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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://instagram.fsdv2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/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=eitc3wzj1bQQ7kNvwErI483&_nc_oc=AdogboVDUCIfrvsySXMaoLrDhgmPfOsib_4Sq4--PN2UFlPwaUbxaWRyVFP_P_mLdK4&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=instagram.fsdv2-1.fna&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=SOJo106ehhsy3LhZxPHxHg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQJcpsgvSaTkHtIV8FzQXCsaapKplGFfTf9dMY4v9OP_lL3-Fky9nXwX-n-BF2rTY3rQlyXt-qh8&oh=00_AQEu7wpvAvUvxaLQbFZvrgo5fF6G-owq05ZY-xfXrcQ7rA&oe=6A80E1B9)
![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://instagram.ftlv23-1.fna.fbcdn.net/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=IT_aoiF02w0Q7kNvwG5kX3p&_nc_oc=Adrnzn-iUnv0GItYTazceydqCWoMpqRz3MZoaTYg-OKpb3fXhh0a7s6ZlvlUjffWDlo&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=instagram.ftlv23-1.fna&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=SOJo106ehhsy3LhZxPHxHg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQK-0kcRHd23abH_v7SG4Hqoyx1IN_bLfn8G853tkV6Yc9wgXaWXWfh_yH8AqTIa6gzyT3e7V4dg&oh=00_AQE3Uirp5i-FBDGybvQKDC3lPyJSpmBZtePJQvG56nDTnQ&oe=6A80CCBC)
![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://instagram.ftlv23-1.fna.fbcdn.net/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=YRCVUsCpiRIQ7kNvwExJdJ9&_nc_oc=AdpdkwU_ID4q6R4V6J2Vvu3On0fMnQBNDerKrijIinAY_qOLxyReLXEV486jGbJyhNE&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=instagram.ftlv23-1.fna&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=SOJo106ehhsy3LhZxPHxHg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQIQOjO1avlhC_2z4kkdBt4KJxtxbsBEJ5KapH2GgfMnGu5JsuyQCsNR3hhUZncsuibBCF_i4rAt&oh=00_AQFtYT-9-ygFJkIB2GAZcrtQQLWX0AFRQYv_hV8A_-lfcA&oe=6A80D1CD)
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