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“With Radha’s spirit and cool sense of style - I knew making her pattern while upcycling the denim would be the bag of my dreams!”

- @samscreativeside

THE TOTEPACK PATTERN

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.

LECTURES

An upcycled denim and leather quilt at QuiltCon 2025

QuiltCon 2025 Upcycled & Repurposed

My goal for QuiltCon 2025 was to shine a light on all things upcycled at the show. In this post I'm sharing the quilts I found, and some sto

Helping you Quilt your Jeans with QuiltInk!

Want to experiment with quilting with Jeans in a fun and easy way? I teamed up with QuiltInk to create a special denim palette!

Quilting with Leather Part 2: Tools

All the tools you need, and some you should avoid, to get you started quilting with upcycled leather. In part 1 we talked about why you...

THE TOTEPACK

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Pattern & Upcycling Guide

This was very calming for me, I hope it is for you also 😅. Also, who else has seen Labyrinth 9,852,377 times? I’m pretty sure I can recite/sing the entire movie from memory.

Whenever I pack for a trip I either pretend to be Steve Martin from The Jerk and say “I don’t need anything! Except this toothpaste. And that’s all I need… and these ear plugs.” Or I pretend to be the junk lady from Labyrinth and say to myself “you know how much you like your travel sunscreen” or “You love little suitcase don’t cha.”

What were we talking about?

#upcycledjeans #denimupcycle #sustainablesewing

Slowly starting to quilt this. Seriously slowly, like 2 to 3 lines a day. Otherwise I’ll get bored and rush and then get annoyed at myself. It’s a whole thing. I need to work on my patience.

That’s it. Have a nice Tuesday. I mean Wednesday.

Quilting on my BERNINA 770 @berninausa

#denimupcycle #denimquilt #sustainablecrafting

No judgement here, just some thoughts on how we can look at stuff differently.

I grew up learning that you never got rid of things that you could use again, and because I’m pretty resourceful, I can find a way to use just about anything. But the pressure of having all those things, the clutter in my space and brain, was not helping my creativity.

It was volunteering at a creative reuse center that helped me start to see things differently. First because I saw that when I donated something, there was usually someone out there looking for that thing, and I could help them get it so they didn’t have to buy some new crap on Amazon or something.

But then also realizing there are so many vintage wooden macrame beads out in the world! They aren’t going anywhere. If I give mine up now I can always get them back.

Just make sure you are thoughtful about where you send your stuff! Find the closest creative reuse center and give it to them ☺️.

#sustainablesewing #creativereuse #shopsecondhandfirst #secondhandcrafts

I’m continuing my community spotlight series with the incredibly talented Dalia Gonzalez, who graciously lets me bother her every Wednesday when I volunteer at @scrapsf 😅.

Not surprisingly, many of the staff at SCRAP are artists, and I would always see Dalia knitting something amazing, but I was totally blown away when I first saw Dalia’s jewelry.

And good news for you, she is teaching a workshop at SCRAP this weekend so check it out!

From Dalia:

Ever since my first jewelry class (sophomore year at Lick-Wilmerding in SF) I’ve kept jewelry close to my heart. My first work was heavy and shield-like, then I attended a summer coarse at CCA under Angela Hennessy and began producing natural shapes such as a roots and branches.

There were no jewelry classes at UC Santa Cruz so I found chain maille – I could do it in my dorm. I tested my way into the metal shop during the off season and my work focused on stacking up and soldering wire to make shapes.

I created a simple tool bag that I carried across campus every day, and I still use that same tool set today. That was when I decided I’d always make my jewelry as simple and portable as possible.

today I still find my inspiration in nature. I try to resemble natures accuracy and simplicity.

#bayareaartist #handmadejewelrydesign #jewelryartist #creativereuse

Is it a rhetorical question? It’s not really. I think at some point, if you keep adding woven patches to everything, you will have too many woven patches.

Am I at that point? I mean, I probably wouldn’t wear these jeans with this sweatshirt. You know, when I leave my house and people see me. Not like on Instagram where no one sees me. [did I mention I pretend no one follows me because it would make me feel awkward if they did?]

