Clothes Making Mavens

By Clothes Making Mavens

What's Clothes Making Mavens about?

Clothes Making Mavens is a sewing podcast about handmade fashion. Helena and Lori discuss their favourite pastime--sewing clothes--and talk to other people who are also passionate about sewing. For information and episodes, visit ClothesMakingMavens.com.

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Clothes Making Mavens episodes:

06.04.2020
Podcast Ep041: Sewing Phases
The podcast begins with our statement against anti-black racism. We talk about how the sewing community has a racism problem, and we offer our podcast as a platform for black sewists if they wish to talk about these issues and...
05.03.2020
Podcast Ep040: Leila and Jess of Muna & Broad
Muna and Broad is a new indie pattern company that specializes in making patterns in sizes that start where most other patterns end their sizing. We talk to Leila and Jess of Muna and Broad about why they started the...
03.29.2020
Podcast Ep039: What's Happened to the Big 4 Pattern Companies?
Our Font of All Sewing Knowledge Barbara laments that the Big Four sewing pattern companies (Vogue, Butterick, McCalls, and Simplicity) aren't what they once were. Has the art and craft of pattern drafting taken a turn for the worse? The...
03.07.2020
Podcast Ep038: Sewing in Japan with Emilia Bergoglio
Helena and Lori chat sewing with Emilia Bergoglio, whose minimalist style and sustainable approach are informed by not only Emilia's Italian heritage, but also her current life in Tokyo.
02.04.2020
Podcast Ep037: A Mavens Extravaganza!
We decided to start the year with some fun by getting ALL FOUR Clothes Making Mavens together to talk about our plans for the new year. We found that we all have different ways of approaching our sewing project planning!...
12.23.2019
Podcast Ep036: Montoya Mayo
In this episode, Lori invites you to join in the #SlowFashion2020 challenge, our Joy Correspondent Hila recommends some great sewing-themed books for you to slow down and enjoy, and the Mavens chat with Montoya Mayo about her bold and colourful...
11.16.2019
Podcast Ep035: sewing, micromastery, and life
After a filling each other in on a few life updates, we get down to what we've sewn lately. Helena had some fails to share and then we move on to talk about more successful projects. We also hear from...
08.21.2019
Podcast Ep034: Sewing for a Good Cause
Sometimes we like to use our sewing superpowers for good. In this episode, we share ideas for how our passion for sewing can help more than just our own closets. First, Barbara shares her enthusiasm for helping new sewers fall...
07.19.2019
Podcast Ep033: Confessions of a Serial Stasher with Psychic Sewer Kathleen
After the impromptu pledge of no more fabric buying live on last month's episode, both Lori and Helena have taken another look at their stashes. There are a lot of ways to look at those piles of fabric we inevitably...
06.06.2019
Podcast Ep032: Sewing, Stashing and Traveling
Pull up a sewing machine and grab a cuppa and get your sewing chat on! Lori & Helena catch up on what they've been sewing, their trip to Portland, Oregon to hang out with 98 of their best sewing friends,...
04.30.2019
Podcast Ep031: Sewing, Body Image, and Mental Health
As both a sewist and a full time psychologist, Charlie from This Blog is not for You" gave us an inside look into just how our hobby benefits our mental health. Many of us have felt the positive environment of...
03.04.2019
Podcast Ep030: What Shannon wants pattern companies to know about their fat, queer customers
An interview with the talented Shannon from the With A Rare Device blog! Not only does she contribute to the sewing community with her stunning garments she creates for her and her partner, but she admits to being somewhat of...
01.22.2019
Podcast Ep029: What we loved, hated, and learned in 2018
Lori and Helena charged through 2018 with high hopes and big dreams, but didn't quite make their goal of not purchasing clothes for the entire year. Both still learned a lot from their experience, and they share their findings. But...
12.20.2018
Podcast Ep028: Alex of Sewrendipity on the Great British Sewing Bee and Sustainable Sewing
Alex of Sewrendipity is our guest. We love her style and you're going to love her energy! She tells us what it was like to be a contestant on the Great British Sewing Bee, her thoughts on crafting a meaningful...
11.29.2018
Podcast Ep027: Advice to our younger sewing selves with Cennetta Burwell of The Mahogany Stylist
Whether you've been sewing for 2 years or 20 years, you don't know what you don't know until later. This episode we talked to Cennetta Burwell of The Mahogany Stylist about her enduring love of sewing and what advice we...
10.18.2018
Podcast Ep026: A Ready-to-Wear-Fast Confession and Q&A with Barbara Emodi
Helena, Lori and Barbara sat down to empty out what has been swirling around our sewing brains recently. We've all been doing a lot of sewing and we had a lot to talk about, including a shocking confession! We took...
09.06.2018
Podcast Ep025: Emily Hallman Designs in Color
One thing that we love about Emily Hallman is that she knows her style! Her blog and especially her Instagram feed is a party for the eyes as she organizes her sewing into "collections" that tell a strong color story...
08.13.2018
Podcast Ep024: An Interview with Marcy Harriell of Oonaballoona
In this interview with the fabulous Marcy Harriell of the Oonaballoona blog, Lori and Helena got the scoop on Marcy's exciting new project, where she combines her comfort in front of a camera (she is a working actor) with her...
07.15.2018
Podcast Ep023: Sewing Community IRL
In this episode, we reached out to hear some different perspectives on the question of "What do in-person sewing community meet-ups contribute to your sewing experience?" Lori and Helena recap their fun experience at PR weekend, then we hear from Mimi...
06.17.2018
Podcast Ep022: Sustainable Sewing with Kate Ng
Lori chats with Kate Ng of TimetoSew.uk about sustainability. What does sustainability mean when it comes to sewing? What practices can we adopt and which fabrics should we look for if we're concerned about the impact our hobby has on...
