Every time I go through the testing phase of pattern design, I’m hopeful but also nervous about how the process will go. It can be a bit nerve-wracking having your work looked at for the first time after you have been staring at it for months. One of the points of pattern testing is having…
Tag: sewing
Zero Waste Gifts – Modified Sam Apron
I try to make some kind of Christmas gift for my family every year. Some years the gifts are more elaborate than others. Sometimes I have an idea well before Christmas, other years it feels more last minute. I’m sure if you have made handmade gifts you know this feeling well. And even though the…
Xanthea Zero Waste T-Shirt
Liz Hayward from The Craft of Clothes recently released a zero-waste t-shirt pattern – the Xanthea Top. Liz proposed a pattern swap with our latest patterns, as t-shirts and overalls are a perfect combo. I’m not quite done with the Simone Overalls pattern, but I’m looking forward to styling the Xanthea Top with my finished…
DIY Backpack: A Lesson in Upcycled and Reclaimed Materials
I decided I “needed” a retro style, drawstring backpack. I’m 38 weeks pregnant and I felt that it was the only kind of bag that was going to be useful for quick trips out and about. I love my over the should bags and larger totes, but the straps tend to get in the way…
Time and Comparison
Time is an interesting thing when you are working in a product based business. People want things now. Instant gratification! I understand; you see something beautiful and the desire to hold it, touch it, use it is immediate. But, how does it look from the makers perspective? Coming up with original, creative ideas takes time.…
Ideas and where to go with them
I have been feeling like I have a million ideas in my head lately. There are so many things I want to make; either original work, trying out a new knitting or sewing pattern, or hacking one of my already owned patterns to make it new and different. I’m trying to balance this with thinking of…
Beginnings of Slow Fashion
A few years ago when I started sewing for myself, the motivation was based on the enjoyment of the making process and the speed at which I could have a completed project. I was a knitter and at the time very slow, but I knew the joy of wearing something that you have made for…
Contemplating Process: A Zero Waste Shirt
In my last post, I talked about surface design and the struggles I was running into. What I had neglected to do during my weeks worth of work was take more process pictures, so I don’t have pictures from every step of the following process…lesson learned. I was concentrating on the end product and I was…