Honestly I’m feeling a bit unsettled when I look at my posts recently. Too much color, too much chaos, I need to go back to my happy simple blue place for a bit. But first I have to finish all these t-shirt quilts 🫠.

#upcycledjeans #visiblemending #denimrepair

It’s a quilt made out of t-shirt fabric samples I found at @scrapsf . Yep. And that’s all I have to say about that right now.

How did you spend your depressingTH of July? Mine was actually pretty cool, I went to an event raising money for Mission Action, an org that provides legal aid for immigrants in the Bay Area.

It was just a small event, but I fundamentally believe that if we keep all doing these things, however small, it will make a difference.

They want us to stop. To loose hope. But I’m not going to.

#craftivism #tshirtquilt #upcycledart

I’m having a hard time staying positive this week, it’s been a tough one. I decided when I started my t-shirts quilts (there is a second one 😬) that I would donate them, and that’s made me feel good while I’m working on them.

Not that a quilt makes up for someone loosing their healthcare 🤦🏻‍♀️… Or maybe I can sell them and donate that money to planned parenthood or something.

I’m pretty happy with how this quilt turned out though — first ever t-shirt quilt and I made it without fusible interfacing so it’s so soft and drapey. I haven’t quilted it yet but I’m thinking of hand quilting it. Maybe even doing hand tying, I know that might seem odd with how modern the checkerboard is but I think that could be cool.

Made entirely on my BERNINA L890 overlock/coverstich machine. @berninausa

#tshirtquilt #tshirtupcycle #sustainablesewing

Getting ready to baste and then quilt my denim cityscape… before it gets its inhabitants 😃.

I generally don’t add a lot of quilting to quilts because I don’t like to inhibit their drape or the texture of the upcycled materials I use. But for this one, I think I want to use the quilting to add additional dimension to the buildings. It’s going to be an experiment.

#denimart #denimquilt #upcycledart #upcycledjeans

I realized I never shared this, from the panel I spoke on at H+H Americas. I’ve been thinking about it a lot – why sustainability is so political. It’s because it’s about people, and how we treat the people and take care of the people on this planet.

More secondhand fabric means less fabric being made by people who aren’t making a living wage. More secondhand clothing being upcycled means less being sent to landfills in Ghana.

It’s about women’s rights – 80% of garment workers are women. Many being paid $2 an hour, working 12 hour days, in toxic environments, so we can go to Target and buy jeans that cost $25.

It’s so much more than fiber content. But you know what? That means there are so many opportunities for each of us to be just a bit better. So many ways for small businesses and individuals to take care of the planet and each other.

#sustainability #shopsecondhandfirst #garmentworkersrights

“An artist is an ordinary person who can take ordinary things and make them special”
-Ruth Asawa

This quote is everything! It’s the basis of what I try to do. And not surprising it came from Ruth Asawa who was one of the founding members of SCRAP SF back in 1976.

If you can make it to this retrospective at @sfmoma you have to go. It was so cool to see her work evolve across her lifetime, and especially to see the breadth of mediums that she explored.

#ruthasawa

Do I spend hours and hours planning my IG posts? No. Is my criteria whether or not I find something amusing? Yes, usually.

Do I pretend that there are only 20-30 people out there who follow me, because if I actually thought about the fact I have 40k followers I would feel very awkward and overwhelmed? Also yes.

Do I genuinely love shoulder pads? Oh boy, do I. If I had the opportunity to do a #tedtalk would I do it on shoulder pads? Probably not… I think I might do it on how upcycling and reuse can help us rediscover true creativity and open the door for experimentation and risk taking.

#vintagestyle #shoulderpads #shopsecondhandfirst

Done and done! With this patch… but I decided it looks lonely on its own so I’m going to have to add something else, just not sure what.

And after I wash them I’ll see if it needs more stitching or anything, but I think it’s going to be fine.

I have one zillion more strips of jersey so I’m going to keep doing experiments, but I think I need to take a little break because all this color is really throwing me off. I need to spend a week back with blue.

