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scraps of denim in a patchwork pattern on cardstock

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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

A vintage blanked turned into a log cabin quilt block and added to a denim jacket

Upcycle a Denim Jacket with a Thrifted Blanket

If it had been in good shape, this vintage Mexican Saltillo Sarape would have been highly desirable, and I never would have cut it up. But unfortunately, by the time it arrived at Scrap SF, it was stained and almost disintegrating across multiple sections. But I knew I needed to save the parts that I could.

My Simple 5-step System to Organize Denim Fabric Scraps

My Simple 5-step System to Organize Denim Fabric Scraps: how to keep your upcycled jeans in order, and why you might want to keep the awkward bits! But first my #1 tip: Don’t over organize!!

Upcycled Greeting Cards: Turn Fabric Scraps into Handmade Gifts

Looking for a fun way to use up the tiniest scraps of fabric? Upcycled greeting cards are one of my favorite little scrap-busting...

THE TOTEPACK

SHOP

Pattern & Upcycling Guide

It was so chilly earlier this week, I almost thought maybe I need to make myself a warm, cozy jacket. And then I remembered I’ve already made myself multiple warm cozy jackets 😅.

I definitely don’t work with wool enough. I love wool. Maybe I need to make a patchwork wool, leather and denim coat. The only issue is I don’t leave my house that often. It’s a conundrum. Because what else would I make out of wool, leather and denim? A quilted sweatshirt might be interesting. BRB going to make a sweatshirt. No! I can’t start any new projects until I finish my denim class I’m making.

[apologies, this is the stream of consciousness in my head right now]

Just hanging out in my sewing room thinking… 😬. So many thoughts… And before anyone says it, yes I know there are some people who value repair work and are willing to pay for it, and there are people who support themselves doing repair. And it’s not realistic for many people to pay for a repair that costs more than the garment…

And I’m not going to say that the system is broken, because it’s working exactly how it’s supposed to. There wouldn’t be 30 billionaires in San Francisco alone, if capitalism was ethical and the goal was to support workers.

Well this post is a bit of a bummer. So I’m going to repeat something I said, because I really believe it: the path forward is getting as many people as possible sewing, quilting, upcycling and creating with any materials really. My goal with Sewing through Fog and @feelgoodfibers and the mending clinics, is to inspire people to create and appreciate the textiles around them. And then hopefully appreciate all the people who touched those textiles before them.

What does this little wallet have in common with the patchwork skirt I shared yesterday? Yes, obviously upcycled denim 😅, but also they both use the metal shanks from deconstructed jeans of course.

When I first started upcycling, all those random parts that were left over would end up in the bottom of a drawer. But with every new upcycle I’ve learned and grown and I’ve found so many cool ways to use them! I wanted to share some inspo for the leftovers, so I made a video for the YouToob 😁 with a ton of great project ideas. Comment “TOOB” and I’ll send you the link.

I had a moment last week, I was working on the Deconstruction part of my new denim class, recording myself talking about why it’s worthwhile to keep all these little parts (belt loops and pockets and labels), and I listened to what I had recorded and thought “wow, I actually have some good ideas” 😂. No really, I’m not great at acknowledging my own growth, but I thought about everything I’ve learned in the last couple years and it was kind of cool.

So enough of that nonsense. Go watch the video and let me know what’s your favorite way to use a piece of an upcycled jean!

It’s #menademay but with a button fly. My absolute favorite part of this skirt is how it closes. It seems so obvious to use buttons as buttons… but I forget I should do this and then every time I wear this skirt I am reminded 😅.

I’m working on a little video for YouTube about all the different parts of a jean and how they can be used once you’ve taken all the denim. My recommendations are not earth shattering - it’s a lot of “use the zipper as a zipper” 😂.

The idea of dressing your age is so stupid. Or actually, it’s totally backwards. The older I get the less F$@k’s I give, so actually, wearing a Bart Simpson sweatshirt and checkerboard vans in my 40’s seems exactly right.

In my 50’s I think I’m going to try out hats. Like hats from the 1930’s, a nice pillbox and maybe a cloche or two. But only with vintage Stan Ray workwear.

