Check Your Thread: Sewing More Sustainably

• #169: Mending Motivation

  Do you find that sometimes you lack the necessary motivation to tackle your mending tasks? Like many Check Your Thread listeners, you might be taking part in the Winter of Care and Repair challenge at the moment, and the zeal you experienced at the beginning might be flagging at this point. But even if you’re not participating in that challenge, today I’m bringing you a dose of motivation to help you tackle the broken items that need your love and attention. We’ll hear from a bunch of lovely CYT patrons who have kindly shared what mending they’ve been up to, to remind us that we’re part of a wider global community of people who are all trying to care for our belongings.Support the podcast over on Patreon!(image source: Elios Santos via Unsplash) Learn about the Winter of Care and Repair challenge and hear from its creator here:Ep. #115: Winter of Care and Repair with Jeanna Wigger Ep. #132: A Season of Mending with Jeanna Wigger Ep. #135: How to Triage Your Mends with Jeanna Wigger Ep. #163: How to Effect Change This Winter with Jeanna WiggerHannah’s awesome jeans repairs:A related episode is:Ep. #137: 5 Ways to Update Unworn Me-Mades

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• #168: Is DIY Publishing the Future of Sewing? with Liz Haywood

  As I’m sure you’ve noticed, a whole industry has built up around home sewing with the primary goal of selling us lots of stuff. Most businesses rely on shifting a large volume of products, so much of what’s been designed for us is pretty bland and homogenous, including a lot of what comes out of the traditional publishing industry. However, some creators are sharing their sewing knowledge by creating really interesting products outside of the usual production and distribution methods. In this episode I talk to zero waste sewing expert, Liz Haywood, about her recent innovative project: a series of self-published zines that can be combined to form a book. We explore why creators might choose the DIY route, how you might go about it, AND how it can be better for the planet. Support the podcast over on Patreon!Listen to my previous conversation with Liz Haywood:Ep. #31: Exploring Zero Waste Design with Liz HaywoodLiz created an amazing minimal-waste sunhat pattern:And a zero waste beanie hat pattern!Read more about Liz’s collaboration with Nicole Akong on the beach towel kaftan pattern:Liz created the Optimatium dress pattern for Tauko Magazine, see below how the photoshoot looked for the magazine layout:Check out Liz’s denim coat version of the Optimatium pattern. All the ‘A Year of Zero Waste’ zines and book are available on Liz’s Etsy shop, and January’s FREE instalment can be downloaded via her ‘The Craft of Clothes’ blog.Gregory Lagola (Gregory Joseph) is the New York-based designer featured in the December zine. Quilter Zak Foster has created a range of printable, digital zines. Included in that range is the ‘Cutting Up Jeans’ zine made with previous CYT guest Eliu Hernandez:Ep. #26: Harvesting Materials with Eliu HernandezLiz made the Cris Wood Sews Cinch Belt Pattern, a FREE sewing pattern. Liz also made these amazing trousers from the book ‘Couture Zéro Chutes’ by Charline Durpoix and Mylène L’Orguilloux.AND she made the FREE ZW Eccles Cardigan pattern by Empty Hanger Patterns.Find all my downloadable resources through which I share my own hard-won sewing knowledge!

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• #167: No-Rules Outdoor Clothing Repair with from Rosanna Snowdonia Gear Repair

  Outdoor clothing and equipment often pose some very specific problems when they start to break. This is my second episode with Rosanna Watson from Snowdonia Gear Repair, and in this one she offers up tips for repairing down and puffy jackets, and items with seams and zips that are glued. And, on top of sharing her practical advice, Rosanna puts everything into perspective with her repair philosophy: that you don’t have to make the garment look like it did when it left the factory, it just has to function!Support the podcast over on Patreon!The Snowdonia Gear Repair team (left-right: Rosanna, Jos, Sadie and Ceri):You might have previously heard Rosanna on Check Your Thread in Episode 94 when we had a feedswap with the Garmology podcast and last week’s episode:Ep. #166: Pro Tips for Outdoor Wear Care and Repair with Rosanna from Snowdonia Gear RepairCheck out the Snowdonia Gear Repair website and follow them on Instagram (@snowdoniagearrepair).They also now host in-person repair classes!Other repair experts to follow on Instagram:@soulandflare @zoepatches @slowstitchclub Skye from Slow Stitch Club has written a book called ‘Well Worn: Visible Mending for the Clothes You Love’:Rosanna recommends glues/adhesives by Gear Aid. Snowdonia Gear Repair stock some via their website if you’re based in the UK. Sources for repair-sized (or larger) amounts of outdoor fabrics:Pennine Outdoor  Pro Fabrics Make Your Own Gear Extrem Textil (Europe) Author Rachel S. Gross wrote a book called ‘Shopping All the Way to the Woods: How the Outdoor Industry Sold Nature to America’.Pics of the Snowdonia Gear Repair shop and workshop:

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• #166: Pro Tips for Outdoor Wear Care and Repair with Rosanna from Snowdonia Gear Repair

  The clothes and equipment you buy to spend time outdoors often requires a sizable investment. And when they break, the idea of fixing them yourself might seem pretty daunting. Over the next two episodes, repair-expert Rosanna from Snowdonia Gear Repair, is talking us through the repairs you can tackle yourself at home, to keep your favourite jacket or backpack in use for longer. Rosanna also advises on what to look for when buying outdoor gear in the first place, and how to best care for those items to ensure they have a long and useful life.Support the podcast over on Patreon!You might have previously heard Rosanna on Check Your Thread in Episode 94 when we had a feedswap with the Garmology podcast. Check out the Snowdonia Gear Repair website and follow them on Instagram (@snowdoniagearrepair).Jos, Rosanna's partner, doing some sewing machine maintenance in their workshop:Rosanna recommends the various patches by Gear Aid (US site). Some of which are also available from Snowdonia Gear Repair if you’re in the UK. Outdoor Gear Advice UK is a valuable Facebook group. Rosanna is loving the recently published ‘Mountain Style: British Outdoor Clothing 1953-2000’ by Henry Iddon and Max Leonard.Chris Townsend, whilst not the founder of Karrimor as Rosanna suggested, IS a widely published outdoor writer and photographer. Nikwax create a wide range of products to help care for laminated and outerwear fabric, including their Tech Wash that cleans whilst retaining water repellency and revives breathability:Seam seal tape for laminated fabrics are available from many sources. Here’s one source I found via a UK website.

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• #165: 5 Easy Garment Care Habits to Adopt in 2025

  If I asked you what you consider fun, my guess is that laundry and garment care do not immediately spring to mind. However, keeping our clothing in good, wearable condition for as long as possible, is an important part of living more sustainably. And it really doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. I’m about to share five simple practices that, if you turn them into habits, will give your clothes the best shot at a long and happy life.Support the podcast over on Patreon!(image source: Annie Spratt via Unsplash) 5 Habits for Easy Garment Care1) Wash as infrequently as possible2) Don’t sleep on a stainWriter Nancy Birtwhistle (@nancy.birtwhistle on IG) is an expert on stain removal.3) Hang dry whenever possibleI´m a big fan of my DriBUDDi!:4a) Question if it requires ironing4b) Iron on reverseIf you want to go deep into pressing cloths, check out this guide from Threads Magazine.5) Store each item in your wardrobe correctly, according to garment AND fibre typeFriday Pattern Company recently released a free/pay-what-you-can garment bag pattern:(image source: Friday Pattern Co.)

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