You know you have to buy the fabric when it crops up in your dreams.
I'd been lusting after this Herb Garden canvas from Rifle Paper Co for a while but it was sold out everywhere I looked for it. Eventually I mentioned it on my Instagram Stories and a kind follower tracked it down on Etsy for me from NekoNeko. The Internet is good!
Overlockers (AKA sergers) are amazing machines for creating a professional-looking finish on seams and for whipping up garments in knit fabrics. Yet, when the subject of overlockers comes up amongst stitchers, it’s usually not long before there’s a sharp intake of breath and someone whispers, “Urgh, but I hate threading it”.
From talking to countless DIY dressmakers, I know that loads of you feel intimidated by using overlockers because of their reputation for being tricky to thread. Even those of us who use these machines regularly – me included – avoid changing thread whenever possible because of how time-consuming and fiddly the process can be.
A few months ago, Janome told me they were planning to release a new model of overlocker that is so easy it almost threads itself. As you can imagine, I got super excited as I knew this was exactly the kind of thing you guys had been dreaming about! So I asked to review it.
This is a paid review, but trust me when I say that this is my honest opinion – I wouldn’t recommend something to you unless I genuinely loved it myself and thought you would too. We’ve been using this machine in the studio for the last few weeks to stitch up samples (as well as our own just-for-fun projects at lunchtimes) and have fallen in lurrrrve…
Sustainable sewing is a hot topic at the moment and you might have found yourself questioning whether there are any ways you can make a difference in your sewing practice.
When you cut out your fabric, there will inevitably be some wastage. Many pieces can feel like they are too big to throw away and that there must be something you can do with them. Pattern designers will always try to be as efficient with the cutting layout as possible, but just as with RTW, there will be some bits that could languish in the bin.
As avid watchers of the Great British Sewing Bee, we really enjoyed the episode on sustainability and dressmaking. Patrick Grant said that 30% of all our fabric is wasted - wow! Our unused fabric scraps are likely to either linger in a drawer or end up in the bin. So what can we do with these little pieces of fabrics?
If you are looking for small ways to make your sewing practice more sustainable, we've pulled together five projects ideas to help you use them up these unloved pieces of fabric.
You could prep a batch of pockets for upcoming makes (because every me-made needs pockets!), and bias binding to make your garments look as pretty on the inside as they do on the outside.