05.26.2018
Podcast Ep021: Passing the Mic to You
We are passing the mic again to hear listener's stories. Prompted by our monthly questions, Michelle, Andie and Pauline allow us into their sewing rooms to hear about their proudest moments, embarrassing items, and what they are working on now....
04.15.2018
Podcast Ep020: Sew with the Flow
When we sew garments, we're sewing to fit our bodies. But women's bodies change often -- at least once a month. So we're Sewing with the Flow on this episode: sewing for menstruation and menopause. Lori & Helena talk with...
03.14.2018
Podcast Ep019: Fast Fashion Fasting
Helena and Lori discuss their recent adventures in Mood and LA fashion district when they finally met for the first time! They also discuss some of their thoughts about taking on the RTW Fast challenge for 2018. You'll also hear...
02.13.2018
Podcast Ep018: Pick a Challenge or a Sewalong!
We thought, while the new year is still fresh, that we would highlight some of fun Challenges and Sewalongs in case you wanted to jump in with us! We have 3 mini interviews to share, a primer on interfacing from...
02.02.2018
Podcast Episode017: Let's hear from you!
We asked you to get in touch and let us know what you get up to when you're not sewing, why you love to sew, and what's on your sewing table right now, among other things. We hear from Naomi...
01.06.2018
Podcast Ep016: Barbara Emodi from Sewing on the Edge
Lori and Helena talked holiday sewing with the hilarious and enthusiastic Barbara from Sewing on the Edge. We discuss sewing gifts and also Barbara's book, SEW ...The Garment-Making Book of Knowledge: Real-Life Lessons from a Serial Sewist, which is available...
12.19.2017
Podcast Ep015: Friends Talk Sewing, and so should you!
Inquiring minds want to know! What do you do when you're not sewing? What's on your sewing table right now? These questions and more will be answered by Hila from Saturday Night Stitch, Sasha from Secondo Piano, and hosts Lori...
11.10.2017
Podcast Ep014: Deepika from Pattern Review
An interview with PatternReview.com's fearless leader, Deepika Prakash, about the resources you may not be familiar with on the community-driven site. With her heart full of love for sewing, Deepika facilitates a wonderful community of passionate sewists that offer help,...
10.20.2017
Podcast Ep013: A Tour of Sharadha's Closet Full of Handmades
Sharadha of SweetShard.com has made herself a million-dollar wardrobe on a dime-store budget. Having spent way too many hours fawning over Sharadha's blog, Instagram account, and YouTube channel, Lori finally decided to just invite herself over to Sharadha's place...
09.08.2017
Podcast Ep012: The Literary Sewalong with Melanie from Following the Thread
Lori and Helena invited Melanie from Following the Thread to chat about her idea for a Literary Sewing Circle. We will be reading a book and sewing a garment that the book inspires. There are so many possibilities with this...
07.18.2017
Podcast Ep011: Athletic Wear with Dawn from Two On Two Off
Clothes Making Mavens is a sewing podcast about handmade fashion. In this Sew Small Talk episode, hosts Helena and Lori chat with guest Dawn of Two On Two Off (http://twoontwooff.blogspot.ca)all about sewing athletic wear. Show notes are posted here: http://www.clothesmakingmavens.com/?p=317
06.16.2017
Podcast Ep010: Michelle Morris of That Black Chic
Lori had a chat with one of the most daring and innovative sewing bloggers out there; Michelle from www.ThatBlackChic.com. She designs, sews and photographs her garments with such an artistic vision that we can’t help but admire her work. Michelle...
05.10.2017
Podcast Ep009: Sewjo
Here is another Sew Small Talk between Helena and Lori – but neither has been sewing much! Does your sewing output sometimes slump? They wanted to overcome this lack of SewJo (sewing motivation) and gathered some tips and tricks to...
02.16.2017
Podcast Ep008 Madame Tifaine
Lori chats with Tif of MadameTifaine.wordpress.com about her year-long ready-to-wear fast, why she did it, and what she learned along the way.
11.13.2016
Podcast Ep007: Sewing Contests & Sewalongs
Helena and Lori chat about sewing contests and sewalongs; listeners give us their take on what makes something look handmade and whether that's a good or bad thing; and Maven Maris gives her tips on hand-sewing. Show notes are posted here:...
09.26.2016
Podcast Ep006: Gillian of Crafting a Rainbow
Clothes Making Mavens is a sewing podcast about handmade fashion. In this episode, Lori interviews Gillian of Crafting a Rainbow (http://craftingarainbow.wordpress.com/). We chat about finding your personal style, taking better pictures of your sewing makes, and Gillian's fun "Sewing Dares"...
09.11.2016
Podcast Ep005: Inspiration Overload
It seems that neither Helena nor Lori suffer from being uninspired - they both say the world provides more inspiration than they can handle! In this episode they chat about all the ways their lists of sewing projects grow long,...
08.25.2016
Podcast Ep004 : Lori of Girls in the Garden
Clothes Making Mavens is a sewing podcast about handmade fashion. Helena interviews the prolific sewing blogger Lori VanManaan, who sews beautiful garments and bags for herself, her daughters and now her little grandson. She contributes to the Mood Sewing Network...
08.06.2016
Podcast Ep003: Fabric Zeal
Fabric Zeal - What do sewists talk about when they get together? Fabric! Helena and Lori find so much inspiration in fabric and they bet you do, too. This month they talk about their favorite fabrics to sew with, where...
07.19.2016
Podcast Ep002: Lauren of Lladybird
Clothes Making Mavens is a sewing podcast about handmade fashion. In Episode 2, Helena interviews one of the online sewing community's most popular bloggers: Lauren Taylor of Lladybird.com. Lauren talks about how she got turned onto sewing, how she's able...
06.27.2016
Podcast Ep001: Introductions
Clothes Making Mavens is a sewing podcast about handmade fashion. In our inaugural episode, Helena and Lori introduce themselves and the podcast, talk about how they got started sewing, then they dig into some Proust questionnaire questions (some with a...

