Check Your Thread: Sewing More Sustainably

Have you ever consciously infused your handmade garments with personal magic? And how can we create clothing that feels like emotionally protective armour? This is the second part of guest-host Kat Camfield’s amazing conversation with textile artist Justice McNeil from Thread + Sprout. They touch on so many topics, including pattern instructions that work better for some neurodivergent brains, and...

Is it possible to create a successful sewing business making desirable products using scraps that allows you to leave your corporate job? Spoiler alert: Yes! Amazing guest-host Kat Camfield talks to Justice McNeil about the origin story of her inspiring business, Thread + Sprout , and how it’s evolved into something quite different, but equally inspiring.  Support the podcast over on Patreon...

Are you ready to share mending skills with others? Mary Morton and Jeanna Wigger, authors of the excellent book, ‘Stitch It, Don’t Ditch It’, have a ton of practical advice learned through hosting lots of in-person mending events. We discuss the different event formats for sharing skills, how to coordinate with venues and the best free resources available to support your efforts.  Plus, there...

To be honest, this episode’s link to sustainability is very tenuous, but when repeat-guest Lise Bauer hits you up saying she needs to talk - you drop everything and talk. The main topic of conversation is where we’re both at with the latest round of the Last Sewist Standing challenge. I wonder if our statuses will surprise you…. Support the podcast over on Patreon ! Find Lise and the Last Sewist S...

Whether or not you identify as neurodivergent, you’re going to want to hear this episode. In Episode 222, Kim Witten and I requested submissions about people’s experiences of neurodivergence and craft. My goodness did we receive a fascinating selection of submissions. If you are at all interested in people, how they think and move through the world, you’re going to love this episode.  Support...

Those of us who make some or all of our own clothes ourselves might feel like we’ve opted out of the fashion industry. However, as citizens of this planet and feminists, we can’t ignore the problems caused by clothing and fabric production. And, in fact, us home sewers might be well placed to have a huge positive impact. Because, as Sophia Yang, the founder of the world’s leading youth-led ethical...

Most of us think of sashiko as a type of visible mending that we discovered via Instagram or Pinterest. But what actually is sashiko, and how should we engage with it? Is it an artform to be revered and put on display? A common household practice borne out of necessity, used for survival? Is it a form of meditation? Or some lovely hand stitching patterns we can emulate to fix and customise our jea...

There are lots of online marketplaces out there through which you can sell or give away your unwanted crafting materials, but they all have their drawbacks. Destasher is a new UK -based platform JUST for sewists and yarn crafters wanting to buy, sell, giveaway or claim materials and supplies within the maker community. Its creator, Caroline, tells me what makes Destasher such a great option for th...

I love hearing and reading practical tips for how to stay creative when your budget is tight. But what is rarely acknowledged in those types of content is how rubbish and frustrating trying to maintain a creative hobby when you’re skint actually feels. In this episode, we acknowledge and gently challenge some of those negative feelings, so that applying those practical tips feels positive and rewa...

The next installment of the SIDDI tour with Jeanna and Mary. I speak to Charlotte from Stitched Up - a Manchester-based not-for-profit with the goal of building an alternative fashion future by sharing sewing, mending and upcycling skills, and facilitating clothing swaps and textile recycling. I spoke to Charlotte Vinsen who freelances with Stitched Up, about what Stitched Up do, how it works and...

In recent years there’s been a growing amount of research and understanding around neurodiversity: the variety of ways in which different people’s brains and nervous systems work. With more and more people getting formerly diagnosed, or at least identifying as being neurospicy to some degree, regular guest, Kim Witten, who is a coach, writer and one of my cleverest friends, is back on the podcast...

What are the biggest challenges AND the biggest joys of running a business making products from upcycled textiles? Legendary guest interviewer, Kat Camfield, has rounded up three intensely talented Canadian upcyclers: Brynn from B-Bot Clothing, Emily from Woodbrick and Meagan from Salt Legacy. We hear how they each started their businesses and their different approaches to the same problem: trying...