#visiblemending #denimpatch #jeansrepair

I’ll share some photos tomorrow if the finished patch. I’m really happy with how it turned out except… I now have to decide what to do to the hole on the other side 🫠

Or maybe I just leave it. But I think the patch needs a friend somewhere or else it looks a bit lonely… Don’t you think?

#upcycledjeans #denimupcycle #visiblemending #denimrepair

This week has somehow turned into a My Favorite Things recap. I mean it’s only Tuesday so that might change… but here is my favorite bag project. [there are a ton of them because it’s a pattern I wrote and so I had to make a ton because… I liked making them?]

A while back I decided I’d only write patterns if they were also upcycling guides — basically if they showed you how to make all the parts out of different types of reclaimed materials. Which makes the pattern really long and takes forever to write. Which is why I don’t have many patterns 😂.

And if this super compelling caption has convinced you to try my really long pattern comment “Totepack” and I’ll send you the link. Because all bags should convert into a backpack. Period.

#thetotepack #thetotepackpattern #upcycledjeans #denimupcycle #bagpattern

This was the first jacket project I did when I got back into sewing, and it’s still a favorite. I’ve always wanted to make a tutorial or mini class on how to do it, but there was no planning or formal process.

How do you teach “How to take anything and attach it to a jacket in an organic and intuitive way”? 😅

There is so much instinct in what I do, born out of a lifetime of sewing, but that doesn’t mean you need a lifetime of sewing to do it. I believe anyone can do this, I really do!!

I think what’s most important is actually a willingness to experiment and make mistakes. But how do I help people find that…

And that was random musings with Radha.

#denimjacket #denimpatchwork #upcycledjeans

I know meditating is good for you (I read 10% Happier) but I just can’t sit quietly with my eyes closed. There are different ways we can be mindful though, and for me it’s sewing.

Focusing on breathing while I hand sew or taking deep breaths between ironing, I think it counts.

Side note: I had to google “breathes vs breaths”. I mean, I knew which was right but then it looked weird and then I talked myself out of it.

Do you consider sewing meditation? I’m curious…

#upcycledjeans #denimupcycle #sustainablesewing #visiblemending #denimrepair

Needed a break from knits, so back to the usual – sewing little faces on these Pac-Man things so they can go live in the denim cityscape.

I need to name them. The crazy eyebrows is definitely Harold.

Now I just need to make about 10 more. And remake big bird.

#denimupcycle #upcycledjeans #denimart

I got a couple questions about the process of making the woven patch so here is a bit more video.

And I remembered I wrote a blog post and made a whole tutorial video for the last mini weave project I did (the one with denim and liberty fabric scraps), so if you want to read that one to get more tips comment “blog” and I’ll send it to you.

It’s not the exact same process but pretty similar, plus shows you how to finish the patch as a mini quilt instead.

#sustainablesewing #visiblemending #upcycledjeans #tshirtupcycle

When I was weaving these little t-shirt scraps I was not planning to use them to patch some jeans. But once they were woven it just made sense to use them.

Normal sense? Maybe not. But unplanned creative solutions are the spice of life, so… “but what’s going to happen when you wash them??” you might be thinking.

I guess we will find out together 😂. I think it’s totally going to be fine, but that’s why I’m adding all the hand stitching.

#upcycledjeans #denimupcycle #sustainablesewing #visiblemending #patchwork #upcycledtshirt

Update on my stripey strips – they are kind of done being sewn together, maybe? I have a background slash quilt top (?) that I’m going to use as a background for an appliquéd story… I think.

Well that sounded confused. Currently it’s a cityscape with tunnels/sewers under the city. And next (duh duh duh) I’m going to add those little Pac-Man people. And maybe big bird.

No I’m not high. I wanted to do something silly, so that’s what I’m doing ☺️. I think…

#denimupcycle #upcycledjeans #denimart #sustainablesewing

I know it happens all the time – makers get comments saying they shouldn’t talk about politics, or people unfollow them when they find out they are political.

But I was still completely surprised when I got a couple of those reactions this weekend when I posted some protest photos. Because c’mon.

