Check Your Thread: Sewing More Sustainably

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 these are tactics that would work for you….

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Find Shams el-Din Rogers @sepia_textiles on Instagram.

Listen to her on previous episodes of CYT:

Ep. #32: Textile Activism with Shams el–Din Rogers 

Ep. #49: Sewing as Art and Political Action with Shams el–Din Rogers

Ep. #77: Stashes and Spaces with Shams el–Din Rogers

Ep. #81: Travel, Sustainability and Sewing with Shams el-Din Rogers

Ep. #142: Values Based Spending and Making with Shams el-Din Rogers

Ep. #153: The Provenance of Materials and Techniques - Shams with Allie Davies

Shams is on the board at the Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto.

Shams’s favourite embroidery designers:

Krista West of Avlea Folk Embroidery 

Nuri of Shaded Stitchery

Listen to Shams on the Black Women Stitch’s podcast, Stitch Please:

Ep. #123: Don’t Trash It, Sew It!!: Sustainable Creativity with Shams el-Din Rogers

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 comes to navigating social media, and Hayley makes some great suggestions that we can all apply today to spend more of 2026 doing the things that bring us joy.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Read more about Puff and Pencil’s ‘Hands First January’ challenge.

Find Hayley on Instagram @sewhayleyjane and discover the Thready Set Go community that she runs.

Hayley loves the Fold Line, especially their ‘New In’ section, for discovering new potential sewing projects.

A recent project that helped Hayley level up her skills was the Falconer Pants by Helen’s Closet Patterns:

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 podcast over on Patreon!

Follow Mariel on Instagram (@a_to_zerowaste)

Learn more about Holly McQuillan’s Spiral trousers on the Zero Waste Design Collective’s website.

ZW designer Liz Haywood has explored historical pattern making and tessellating sleeves. All the ‘A Year of Zero Waste’ zines and book are available on Liz’s Etsy shop, and January’s FREE instalment can be downloaded via her ‘The Craft of Clothes’ blog.

Learn more about writer Mark Boyle, AKA The Moneyless Man.

Bea Johnson is the author of ‘Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste’.

Follow green-living activist Robin Greenfield on Instagram (@robin.greenfield).

The @destash4palestine account is a great source for genuinely pre-loved dressmaking fabric.

Edinburgh-based mending legend, Mary Morton, can be found @edinburghstreetstitchers and @mvm13 on Instagram.

Learn about the Lutterloh pattern system.

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 fix over the coming season and how they plan to do it, to provide inspiration for the rest of us.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Image source: Kwon Junho via Unsplash

Access and download the FREE WOCAR tracker sheet.

The Winter of Care and Repair challenge was invented by Jeanna Wigger. Jeanna can be found @thepeoplesmending on Instagram. Jeanna also has an excellent Substack which includes this explainer about WOCAR.

Listen to my previous conversations with Jeanna:

Ep. #115: Winter of Care and Repair with Jeanna Wigger

Ep. #132: A Season of Mending with Jeanna Wigger

Ep. #135: How to Triage Your Mends with Jeanna Wigger

Ep. #163: How to Effect Change This Winter with Jeanna Wigger

Ep. #190: The Four Tendencies and Sewing with Jeanna, Kim & Lise 

Ep. #191: Stitch It, Don’t Ditch It with Mary Morton & Jeanna Wigger

Ep. #208: Challenging Consumption and Perfectionism with Jeanna Wigger

Find and order Jeanna’s book written with Mary Morton, ‘Stitch it, Don't Ditch it’.

Watch the tutorial by Arkdefo for the reusable party hats that Mary Morton mentioned.

Addams Family Stitches by Yonah and Rebecca:

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 something similar for you!

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Access and download the FREE WOCAR tracker sheet.

Photo credit: Elaine Pieczonka.

Jeanna Wigger can be found @thepeoplesmending on Instagram. Jeanna also has an excellent Substack which includes this explainer about WOCAR.

Listen to my previous conversations with Jeanna:

Ep. #115: Winter of Care and Repair with Jeanna Wigger

Ep. #132: A Season of Mending with Jeanna Wigger

Ep. #135: How to Triage Your Mends with Jeanna Wigger

Ep. #163: How to Effect Change This Winter with Jeanna Wigger

Ep. #190: The Four Tendencies and Sewing with Jeanna, Kim & Lise 

Ep. #191: Stitch It, Don’t Ditch It with Mary Morton & Jeanna Wigger

Find and order Jeanna and Mary’s book, ‘Stitch it, Don't Ditch it’:

Katrina Rodabaugh, author of ‘Mending Matters’, played a key role in Jeanna’s mending journey.

Jeanna’s men(D)iagram! Click through to read her explanation.