No one should feel obligated to use their sewing skills and free time for anything they don’t want to use them for. However, if funds are tight, you might decide to look into how sewing can save, or even make, some money. In this episode you’ll hear from some members of the CYT Patreon community and subscribers to the CYT newsletter, about how they save money, and also make money, with sewing. If...

It is inevitable that our body’s shape and size will fluctuate over time, be that over the course of a day, a week, a month or a number of years. As more-sustainable sewists who want to get a lot of use from the items we make, we should be factoring in these body changes when planning our projects. So does that mean that everything we make should look like a potato sack? Pattern designer, Sasha St...

Do you fancy a fun catch up with repeat guest Lise Bauer? Of course you do! In this episode we find out what has changed with Lise’s relationship with her fabric stash, and we both make confessions regarding recent fabric purchases. Lise also makes a strong case for attending a Frocktails event, and suggests a different way to engage with social media.  Support the podcast over on Patreon ! T...

All of us are aware of and enjoy many of the mental health benefits of crafting, making and mending. Rebecca Jackson understands this better than most, having experienced one of the worst things someone can go through. It led her to set up The Big Fandango five years ago in Bury, just outside Manchester in the UK. The Big Fandango is a social enterprise with workshop space that creates and nurture...

It seems like every day, another small craft business announces that it’s closing down. In this solo episode I’m looking at the causes. What can we do to both support small businesses AND buy less new stuff for the sake of our planet? Support the podcast over on Patreon ! Image source: Tim Mossholder via Unsplash Find out more about the Last Sewist Standing challenge: Ep. #118: Last Sewist Standin...

You’ll have heard me say it a ton of times before: sewing clothes yourself isn’t necessarily the most sustainable way to clothe yourself or your family. But obviously, you’ll be prizing my sewing machine out of my cold, dead hands. However, with literal mountains of existing garments already in the world, there are plenty of other ways to source clothing with a reduced environmental and social imp...

Many of us experience the sewing and crafting communities as a welcoming haven in which we find self expression, safety and belonging. But just how inclusive are sewing spaces, both virtual and IRL? And how can we build them better? Guest host Kat Camfield is back with an incredible conversation with Frances Andonopoulos, the visionary behind a different kind of sewing school, Sincere Studio in Po...

What does it take to be a self-sufficient maker? How do we acquire our knowledge? And to what extent are we subject to crafting influencers and advertising? This is the second part of my most recent conversation with return guest Shams el-Din Rogers, in which we explore this idea. We also share what’s giving us hope as we push into 2026.  Support the podcast over on Patreon ! Find Shams el-Di...

I’m guessing that most of us find that a cluttered crafting space affects our creativity. It can also lead to over buying when you repurchase something you already own but weren’t able to locate. Very good friend of the podcast, Shams el-Din Rogers, is back to talk to me about the tactics she’s been using to get her space and her in check, and the impact that’s having on her creativity. Maybe thes...

Whether or not you’re a New Year’s Resolutions kind of person, setting some intentions about what you’d like more or less of in your life as you head into a new year can feel really positive. All of us want to spend more time making and being creative, and less time being sold to. My guest, Hayley from Sew Hayley Jane, and I discuss the issues faced by makers and small business owners when it come...

Do you want to feel more connected to the place you live and the people who also live there? Then consider not buying new fabric. My guest, Berlin-based Mariel Davies, chooses to live a frugal lifestyle, both to reduce waste, and to create and deepen her connections with others. We also discuss the gamification of resource acquisition, and her radical approach to gift giving.  Support the pod...

Whether or not you plan to participate in the Winter of Care and Repair challenge, we all have items we’re responsible for maintaining. Although, if you’re anything like me, there might be things you don’t even notice that are well within your control to improve, and will make your life better as a result. In this episode, we hear from a bunch of amazing CYT Patrons about what items they intend to...

PSA: The Winter of Care and Repair challenge is kicking off on 21st December! I used its imminence as an excuse to talk to the challenge’s creator, mending expert and author Jeanna Wigger, about the wider impact participating has had for her. Jeanna tells me how it’s helped her shift her consumption habits, challenge her perfectionism and reframe her ideas around productivity. Maybe it will do som...