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HI I'M RADHA
I’m a textile artist, sustainability educator and small business strategist based in San Francisco. But don't worry, I balance all that serious stuff with a fair bit of silliness, and I share my work without judgement.
My unique expertise and passion for sustainability was fueled by a 15-year career in the apparel industry where I travelled the world, visited denim factories in China and Bangladesh, and unfortunately had a front seat to the rise of fast fashion. I used to create new jeans but now at Sewing through Fog I help keep those same jeans out of a landfill through classes and patterns to help you Quilt Your Jeans.
![I was planning to make a matching clutch out of the extra sari fabric from my dress, because it felt very retro to have a matching bag and dress. But it felt a bit… easy?
Is it really even a valid project if you aren’t using a material you have never worked with (that you actually don’t have enough of), making a shape you have never made? 😂🤣😅
For reals though, I have this thing when I choose a project/material combo: I find it more intriguing if I don’t have enough of said material. Enter these interior design samples (they seem to be treated leather), and a bag idea and voila - we have an unreasonably complicated new project ☺️.
Can you picture it? It’s going to be a bit funky but it’s going to be cool. [The green foot is my @berninausa Teflon foot]](https://scontent-den2-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/765520230_18057861302785896_8583982005281433661_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=101&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=S7odCVqQTZAQ7kNvwFhMVii&_nc_oc=AdqYsith6phOyUk0vExz5guFfgFeOa0Z8cgbtSk6EEuzotU-66YBpMtl9CFHk6vbTmg&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-den2-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=wigpvRpTyr_AP-WI3GZDqg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQJr-cUSILq9eOAY1soh_x7-gK8FV8C8w-5vd26crk8xEH_qKXwUmRPZYkmySS991Ls4qvm5D4d6&oh=00_AQGLEFoDrsKtXRyETjfbRHAOL7Nz0oZ7ugP9Kw-WDENg-Q&oe=6A8EB979)
![And this is why I needed DTM silk bias binding.
[Dyed To Match]
This dress has a deceptively simple shape that gathers up into a bracelet. Getting that perfect gather to be stable, with a slight curve and channel for the bracelet, and getting a clean finish on the edge without topstitching, required some imaginative engineering.
I had to do it twice, the first time was a mess. But I figured it out! And yes I could have just bought the pattern and followed the directions but then I wouldn’t have felt the satisfaction of screwing something up, thinking I was in over my head, and then remembering I’m kind of a genius 😂.](https://scontent-den2-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/756699701_18057532148785896_2172568544452398100_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=111&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=0Rp8NGWz3voQ7kNvwHXixN_&_nc_oc=Adq6iF4K9vGvYs4dTHD7PUB3EGQgOcnvHXkhegBK4tjpkaDFGrYucqoP9P43OE4jaUU&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-den2-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=wigpvRpTyr_AP-WI3GZDqg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQKveKP0CkMMTp4OJ789BqIac3gWUUg17385sQ0ZfU_ed5uPuJ2HO2-ikJoCcHm9Qc0Em1ww4ob1&oh=00_AQFw74c6hDo5EE8RK7HXflQ0fv3tRY-q7KKxM4ThAvW1wQ&oe=6A8EA47C)
![And then I realized I didn’t have the right needle 😖. Most projects I’ll use whatever I have available, but for pattern-matching vintage silk for a dress for a wedding, I’m using the correct tools.
The right needle in this case would be a 60 or 70 microtex because I need it thin. And I’ll use that with a thin cotton thread because if the dress gets caught on something I’d want the thread to snap rather than tear apart the fabric.
[Is it then or than? Just because I used to be a writer doesn’t mean I remember how to use words correctly. Also did I mention perimenopause?]
Anyway, apart from the needle delay, we are moving right along and I hope to be cutting(!!) later this week.](https://scontent-den2-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/743824493_18054103238785896_4576640373399022903_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=109&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0xJUFMuYmVzdF9pbWFnZV91cmxnZW4uQzMifQ%3D%3D&_nc_ohc=U0wDGhdYdCkQ7kNvwHdsQJY&_nc_oc=AdrZscgRVFL_hUpu5cIkkNyo99vpEfP-xoR9-szUChpHdtlMa3_Hn0qHbY10IWb68xA&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-den2-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=wigpvRpTyr_AP-WI3GZDqg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQLo2RV9JFGEvm6bRBxVNg5LXtjSsUKdvB8yZ1bv1QTKBSkhNEQeX6_SZ5kTS9xwuyZ8drYJqOMk&oh=00_AQGZSLkdmIiZsKklU4UFoEjBKQucEjov6kAVupkgwa4tyw&oe=6A8EA98D)
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