 

Learn about the Winter of Care and Repair challenge and hear from its creator here:

Hannah’s awesome jeans repairs:

A related episode is:

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, a whole industry has built up around home sewing with the primary goal of selling us lots of stuff. Most businesses rely on shifting a large volume of products, so much of what’s been designed for us is pretty bland and homogenous, including a lot of what comes out of the traditional publishing industry. However, some creators are sharing their sewing knowledge by creating really interesting products outside of the usual production and distribution methods. In this episode I talk to zero waste sewing expert, Liz Haywood, about her recent innovative project: a series of self-published zines that can be combined to form a book. We explore why creators might choose the DIY route, how you might go about it, AND how it can be better for the planet. 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Listen to my previous conversation with Liz Haywood:

Liz created an amazing minimal-waste sunhat pattern:

And a zero waste beanie hat pattern!

Read more about Liz’s collaboration with Nicole Akong on the beach towel kaftan pattern:

Liz created the Optimatium dress pattern for Tauko Magazine, see below how the photoshoot looked for the magazine layout:

Check out Liz’s denim coat version of the Optimatium pattern. 

All the ‘A Year of Zero Waste’ zines and book are available on Liz’s Etsy shop, and January’s FREE instalment can be downloaded via her ‘The Craft of Clothes’ blog.

Gregory Lagola (Gregory Joseph) is the New York-based designer featured in the December zine.  

Quilter Zak Foster has created a range of printable, digital zines. Included in that range is the ‘Cutting Up Jeans’ zine made with previous CYT guest Eliu Hernandez:

Liz made the Cris Wood Sews Cinch Belt Pattern, a FREE sewing pattern. 

Liz also made these amazing trousers from the book ‘Couture Zéro Chutes’ by Charline Durpoix and Mylène L’Orguilloux.

AND she made the FREE ZW Eccles Cardigan pattern by Empty Hanger Patterns.

Find all my downloadable resources through which I share my own hard-won sewing knowledge!

Outdoor clothing and equipment often pose some very specific problems when they start to break. This is my second episode with Rosanna Watson from Snowdonia Gear Repair, and in this one she offers up tips for repairing down and puffy jackets, and items with seams and zips that are glued. And, on top of sharing her practical advice, Rosanna puts everything into perspective with her repair philosophy: that you don’t have to make the garment look like it did when it left the factory, it just has to function!

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

The Snowdonia Gear Repair team (left-right: Rosanna, Jos, Sadie and Ceri):

You might have previously heard Rosanna on Check Your Thread in Episode 94 when we had a feedswap with the Garmology podcast and last week’s episode:

Check out the Snowdonia Gear Repair website and follow them on Instagram (@snowdoniagearrepair).

They also now host in-person repair classes!

Other repair experts to follow on Instagram:

Skye from Slow Stitch Club has written a book called ‘Well Worn: Visible Mending for the Clothes You Love’:

Rosanna recommends glues/adhesives by Gear Aid. Snowdonia Gear Repair stock some via their website if you’re based in the UK. 

Sources for repair-sized (or larger) amounts of outdoor fabrics:

Author Rachel S. Gross wrote a book called ‘Shopping All the Way to the Woods: How the Outdoor Industry Sold Nature to America’.

Pics of the Snowdonia Gear Repair shop and workshop:

The clothes and equipment you buy to spend time outdoors often requires a sizable investment. And when they break, the idea of fixing them yourself might seem pretty daunting. Over the next two episodes, repair-expert Rosanna from Snowdonia Gear Repair, is talking us through the repairs you can tackle yourself at home, to keep your favourite jacket or backpack in use for longer. Rosanna also advises on what to look for when buying outdoor gear in the first place, and how to best care for those items to ensure they have a long and useful life.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

You might have previously heard Rosanna on Check Your Thread in Episode 94 when we had a feedswap with the Garmology podcast.  

Check out the Snowdonia Gear Repair website and follow them on Instagram (@snowdoniagearrepair).

Jos, Rosanna's partner, doing some sewing machine maintenance in their workshop:

Rosanna recommends the various patches by Gear Aid (US site). Some of which are also available from Snowdonia Gear Repair if you’re in the UK. 

Outdoor Gear Advice UK is a valuable Facebook group. 

Rosanna is loving the recently published ‘Mountain Style: British Outdoor Clothing 1953-2000’ by Henry Iddon and Max Leonard.

Chris Townsend, whilst not the founder of Karrimor as Rosanna suggested, IS a widely published outdoor writer and photographer. 

Nikwax create a wide range of products to help care for laminated and outerwear fabric, including their Tech Wash that cleans whilst retaining water repellency and revives breathability:

Seam seal tape for laminated fabrics are available from many sources. Here’s one source I found via a UK website.  

If I asked you what you consider fun, my guess is that laundry and garment care do not immediately spring to mind. However, keeping our clothing in good, wearable condition for as long as possible, is an important part of living more sustainably. And it really doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. I’m about to share five simple practices that, if you turn them into habits, will give your clothes the best shot at a long and happy life.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

(image source: Annie Spratt via Unsplash) 

1) Wash as infrequently as possible

2) Don’t sleep on a stain

Writer Nancy Birtwhistle (@nancy.birtwhistle on IG) is an expert on stain removal.

3) Hang dry whenever possible

I´m a big fan of my DriBUDDi!:

4a) Question if it requires ironing

4b) Iron on reverse

If you want to go deep into pressing cloths, check out this guide from Threads Magazine.

5) Store each item in your wardrobe correctly, according to garment AND fibre type

Friday Pattern Company recently released a free/pay-what-you-can garment bag pattern:

(image source: Friday Pattern Co.)

Are you ready to wrap up 2024, to look back at a year’s worth of sewing wins and fails, and consider some hopes and plans for 2025? I got together with two of your favourite previous podcast guests, Lise Bauer and Meg Grandstaff, to have this unapologetically lengthy conversation. So if you’ve got a long journey this festive season, or you need some company during a stint in the kitchen, let the three of us join you. Also, we answer the all important question: what forms of potato the three of us are going to be enjoying over the Winter.

Stick around a few minutes and we’ll crack on!

Lise Bauer (@miss.taeschli on Instagram)

Listen to Lise in the previous episode:

Meg Grandstaff (@the_grand_stash on Instagram)

Listen to Meg in previous episodes:

Meg's genius reinterpretation of her baby mitten fail into chair socks win!

My daughter’s ‘Goblincore’ scrappy cardigan:

My hideous knitted vest fail:

Did you participate in the Winter of Care and Repair challenge last year? Do you plan to do so this year? I’m welcoming Jeanna Wigger, the challenge’s creator and host, back onto the podcast. Jeanna and I have both been thinking about how we can use the challenge to implement the changes we want to see in the world, on a personal level, community level and global level. Jeanna and I share what important actions we plan to take in the months ahead. 

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Jeanna is the creator of the #winterofcareandrepair challenge, also #winterofcareandrepair2023.

You can follow Jeanna on Instagram @thepeoplesmending.

Listen to my previous conversations with Jeanna about the Winter of Care and Repair challenge:

I plan to use the WOCAR challenge to help me enact the plans that I laid out in:

Jeanna and I are both supporters of the writer Aja Barber over on Patreon.

UK residents:

US residents:

Learn more about the OR Foundation

Fashion Revolution is another awesome organisation that can also advise on how to take action. 

Discover how ethical or otherwise your current banking or investments are via Bank.Green You can also use the site to find an alternative and learn how to make the switch. 

Jeanna suggests taking the Fibershed Sustainable Closet Audit. 

Jeanna uses Appblock to set controls on her screen time.