We’re at the half-way line on The Great British Sewing Bee now, and this week it’s the Three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle.  Research suggests that you’re much more likely to wear something for longer if you make it yourself.  Maybe that’s because of the effort, or the fact it fits, or that it’s a fabric you love.  In any event, as garment makers many of us reduce our ready-to-wear clothes consumption and an important aspect of sewing for me is to step away from the disposable […]

T-shirt fabric makes great face mask ties! Did you know that you can cut up a t-shirt to make t-shirt yarn? Clever people have been using t-shirt yarn for sustainable knitting and crochet projects. Now lots of people are making their own face masks. Elastic is hard to find. T-shirt yarn is a fast fun NO-sew alternative to elastic. It’s soft, stretchy and comfortable. It won’t make your ears sore either. We think t-shirt fabric ties are ideal for face masks. Who doesn’t have a […]

I held off making masks for a while. But when my daughter, who just moved from Paris to San Francisco, rang to say that they were required to wear masks but not allowed to buy them, I caved. I did a bit of research. There are so many online options. I was looking for a fitted facemask that was comfortable and washable. I wanted it to do a good job too. No homemade mask is perfect. But making masks is one way we can help to limit the spread of the virus. Getting the pattern There are lots of […]

I grew up listening to Julie Andrews singing in The Sound of Music. So I was delighted when the penny dropped and I realized that this quilt called Favourite Things was actually inspired by the Sound of Music song lyrics.  The roses blooming in my garden reminded me of this amazing quilt by Katy Whitby-Last. I think we all could enjoy the backstory behind this award winning quilt. In the uncertainties of quarantine life, it’s good medicine to ‘simply remember our favourite […]