When you hear the long list of different clothes that Melanie Keane has made it's hard to believe that she only started sewing when the UK Prime Minister announced the lockdown in 2020. When I was planning for Season 2 of the Sew Mindful podcast I asked the Sew Much More Fun facebook group what topics they would like to hear about. Mel responded and said that it would be good to talk about the challenges of buying fabric as she had had some bad experiences and learnt a lot from them. I was ...
Oct 01, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this first interview of season 2 I'm delighted to be talking to Mel Forrest of Mint Button Sewing School . Mel was a primary school teacher for 15 years before leaving to pursue a 'portfolio career' in the home-sewing industry. She now teaches 1:1 sewing lessons and workshops. She also works part time as a retail assistant in a fabric shop - Home Town, Rochester . And if that wasn't enough you may also come into contact with her as a customer service assistant for the onli...
Sep 24, 2022•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Well it's been longer than I planned but better later than never! The Sew Mindful sewing podcast is back for another season. Thanks for all of you that gave me the encouragement and friendly nudges to get back to my microphone. Have you missed me? Well, I've definitely missed talking with you and you have never been far from my thoughts. So this episode is a quick introduction to what to expect from the new season. It also includes a special offer for 20% off from the wonderful Erica S...
Sep 24, 2022•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast I'm so excited to share this week's episode with you as it is one of the topics that I have personally struggled with (and continue to work on) and that is understanding how to combine colours to create outfits that feel amazing . So when I want to learn more about anything style related I turn to the fabulous style gurus that have joined me on the podcast and this week it is a delight to welcome back Imogen Lamport of Inside Out Style . Imogen was the first person to introduce me to t...
Jul 10, 2021•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast SPECIAL OFFER CODE BELOW ! Do you get overwhelmed when you try to search for new pattern and fabric ideas ? Well if you do you are not alone. Lots of the dressmakers I speak to say that they can find it challenging to stay on top of the new pattern designers and fabric shops that are popping up all the time. So I was doing a bit of my own research to find out what I could do to help and I came across In A Haystack . This a digital subscription service that does all the legwork for you and each m...
Jul 03, 2021•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast CHANCE TO WIN a pack of Vlieseline Perfect Hem Tape! I am always on the lookout for ways to make my garments look more professional and so any opportunity to learn about how things are done in a manufacturing environment that I can bring into my home dressmaking excites me. This week I am delighted to welcome back the expertise of the wonderful Janet Kolle of Vlieseline to help me get genned up on the technology of tapes and how to apply them to our garments. In this episode we discuss 10 fabulo...
Jun 26, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thank you so much for joining me again for another podcast episode. This week I am joined by the delightful Mary Broddle of Mary Broddle Embroidery. Mary is on a mission to share the well being benefits of embroidery. It has made a dramatic impact on her own life, helping her to cope with disabling chronic illness and living in her own lockdown before the world new what lockdown was. I also believe in the power of any kind of craft and in particular sewing to help us feel better but you don&apos...
Jun 19, 2021•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hello! Thank you for joining me for another Sew Mindful chat. This week is another Fabric Focus. The last one we did was with the lovely Harriet Kjellman when we talked about Denim . If you haven't listened to Episode 35 then be sure to go back and check that out. So in this Fabric Focus session I have chosen a fabric that seems to divide opinion - Bengaline . It is a fabric that I discovered quite late on in my sewing journey and it was not at all what I expected. And it did take a while t...
Jun 05, 2021•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome and thank you so much for tuning in for this episode. This week I want to tackle a topic that I noticed myself struggling with and that is getting stuck in student mode, faffing and procrastinating. That was until I discovered the Power of Practice! Do you suffer from any of these? Do you watch hours of youtube videos, or attend lots of courses, or maybe start but don't finish lots of projects? Well that was me. I found myself doing all of these and not actually feeling like I was m...
May 29, 2021•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast A short and sweet episode for you this week. Inspired by my love of the Great British Sewing Bee I wanted to talk a little bit about upcycling and recycling. We are very lucky in the UK to have access to a wide variety of different fabrics and I do love to create garments from new fabrics but it hasn’t always been this way and from necessity comes creativity. During World War 2 for example the Make Do and Mend campaign encouraged house wives to create garments from curtains, parachutes and even ...