If you are surprised I kept this sweatshirt since 1991, I will remind you of the nice wood box that has all my buttons and beads. I won that wood box as a child in a raffle at a jazzercise jazzathon in the late 80’s (it had cheese in it), and kept that box to this day. It’s a nice wood box, why would you get rid of a nice wood box?

I finally started the actual cutting and sewing part for this shirt. Haven’t gotten far, but I think it’s going to work out ok. I’m not 100%…. I’m about 85%. I’m still trying to decide if I take it in at the shoulders (the denim shirt is a men’s size small and I have xs shoulders). And I’m not sure how it’s going to drape…

But that’s the fun of upcycling: the unknown. You have an idea of what something will look like but no picture, except the one in your head. Right now the picture in my head drapes a bit weird and is really big in the shoulders 😂.

Have I mentioned recently I love my @ldh_scissors? I have my medium size craft scissors and then my larger shears that are really ergonomic. Highly recommend!

I’m going to stop apologizing for doing #memademay wrong… It was a beautiful day and I realized I was wearing something re-made so I did a porch video (well two because during the first one someone walked by and I had to pretend I was watering the plants 😂🤣).

These jeans are more re-made than they look because they had to be mended first and then taken in at the waist a ton, and then I added the visible patches and did the weaving.

Maybe I’ll share a video about the process next week.

I had to share some photos of my vest from yesterday’s reel since the video doesn’t really do it justice. She pretty.

Hands down, my favorite way to add patchwork or quilted elements to a denim jacket or vest is to use the existing panels and pattern shapes. It starts to make it feel organic and intentional. Like the textiles are merging into one.

Another way to do this is dye. I dyed these elements separately but I could have added the blocks and then dyed to whole thing together to get a unified look.

Also what’s great about this vest? It’s basically a purse. Like, rather than carrying a bag around, you just put this on and keep stuff in the pockets! 😊

I decided this #memademay I’m going to reflect on some of my favorite makes, or I guess re-makes. And this pink Tommy Grumpy Cat jacket has to be my favorite transformation. Maybe because it’s almost a reverse transformation – a glow down rather than a glow up.

Look, I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would have preferred it in pink with Grumpy cat, and it was pretty wonderful, but despite my previous desire to bring more whimsy to my wardrobe (re: brightly colored knit dress disaster) I’m really focused on making stuff I’ll actually wear.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the responsibility I have over the things I own. If I could never throw anything out or recycle or donate anything, how would that change what I buy and create?

Um, yeah… not sure where I’m going with this, but all that to say I like this thing I made 😊.

I’ve never participated in #memademay because until recently, I thought I was a quilter. After leaving the apparel industry I didn’t want anything to do with clothes. I mean… except for wearing them.

So I started quilting. But before I knew it I was upcycling and then there were bags and then clothing. It just happened. It started slowly, a little piece here or there, just things I really needed. And then I was in Raleigh in early ‘24 for QuiltCon and ended up at @raleighdenim with owner @victorlytvinenko and he handed me this green woven shirt and said I could use anything in the shop to transform it.

So in two hours I created a denim 1/2 to the shirt. I used an industrial juki for the first time since I worked in the costume shop at my college. And it felt so good. It felt like coming home. I think about that day a lot because it reminded me that garments don’t just mean 100k units of men’s 511s that need to be sold in to Macys, they can be upcycled and singular, and something I will always love.

I don’t think this is how you are supposed to do #memademay I think I’m supposed to be showing what I wore today that I made? But I’m going to use it to reflect on my journey back to apparel, and some of the cool things I made along the way.

You might be able to sense my complete exhaustion in this video. I got real overwhelmed. There were too many choices. I’m not good with too many choices. I like one bad option that I need to use my creativity to turn into a great thing.

I had this flashback to when we had to get a new microwave a couple years ago and I probably spent 3 months researching microwaves and nearly lost my mind. Being more decisive is something I’m working on, and I didn’t realize how much it helps me to buy everything secondhand. Less choice, more creativity!