I work in sustainability and volunteer for arts non-profits in San Francisco! I wish I could avoid politics. I wish that climate change wasn’t political, I wish non-profits weren’t getting their funding taken away. And that’s not even getting into the whole human rights piece.

Sigh. Anyway, I thought I’d clear it up ☺️.

#sustainablesewing #creativereuse #craftivism

For everyone protesting this weekend: know your rights, stay safe, protest peacefully.

[my photos from protests through the years. Women’s March, border wall, George Floyd, prop 8]

It feels weird, kind of trivial, to make stuff and post stuff right now. But we have to do what we can to stay sane.

For me, that means experimenting. And falling back into old habits. Doing the same things but with new things.

Weaving is my comfort zone, but I’ve never done it with knits. But I’ve been working on a project with light weight jersey, and ended up with a bunch of little trimmings. So of course I had to try weaving them.

I’m kind of excited where this is going.

#sustainablesewing #upcycledtextiles #textileart

I shared some of these gorgeous vintage handkerchiefs in my stories when they first got donated to @scrapsf .

They sold out so fast, but not before I grabbed a couple of my favorites ☺️. I will probably let them simmer for a while in my mind. I like to give things a minute until a project pops up that is the perfect match. Because if I rushed to use them right away I’d never finish the projects I’m currently working on!

They are so beautifully light and delicate, I think I’ll have to make a summer top (for when I go outside San Francisco during the summer 😅).

#vintagehandkerchief #vintagefabric #vintagefashion #shopsecondhandfirst #creativereuse

If you are just learning to quilt or sew, never ever feel bad if you don’t know something that you think everyone else knows.

If it’s ok for a BERNINA ambassador who has been sewing since she could walk (and who writes patterns that instruct people to use a walking foot) doesn’t realize she isn’t actually using a walking foot… well then there is no reason for anyone to feel embarrassed about something they don’t know.

And sewing is like that — everyone has their own way of doing things, and there can be multiple right answers to every question. What’s important is that you just keep moving forward!

#berninausa #berninaambassador #sewingtips #beginnersewing #howtosew

I’m going to be spotlighting some awesome non-profits and small businesses that you will want to know about and support. Because in the midst of this current mess, they are helping their communities, bringing joy and fostering creativity. And those are the people I want to be focusing on right now.

The first is Community Fits, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Oakland and founded by Brittani Kaigler, MSW, a social worker and creative. She founded Community Fits to build inclusive spaces where creativity, culture, and community meet — welcoming everyone, especially those who may identify with marginalized identities.

Community Fits offers weekly classes at its Oakland studio and brings workshops to communities across the Bay Area. Rooted in a trauma-informed approach, its culturally relevant programs use sewing and textile arts as tools for skill-building, healing, and connection 💕.

So give her a follow!

#sewingclasses #learntosew

Yeah, it was ☺️. And I’m still grateful every single day that I get to make art and upcycle denim and talk about creative reuse instead of going to an office to create strategies to get Macys and Target to buy more jeans they don’t need.

A big salary and good benefits don’t matter when you feel like you are loosing your soul. Your job doesn’t have to be your passion, but it should align with your values if it’s possible.

But also sewing about a zillion strips of 1” denim together can get a bit mind numbing when you do it for so long… 😳

#sustainablesewing #creativereuse #denimupcycle #upcycledjeans #denimart #textileartist

Troy got a supervised visit of the sewing room, but he had to wear his harness! We are thinking he might like to go for walks (he has so much energy), but first he needs to be comfortable in his walking clothes.

He also thought it would be a great time to add some much needed cat hair to my current WIP. I’m still working with the denim strips, they have expanded and are becoming a cityscape backdrop that will be home to… Pac-Man? Not sure yet.

And yes, I thought about the fact Troy’s vest would not work in my Sewing through Fog color scheme. But classic buffalo check is the only time I like red and it was just too cute.

#upcycledjeans #denimupcycle #catsonquilts #catsandcrafts

This was so much fun 🤩. Katie @oldriverdesignco had a Rit Shibori dye kit and it had directions (that not all of us followed exactly 😅).

I’m calling it Shibori (ish), just in case anyone thought I was trying to show you how to do something accurately 😂.