May 22, 2021•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast I can't believe we are at Episode 40 already! Thank you so much for listening and supporting the show. This week I am joined again by my very first guest on the podcast , the wonderful Imogen Lamport . If you haven't listened to the previous episodes with Imogen and you at all interested in anything related to style then I highly recommend going back and picking those up (episodes 2, 8 and 14). Imogen has dedicated her energy to learning about all things style and then helping other wo...
May 15, 2021•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week is all about underwear and I wanted to talk about making your own knickers . I put off making my own underwear for a long time because I thought it was really difficult. Then I saw some fabulous knicker-making kits advertised by Flo-Jo Fabrics . All the hardwork of choosing what fabrics and which elastics was done for me and I decided to take the plunge and give it a go. I made my first two pairs of knickers - one from non-stretch cotton fabric with elastic around legs and waist and th...
May 08, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thank you so much for tuning in to this week's episode. We have an exciting giveaway for you alongside this episode. This week I am joined by the wonderful Janet Kolle of Vlieseline to talk all things interfacing. If like me you have been baffled by which interfacing or interlining to choose for your dressmaking project then Janet is here to help. In this episode you will hear : > Janet's background with Freudenburg and Vlieseline > What's the difference between interfacing ...
May 01, 2021•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thank you so much for tuning in to this week's episode. For many years after I learned how to sew and make clothes I religiously followed patterns. Whilst I was making them my own by choosing my fabrics I wouldn't have thought of myself as creative. When I started learning about pattern drafting and later, fashion design I realised that we are all creative but we just don't always know how to recognise and nurture our creativity. I wanted to find a guest that could explain how we ...
Apr 24, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thank you so much for joining me again this week! In this episode I am answering a great question raised by one of our listeners - Stephanie - who wanted to know how to pick the right sewing machine needle for her sewing projects. So in this episode you will hear: > Why there are different types of needles > What the anatomy of a machine needle is > What factors going into choosing which needle to use > How are needles sized > What types of needle are available and when are they u...
Apr 17, 2021•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to this week's Sew Mindful podcast episode with one of my favourite titles to date. I can't take credit for it as it was the work of my wonderful guest this week - Harriet Kjellman. Harriet is a woman of many talents including lecturing in fashion at Wolverhampton University, running her own fashion label and consulting and teaching in fashion and fashion processes and product development. Harriet has a long history with denim and uses it extensively in her designs which is why...
Apr 10, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hello, welcome and thank you for joining me! I wanted to just do a quick intro to this episode to explain a bit about what to expect and how this week's topic relates to dressmaking (as it may not be apparent when you first start listening!) One of the considerations when I am making garments is the fabric and each fabric has colours and properties associated with it. We can choose colours based purely on aesthetics for example which colours work well together but there are schools of thoug...
Mar 27, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hello and welcome to this episode of the Sew Mindful podcast. Have you ever struggled to find just the right pattern for the garment or style you want to make? Have you ever thought I wish I could make my own patterns - surely it can't be that difficult? Well in this episode I explore my thoughts and experiences with pattern drafting. When I first learned pattern drafting it deepened my love of dressmaking but also brought with it a fair amount of subsquent frustrations. So I want to share ...
Mar 20, 2021•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the week of International Women's Day and Mother's Day in the UK, it seemed only fitting to dedicate this episode to the amazing women that have influenced and inspired my sewing and dressmaking. So in this episode you will hear: > about the sewing teachers that have helped me build my sewing skills and confidence > who from the Great British Sewing Bee made my list of top influential women > which movie has my favourite costumes > some personal thank you's - did yo...
Mar 13, 2021•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Full disclosure - my cheeks are still aching from all the laughing we did recording this episode! Thank you so much for joining me for episode 31 where I am joined once again by Claire Hutchinson for what is becoming known as the Claire Hutchinson Mini Series! If you have listened to any of our previous chats you will know that Claire loves fabric and so in this get together she shares her favourite fabric shops and to my delight many of them were new to me and I can't wait to arrange a bus...