So, more to come.

Getting your clothes repaired for free at the public library is a form of resistance! Refusing to buy in to a culture of disposable fashion, keeping things out of landfill, it doesn’t seem like much, but it’s powerful.

Despite city budget cuts, we still got funded to do these repair clinics this year which is awesome. But the fact that we could have lost these events, and the fact that other important services are being cut in SF, I can’t help but think… How the actual F@#! can there be 30 billionaires living in this city (yes I said billionaires) and any single non-profit isn’t being funded??!!

How can you have so much money and not want to use it to help your community and those around you?? What is wrong with rich people?? Ok, I know, not ALL rich people… I just can’t fathom an existence where I didn’t feel in my bones the need to help other people.

Sorry, I’m just having some feelings over here because i believe if someone has the privilege to be able to give back, it’s a moral imperative that they do so.

Anyway… Our next mending clinic is at the Parkside branch!

Send help. This could go on for months.

I actually thought for a second that I could create a bunch of different under-shirts that the outer skeleton sits on. But I need to be able to sew them together or it’s going to be awkward and hang strangely.

And really, I only need one of these. I do like the cream and white linens that I showed in the beginning, so I’m actually giving them a needed OxiClean bath to see if I can get them less stained, and then we will go from there…

Which one do you like best?? Tell me in the comments. I’m leaning towards one of the vintage quilt tops rather than white lace/crochet. I just can’t decide exactly what I want to do with that white lace/crochet stuff 🤔. I mean I want to do a million things, I just don’t know which one to choose.

I really shouldn’t be working in this shirt now, I have an actual important project I’m working on – I’m creating this denim class that I think is going to be really great. it’s almost done but it’s been so much work 🫠. I’m basically trying to compile everything I know about sewing and quilting with jeans and put it into a not-overwhelming format, that doesn’t teach one specific technique, but instead gives you the tools and confidence to do all the techniques 😬.

I’ve been working on this class for over a year but I’m really trying to buckle down and get it done in May… which means trying not to get distracted by every new project idea I have. Maybe just every 3rd new project idea I have 😂.

Yes I realize this is the second video I’ve posted of Troy and Penny on this quilt. That’s because I’m not kidding! I can’t pull out this quilt without them standing on it or burrowing under it.

I’d like to share some better update photos of the quilting but I can’t. What? You think I should take the quilt into a different room and close the door so they can’t get in?? How rude.

I mean, I don’t have a ton of progress to share (because cats). But I wanted to share how pleasantly surprised i am at how it’s going. I’m quilting with cream thread on denim which means you can see every stitch, and it’s pretty cool actually 😊.

I’m hoping to finish the quilting in a week or so (unless of course cats), and then I have to decide if I’m binding or facing it 🤔.

Sometimes taking time away from a project totally changes your perspective on it. I know, duh 😂.

I have a little tutorial on this woven mini quilt and I just shared it on YouTube (am I allowed to say that or is the algorithm going to hide this post now 🤔). Anyway, someone commented that I never shared how the back looked at the end.

And I thought… Exactly! Because it was a mess and looked terrible. I had never even taken a photo. So I went to take a photo and now I’m obsessed with the back!! It’s so perfectly haphazard, now I want to make a quilt where this is the front and this is what all the quilting looks like.

I don’t think my tastes have changed in the year since I made it. I think I was so focused on what I thought I’d done wrong or how I’d failed to be thoughtful about the back, that I missed the fact it was cool.

Anyway… if you want to watch the tutorial (and others I have uploaded) there is a link in my bio for my YouTube channel. I was going to say it in code “Starts with a ‘U’, rhymes with Moo…” but there aren’t any good words that rhyme with “Tube” 🫤. Actually “Rube” is ok but a bit condescending.

I’m so excited to be doing a mending post for BERNINA’s WeAllSew blog! And for all you quilters out there this one’s for you. Because the techniques I show are techniques that you probably know if you quilt (like free-motion stitching and decorative appliqué).

Comment “BLOG” and I’ll message you a link to check it out.