What was cool was I dyed three really different textiles: a large piece of jersey, a knit shirt and a vintage tablecloth thing… which didn’t exactly do what I wanted but that’s ok!

#shiboridye #fabricdye

Do you ever decide around lunch that you need ginormous pants to wear that evening? And you think “I know what pants shapes look like, I worked in the apparel industry for 15 years before burning out in the pandemic 😁”.

So you draw(ish) and then freehand cut out a bunch of shapes and then serge them together (and take them apart because you completely forgot the sewing order of pockets and then sew them together again).

And they turn out totally great! The twisted seam looks intentional and the odd topstitch you used to secure the pockets looks like a cool detail. And since none of the friends you are seeing are sewists, they would never notice the little wonky bits.

And the fabric and elastic cost $2 because you got them at a creative reuse center! Some projects are just meant to be ☺️.

Sewn on @berninausa L 890 Overlock/Coverstitch

#sustainablesewing #shopsecondhandfirst #widelegpants #berninaambassador #berninausa

Since I’ve been hand-sewing more (and liking it a bit more), I’ve tried to have one project sitting around that I can do in the evenings while watching whichever British/Scottish/Irish/Welsh/Australian/New Zealand murder mystery we are currently watching.

I got this sweatshirt 2 years ago at the @sfquiltersguild show and I’ve slightly trashed it through using it to teach weaving, and upcycling and then downcycling it a couple times.

But it’s a great sweatshirt and I love the Golden Gate Bridge of course, so I thought I’d experiment with embroidering over the screen print. Also adding weaving back in, adding a denim patch pocket, and who knows what else!

#upcycledfashion #sustainablesewing #embroiderylove #handstitching

I don’t think this needs further explanation (my account is my argument against this nonsense). So instead I’m going to shamelessly plug this quilt pattern. Comment “DUO” and I’ll send you a link to my shop.

It’s a great pattern (it’s actually 3 layouts in 1 pattern), and it walks you through all the ins and outs of using old jeans to make a quilt!

This also addresses another BS part of quilting—that some people believe quilt patterns and classes should be free otherwise it’s gatekeeping 🤦🏻‍♀️. No, it’s actually valuing what was traditionally women’s work, and supporting people in creative fields.

[Thanks to @thehackneyquilter for posting about this yesterday]

#upcycledjeans #denimupcycle #denimquilt #quiltpattern #sustainablesewing

I found my very own 70’s belted sweater!! 🥹😁🎉🥳✌️

Or, more accurately, Janina at Empress Vintage found it and I happily adopted it last week (along with some other awesome vintage treasures).

It takes time and skill to collect and curate a good vintage store. And it’s so satisfying to find one, because the clothes are such better quality than what most brands sell these days.

And you get a piece with history and a story. Like, who was the first person to buy my belted sweater?? Did she have a special man in her life who wore a matching belted sweater?? We will never know!

@empress_vintage #vintageresellerofinstagram #vintagestylenotvintagevalues

Ok, so I should really be using a mini vacuum attachment… but this works just fine (as long as there aren’t any needles or clips or feet or anything else that might get sucked up 😅).

You should never use canned air because then you are just pushing the dirt back into your machine. A brush is good, but sometimes just moves the fuzz around. But a vacuum is great because then you are getting all those little bits out of the machine completely!

#berninausa #sewingmachinetips #sewingtips #howtosew

I’m trying to love hand sewing (closer but not quite there), and I decided to hand sew these down with a blanket stitch. I recorded my progress but never planned to share these videos.

Because I knew I was doing something wrong. Decorative hand sewing is my sewing weakness, I’m not an expert. And I know I’m never using the right tools or holding my hands the right way.

And then I get really critical of my work and start overthinking it (I’m not just the president of the overthinkers club, I’m also a member).

So, long story short, I decided to post this anyway because I decided to. So maybe the next time you start to overthink something you instead remember how silly I sounded and you just do it.

#denimupcycle #upcycledclothing #visiblemending #handsewing

There is no right or wrong way to mend clothes. It’s just good you are doing it. And I love those types of projects, where anything goes and it’s almost impossible to mess up.

