Sewing

Indigo dyed Quilla

When I cut out the Fibremood Quilla from the gorgeous silk damask tablecloth, I also cut one from a vintage cotton damask tablecloth and the two couldn’t be more different. I cut out the pieces and then played with shibori stitching. I did folds and a pattern of stitching (to be honest, I’ve forgotten what […]

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Sewing

Silk damask tablecloth to Quilla top

I’ve been busy sewing but not much blogging, which I thought I’d better rectify. Some time ago I was given a set of three vintage tablecloths (from the 1950s or 1960s perhaps) made from silk damask; a little one, a medium one and a big one. They are exquisite, but they’ve seen some good times […]

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Sewing

Shibori and Indigo: a match made in heaven

Immediately after I finished the Fibres West 2023 residential programme, I was lucky enough to take someone’s spot in Cathy Moon’s two day Shibori class. It was fabulous and I’ve been completely distracted by the process ever since. I did the class with Megan from Meggipeg, and did enjoy the handstitching elements. It’s so exciting […]

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dyeing, Sewing

Mordant workshop top

As mentioned in a previous post, when I was doing the Mordant Printing Workshop with Julie Ryder at Fibres West 2023 I found the front and the back of a top. With permission from Julie, I painted it with mordant and dyed it with marigold. I’ve never done mordant printing before and I have to […]

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Sewing, Zero waste

Bryer Skirt

The Bryer Skirt, from the zero waste designer Liz Haywood, was bought whilst I was at the Fibres West residential conference; whilst I was in bed in fact. I therefore couldn’t make it immediately, but luckily I acquired fabric at the garage sale whilst I was there and decided to make my first iteration from […]

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Sewing

Meet Daisy the sock monkey

I’ve been following the exploits of various sock monkeys on Instagram for some time and kept thinking I’d make one. My biggest problem was socks. I always knit my own and have none that would be suitable. In the end I had to buy some – shock, horror! I was motivated to get a move […]

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Sewing

Tessuti Apron

I have the weeklong workshop happening at FibresWest in early July and I’m doing a dyeing class so thought I should get an apron that wouldn’t show the dye stains and which had good coverage. I’d just made some temporary curtains for my sewing shed (steel shutters will be made at some point), so used […]

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Sewing

Me Made May 2023

Every May there is a lovely challenge called “Me Made May” which happens on Instagram. The challenge was created by Zoe Edwards, a sewing blogger and pattern designer from the UK. Participants are encouraged to wear their handmade clothing and accessories throughout the month of May, and to document their outfits on social media. The […]

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Sewing

A handful of skivvies

Last winter I found a gap in my wardrobe – I needed skivvies to layer under things. For non Australians, a skivvy is a close-fitting, long-sleeved T-shirt with a rolled collar. I didn’t want a turtle neck and I didn’t want a cowl: I wanted a high neck, not particularly close fitting. I have several […]

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Sewing

Making for babies episode 12

My stepdaughter is home for a couple of weeks with our grandson and she asked me to make him a summer wardrobe. I set to work with alacrity! I could have gone mad, but did restrain myself as I don’t want to burden her with too much stuff which won’t fit for long. I started […]

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