I have been thinking about this post for a long time because I hear from a lot of quilters who aren’t as comfortable working on garments, which is totally understandable. And then mending is its whole own skill set. But it’s also something that’s low risk high reward. If your jeans have a rip and you weren’t gonna wear them, why not try mending them? What’s the worst that can happen?

If f you use either of these techniques, I’d love to hear from you and know how they turned out!

#berninaambassador

I don’t know, it’s a bit cheesy, but the fact this fabric has the words “hope”, “freedom” and “love”… I kind of felt like sewing with it this week was releasing those vibes out into the universe.

They obviously did nothing, have you read the news? 😅 But seriously folks, keep sewing and creating and making art, because it’s part of the solution. Not the whole solution, but part.

I made and wore this shirt to help out at an SF Climate Week event on Tuesday, and the excitement and love around the mending station, clothing swap and workshops on upcycling and sneaker repair were really uplifting.

Being in a space surrounded with other folks who share your passion is a great way to get re-energized. Because the constant onslaught of terrible news, and trying to survive as a small business owner, it’s tough. Community helps.

And cats.

This is not an earth day post. Or rather… all my posts are earth day posts.

I have a bit of “I used to work in the apparel industry where we would try to use earth day as a way to sell more new clothes (that were slightly more sustainable than than the rest of our clothes but that’s like saying we were selling healthy candy bars) trauma” 😅.

So, I get a wee bit cynical around this day. I definitely don’t want this day to go away. I want everyone to talk about being more conscientious about the planet, even if it’s for one day. But I can’t control what face my face makes when I see some of that content.

Anywhose… I’m making a shirt out of the rest of my indigo-dyed Liberty! @libertyfabrics

What a cool sew-along organized by @quiltbynight! It was super fun to add all the quilts to the site and see the variety and the way each quilter expressed themselves through the pattern.

I’m realizing more and more that my role in this online creative space involves helping other people share their art. Yes, my top priority is to promote reuse and repair, but I think promoting art is part of the same mission.

It’s all about reconnecting people to their textiles. Helping people see what’s possible when fabric is cherished and transformed.

The Gallery is live on @feelgoodfibers, there is a link in my bio to get there!

Sometimes I finish projects really quick (usually when it’s clothing I’m making for an event the next day 😅). But usually my projects take months from beginning to end, or years.

Because they are almost never planned at the beginning. When I dyed this fabric back in 2024 I had no clue what I’d do with it. I left some of each print undyed because I wasn’t sure how it would turn out.

In May 2025 I started making log cabin blocks with the dyed and undyed prints together. But I wasn’t sure if I wanted it to be a quilt. Finally, another year later, it’s a quilt top.

I share this all just because there is such an obsession these days to “optimize” everything, make everything faster and easier and more convenient. But sometimes doing things slowly is good. And necessary. And helps your sanity. Or at least mine.

Whoops. See, that’s why I can’t do block-based quilts. Once I do something more than four or five times, I get bored and stop paying attention and sew the logs on the wrong side 😂.

Or was it on purpose? Maybe I’m intentionally including some irregular blocks as a commentary on perfection in quilting 😅😬. I mean I did over-dye $45 a yard fabric with indigo in a purposefully irregular way… 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’ll share the finished quilt top tomorrow! It’s looking… hum. It’s looking interesting I guess. I’m not going to say I made a mistake by sewing these together, but I’m not 100% sure it was the right thing to do.

I had pledged to donate $350 to a non-profit chosen by the winner of the community vote but it was a tie! Which was a great excuse to donate $500 instead.

Gail (partialagonist) chose her local Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants @icdichicago an organization that advocates for the just and humane treatment of asylum seekers.

One of the many cool things about Claire’s @eclair57 Red Flags Everywhere quilt, was that it was made by a group of Australian quilters! But, she wanted her donation to go where it was needed most so we landed on splitting it between The Trevor Project @trevorproject and the ACLU @aclu_nationwide

Part of being an ethical and inclusive business is giving back. FeelGood Fibers is not a non-profit, but my goal with this business is to be profitable and grow while continuing to prioritize supporting our community over making money.