I have another pair of jeans that I’ve patched and mended with contrast fabrics and big stitches, but these I wanted to keep more subtle.

I was having a hard time finding the right denim scrap to use until I started looking at the back sides of the denim and was able to find a lighter shade that blended better with the faded knee that was being patched.

This whole project took less than 15 minutes and I extended the life of these jeans 😊. Do you have jeans that need repairs? It might be easier than you think.

#visiblemending #invisiblemending #denimrepair #repairyourjeans #upcycledjeans #denimupcycle

“What did you do today?”

“I’m a serious quilter now, so I worked on my goal of bringing more circularity and reuse into modern quilting.”

“Oh good. I was worried you were going to make something silly.”

[imaginary conversation in my head while I made these]

#sustainablesewing #upcycledjeans #denimart

Remember when I hand-dyed this Liberty fabric last year in indigo? AKA when I “ruined” perfectly good $45yd fabric? 😄

It’s been waiting, biding its time… until *pounce*. It jumped back on my work table and said it wanted to be a log cabin. But probably not a quilt (I already have a Liberty quilt).

I think these might be a shirt, which is why I had to use my BERNINA L890 to flatlock the pieces together, so the back wouldn’t be a fraying mess. This is the same stitch I used for my denim dress. I wasn’t sure if it would work with the Tana Lawn but it did!

@berninausa @libertyfabrics #berninaambassador #libertytanalawn #indigodyed #logcabinquilt

I realized I never shared photos of Chairy (the chair). So… here you go! I also have some variations of chair paraphernalia to really drive home the versatility of these pockets.

Things that fit in Chairy’s pockets:
1. Tiny notebooks and cat pencil.
2. Hand sewing needles and thread
3. Scissors and measuring tape

The list goes on and on.

Where are the snacks you ask? I ate them. But I can confirm that a bag of gummy bears does in fact fit. Chairy’s bear’ys.

#denimupcycle #upholsteredchairs #furnitureflip

This dress was such a simple process. No really! If you have ever used a pattern, you can make a patchwork version of the pattern in just a couple extra steps.

I’m going to be doing a blog post soon for BERNINA We All Sew on exactly how I did this patchwork technique using a flatlock stitch on my L890.

Using a flatlock for patchwork is my new favorite thing. It creates such a clean finish in the back which is perfect for garments.

#berninausa #berninaambassador #denimupcycle #sustainablesewing #upcycledjeans

Not a full tutorial but an overview of how I did my recent chair upcycle/reupholstery project. This is the same process I’d follow with any shape chair or ottoman.

I could have also just sewn the denim patches on top, but I liked the idea of making a fitted cover.

#upcycledjeans #denimupcycle #sustainablesewing #creativereuse #reupholsteredfurniture #denimchair

Sure I get joy knowing my volunteering at @scrapsf is helping keep art supplies out of landfills, funding art education in schools… but I really do it for MEN IN BELTED SWEATERS.

Who knew sweaters could be that much better with a strangely low belt?? And pair so nicely with a jaunty cap?? I laughed so hard when I found this at SCRAP this week and it’s going to keep bringing me joy framed on the wall of me sewing room 😁.

#creativereuse #vintagepattern #vintageknittingpattern #vintageknitwear #vintagecraft

I’ve been sharing a lot of non quilt projects recently, because honestly, I’m a bit lost in my quilt-making journey.

I keep questioning my motivation in what I’m making—is it for IG, or for a quilt show, or because I really want to do it? And all the quilt projects I’ve started haven’t felt authentic.

A spur of the moment chair is authentic. A last-minute dress from a vintage pattern and denim scraps is authentic. But for some reason when I set out to make “A Quilt”, it’s felt forced and contrived, like I’m trying too hard.

I’ve been playing around with denim strips and I keep thinking I love something and then I feel like I ruin it. I started this today and I’m not sure how I feel.

#denimupcycle #upcycledjeans #sustainablequilting #creativereuse #textileart #denimart

Shouldn’t couches also have pockets? Do some chairs and couches already have pockets and I just don’t know about them??