Mar 06, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hello and welcome to this episode of the Sew Mindful podcast and thank you so much for joining me. This week I wanted to focus on one of my favourite fabrics to work with and that is Jersey . I wanted to do a bit of research and share with you some background to the different types of fibres that Jersey fabrics can be made from and the very different properties that each one has. I have been teaching my sister to sew her first stretch garment and so I have been sharing some of my tips and experi...
Feb 27, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Pantone started as a graphics standards system for designers to provide a way to standardise how we define and refer to colours. It has become so influential that it is now a primary influencer in the colour trends followed by the fashion industry. In 2000 the Pantone Color Institute set up the Pantone Color of the Year . It has evolved into a significant trendsetting tool and now takes 9 months of research to select. Pantone describe the colour of the year as "...a color snapsho of what we...
Feb 20, 2021•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week is the 2nd part of my chat with the wonderful Claire Hutchinson about her tips on buying fabric particularly when in shops. If you haven't already listened to episode 27 for part 1 of our chat then I'd highly recommend doing so as Claire shares some great tips on how to make sure you get the best preparation for any fabric shopping trip. What you will hear in this episode: In this episode we get stuck straight into Claire's tips on how much fabric to buy if you haven&apo...
Feb 13, 2021•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week's episode Claire Hutchinson returns to continue our chat about her fabric stash. Claire first joined me in Episode 24 to share her process for picking and making garments and as we spoke it was clear that Claire loves to buy fabric. I wanted to find out how to become more confident in buying fabric when in shops and so in this episode Claire shares the details of her process of picking and buying fabrics. If you have struggled to find fabrics you love then Claire has some great...
Feb 06, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast One of the most often asked questions when people are learning to make their own clothes is which is the best sewing machine to buy. Choosing a sewing machine can seem really daunting as there are so many to choose from so in this episode I talk about the key things I look for when choosing a sewing machine. I explain how the machines I have bought in the past have evolved in features and price as my sewing has become more advanced and more frequent. In this episode you will hear: > What to d...
Jan 30, 2021•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast I love sewing but it can be easy to feel defeated if your project doesn't turn out as planned. There can be lots of reasons why sewing failures can happen but because you have often invested time and money into it the frustration can feel magnified when it happens. In this episode I talk about some of my 'failures' and the reason I have used quote marks is because I have found ways to reframe these projects and see them with new eyes. I want to share with you some of the ways that...
Jan 23, 2021•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast I love talking to other makers about their makes and the processes they follow to express their creativity so I wanted to share with you some of the wonderful people I have met through sewing. I met Claire Hutchinson on a Pattern Drafting course at The School of Sewing in Ashby, UK. I loved her enthusiasm and passion for all things dressmaking and followed her progress via her projects on Instagram. Over the years she has dedicated a lot of time to honing her dressmaking skills, learning new tec...
Jan 16, 2021•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast January is my favourite month for planning and so I wanted to share the steps that I used to plan my next mini collection that I will be making to kick off this year. Now the phrase ‘mini collection’ sounds a lot more glamorous than it really is but after years of making individual garments that didn’t really go with anything in my wardrobe or that I ended up not being able to wear very often I decided I needed a better plan. So I am going to share with you how I created my last two collections ...
Jan 09, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy New Year lovely listeners and welcome to 2021. I wanted to find a topic that would set you up to have a great year and so this week’s guest is the marvellous Mikki Gaskell. Mikki is a coach who describes herself as your biggest cheerleader and who doesn't need one of those! She believes that everyone is born with a unique and special gift inside them and she works to inspire, motivate and bring out the best in each person. We talk about the power of our thoughts and the Law of Attract...
Jan 02, 2021•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you have ever thought about whether you might be able to turn your sewing into a way to bring in more money then this episode is for you. Or if you already sell things that you have made and want to increase your audience and sales online then be sure to give this a listen. My guest for this episode is the fabulous Annabelle Bayhan . Annabelle helps people that run their own businesses connect with their audience through social media to find the right people to buy their products and services...
Dec 26, 2020•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