Why am I sharing this? Because transparency is key to running a sustainable business. And I’m going to continue to talk openly about the decisions I make. It’s more important than ever to have honest conversations about how we run our businesses and who we support with our money. It’s not about making all the right choices, it’s about learning and then moving forward with empathy.

Over 650 of you voted for Off the Grid’s Repurposed Materials award for our inaugural show and the winner was Nathan Ford of @soft.science 👏. I am so incredibly happy to give out this first award to support someone who truly inspires in their use of repurposed materials.

Nathan Ford is an improvisational quilter currently working in Kansas City, MO. Ford’s practice currently revolves around the intersections of queer history and his family’s history of labor in the Rust Belt. Ford creates quilts that incorporate traditional quilt blocks with unconventional materials to convey issues of status, sexual desire, and personal identity. He has participated in group shows in Kansas City and Central Ohio, including Lovetoy at Holsum Gallery and ImageOHIO. Ford’s work was featured in The Columbus Dispatch, KC Studio Magazine, and the Close Knit podcast. You can find his work at The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection.

➡️This will be the first of many shows on the gallery, so keep you eyes out for the next submission call.

I’m not some trad wife sitting at home mending my husband’s socks as a throwback to an antiquated era. I’m mending my husband’s socks as an act of resistance against billionaires making money off of exploited garment workers and our disposable culture drowning the planet in crap from Shein.

No really, I mended one of my husband’s socks last night. Because I’ve never mended socks and I knew the first couple would be wonky and I didn’t want to experiment on my own socks 😂.

Look, I don’t normally engage with stupid comments. I keep my content super positive and try not to judge the choices that other people make. Because I think I can make more positive change by inspiring others rather than shaming them. But once in a while I think it’s important to mention why I’m doing this. What made me leave a 15 year career in the apparel industry and devote my life to advocating for reuse and repair.

So when people say I’m wasting my time, it doesn’t hurt my feelings, it makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs “you have no idea how wrong you are. For the first time in my life I’m using my time to really help people and the planet and it feels amazing”

Remember when I explained how my projects are tea leaves and they get put away for a bit when they need to steep in my brain water? It’s ok if you missed that revelation into the inner workings of my mind, it was quite silly.

I’m just bringing it up because these log cabin blocks that I made with @libertyfabrics Tana Lawn that I partially hand-dyed in an indigo vat, well they have required extra steeping. Because the fabric is so special.

I keep changing my mind on what I want to do with them, and if u want to use up the rest of the fabric to make more blocks. But I’ve finally decided: I’m going to make just a couple more to make a small wall/art quilt, and save the rest of the fabric for a future item of clothing.

The process to make these is different than usual because I use a flatlock stitch on my @berninausa L890 Overlock/Coverstitch rather than sewing them on my sewing machine. That’s why they look like they have little thread ladders!

I’m hoping to get the rest sewn this week… if Penny lets me.

This is why I haven’t made more progress hand quilting my denim log cabin quilt. The minute I grab a needle and thread and sit on the couch, they appear and won’t leave my side. At least they aren’t trying to eat the thread as much anymore…

Troy especially has decided if I’m hand sewing he needs to be within 5 inches of me at all times. It would be very annoying if it wasn’t so cute…

I bought this dress around 2018, before I stopped buying new clothes and before I started quilting. It’s @marahoffman (now defunct ethical/sustainable fashion line) and the fabric is amazing.

I’ve worn it a ton, and plan to keep wearing it, but I’m also daydreaming about what it could be next… Because while it’s a dress, it’s also just an amazing textile. It’s cotton, the print is embroidered, it’s super nice quality. It would be an amazing fabric to mix with denim in a classic quilt block.

Wouldn’t it be cool if we looked at all the objects we bought in this way? You buy a bookshelf, you are taking responsibility for that wood and what it becomes next and where it goes.

I think it would make us be more thoughtful about the quality of things we buy, and of course the quantity. If things weren’t disposable we would have to be so much more creative and resourceful.

I don’t know, but I think it sounds like a lovely idea.

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