Don’t I have anything better to do than post this video?? Honestly no, I’m pretty focused on this pocket issue and I’d like someone to explain it to me.

But also I guess this is why you should just make your own upcycled chair covers out of old jeans.

#upcycledjeans #denimupcycle #sustainablesewing

I decided to do this a couple weeks ago and finally tackled it this weekend. It was pretty easy! I just took the old cover off and used it as a pattern to make a new cover.

All I used was some pliers, my @berninausa L890 to overlock the denim patchwork together, and a staple gun to put it back together.

Not bad for 8ish hours of work ☺️. I think I might add some stitching on it later…

#denimupcycle #upcycledjeans #sustainablesewing #upcycledclothing #upholsteredchairs

On one hand, you don’t need to know anything about weaves to sew something beautiful. On the other hand, knowing how textiles are made can help you understand how they will react and shift and can ultimately help you predict and control them.

I have these visions—I see scraps and know they will become a beautiful dress. That’s not luck, that’s a lifetime of working with textiles and therefore being able to predict what they will do.

If you are trying to up your sewing skills, it can’t hurt to learn about the creation and processes that lead to the materials you are working with.

#sewingtips #textileart #learntosew

I would like to sincerely thank the staff at @wasteshed.evanston for putting up with me last week.

I’m not sure how normal it is for someone to be waiting in front of the store for it to open and then have quite the level of excitement (and questions) as I did.

What can I say, creative reuse is joy!! Seeing wonderful arts and crafts supplies being saved from a landfill, and put in the hands of makers who are going to turn them into something cherished. What could be better??

And big thanks to @fire4hairlady for taking me to this awesome place!

[if you are in the Chicago area, there are two Wasteshed locations to check out!! @thewasteshed]

#Creativereuse #shopsecondhandfirst #sustainablecrafting #sustainablesewing

What’s blue and patched and made from old jeans? Everything I make… Ok, that wasn’t a great riddle.

I think my new favorite thing is finding vintage patterns and making them with different types of denim patchwork. I did that coat, and now the dress. I still want to do a whole suit but I’d need a pattern that wasn’t made for a tall man.

But now I’m just going to enjoy how well this dress turned out. Because the whole thing felt like it was made to be! The denim samples, the fact that vintage pattern fit me like a glove (no alterations!). The fact I couldn’t have done it without my new @berninausa L890 overlock/coverstitch.

Now I just keeps somewhere else to wear it 🤔.

#denimupcycle #thriftflip #sustainablefashion #denimpatchwork

Really pleased with how this one turned out. The minute I saw these fabric headers (samples from a friend who works in the apparel industry), I was excited because they were so lightweight, which meant drape!

Traditional denim is 12-14oz, I usually sew with 10oz if possible. These were maybe 4oz, which meant they had so much movement and would be perfect for a dress.

Half of them were poly blends and super stretchy, which normally I’d avoid at all costs, but they were really easy to sew on my BERNINA L890.

I’ll share some more pics tomorrow.

Sewn on @berninausa

#sustainablesewing #denimupcycle #thriftflip #vintagepattern #denimpatchwork #berninaambassador

I definitely don’t have time to start knitting… or crochet, or needle punch. So I’m just going to have to stick with enjoying the colors of thread 😅. Am I getting bored of all my blues? No! But I do love color…

But seriously folks, the fabric at H+H wasn’t that exciting to me (I know, I know, but I just don’t love quilting cotton). But the yarn on the other hand… all of the hand-dyed skeins, so many options with eco-friendly fibers and processes…

On my panel I shared the stage with Marisa Cid of @pascuali_official and I was genuinely impressed by their sustainability initiatives. If there are any knitters out there you should check them out!

And I got to chat with @roadtripsockyarn who won last year’s Golden Scissors award for sustainability and then found out she donates proceeds to cat rescues!

In terms of things I’ll actually use 😅, I was finally able to connect with @scanfilfinethread who makes beautiful GOTS certified organic cotton thread and I’m really looking forward to trying their 30wt in my machine for quilting.

#organicthread #sustainableyarn #sustainablesewing

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