What's Clothes Making Mavens about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Clothes Making Mavens episodes:

Podcast Ep041: Sewing Phases

Podcast Ep040: Leila and Jess of Muna & Broad

Podcast Ep039: What's Happened to the Big 4 Pattern Companies?

Podcast Ep038: Sewing in Japan with Emilia Bergoglio

Podcast Ep037: A Mavens Extravaganza!

Podcast Ep036: Montoya Mayo

Podcast Ep035: sewing, micromastery, and life

Podcast Ep034: Sewing for a Good Cause

Podcast Ep033: Confessions of a Serial Stasher with Psychic Sewer Kathleen

Podcast Ep032: Sewing, Stashing and Traveling

Podcast Ep031: Sewing, Body Image, and Mental Health

Podcast Ep030: What Shannon wants pattern companies to know about their fat, queer customers

Podcast Ep029: What we loved, hated, and learned in 2018

Podcast Ep028: Alex of Sewrendipity on the Great British Sewing Bee and Sustainable Sewing

Podcast Ep027: Advice to our younger sewing selves with Cennetta Burwell of The Mahogany Stylist

Podcast Ep026: A Ready-to-Wear-Fast Confession and Q&A with Barbara Emodi

Podcast Ep025: Emily Hallman Designs in Color

Podcast Ep024: An Interview with Marcy Harriell of Oonaballoona

Podcast Ep023: Sewing Community IRL

Podcast Ep022: Sustainable Sewing with Kate Ng

Podcast Ep021: Passing the Mic to You

Podcast Ep020: Sew with the Flow

Podcast Ep019: Fast Fashion Fasting

Podcast Ep018: Pick a Challenge or a Sewalong!

Podcast Episode017: Let's hear from you!

Podcast Ep016: Barbara Emodi from Sewing on the Edge

Podcast Ep015: Friends Talk Sewing, and so should you!

Podcast Ep014: Deepika from Pattern Review

Podcast Ep013: A Tour of Sharadha's Closet Full of Handmades

Podcast Ep012: The Literary Sewalong with Melanie from Following the Thread

Podcast Ep011: Athletic Wear with Dawn from Two On Two Off

Podcast Ep010: Michelle Morris of That Black Chic

Podcast Ep009: Sewjo

Podcast Ep008 Madame Tifaine

Podcast Ep007: Sewing Contests & Sewalongs

Podcast Ep006: Gillian of Crafting a Rainbow

Podcast Ep005: Inspiration Overload

Podcast Ep004 : Lori of Girls in the Garden

Podcast Ep003: Fabric Zeal

Podcast Ep002: Lauren of Lladybird

Podcast Ep001: Introductions