12 June, 2023
What do you do when your scrap pile is overflowing? Why you take those smaller pieces of fabric and join them together to create a large piece of fabric.
Then you cut out a coat, sew it up and spend a month embroidering said coat.
The all well cardigan coat is from All Well Workshop. A creative space collaboration between Amy Bornman and Amelia Greenhall, designing simple patterns that lend themselves to be adapted to different mediums.
In a highly debated term in the sewing community, all well cardigan, is a ‘Hackable’ pattern. Its ‘hackability’ (there description, not mine), is one of the reasons this coat pattern has me reaching for it time and time again.
I’ve used tablecloths and crochet blankets, making coats for others as well as for myself. The beauty of this pattern, is you can make the jacket out of damn near anything, make it as heavy or as light, long/ short, open /closed. Honest, your only limited by your imagination.
May last year found me in contemplation of my scrap pile. I had just donated two very large chicken feed bags of scraps to O’s school to be used in an upcycle art night, and still had so many scraps remaining. I just couldn’t bear to throw them in the bin, knowing, that I with my home sewing hobby was contributing to the ongoing ecological textile waste disaster.
I know I sound extreme, but every little bit… right!
The fabric I use holds memories of the garments I've created. The clothes I’ve made for Scott and the kids, that special top, or how I was challenged by that zip insertion. So, I found myself making this project out of those scraps, essentially creating a memory blanket, well a memory coat.
I started my project by pulling out the useable scrap pieces and giving them a good press. Once pressed the pieces were arranged on the dining table. There was nothing technical or measured about the way I joined the pieces, I kind of just sewed them together, all higgledy piggledy. My aim was to create a piece of fabric large enough that I could then cut my pattern out of.
The pattern itself is a beginner friendly, simple sew up. I lined mine with mystery pink fabric from my stash, but that happened after the embroidery goodness. All up this project took me a month, being put aside only a couple times, for Mother’s Day present making. This was the longest I had spent on a clothing project ever. Definitely hit the slow sewing mark on this one.
Once the cardigan coat was sewn up, it was time to embroider. Now, this is not my medium, I know a few simple hand sewing techniques, and true to my form, this was very random. I have actually been called random by a work colleague, gosh love her, and her description of me just tickled me pink.
I am random, and my makes are random, my techniques feel random, until I look back and a pattern emerges, you're always following a script, you just don't know it.
The embroidery was an interesting process, I just would pick different colour threads and used the fabric that I’d patchworked for inspiration. I did some simple Pinterest searches when I became stuck for inspiration. I listened to movies, chatted with family and immersed myself into what I believe writers call, ‘free writing', albeit with thread, a process where the embroidery was not edited or filtered. Many days later. (many, many, many days later), The Embroidery was complete.
I reach for this make all the time, and what amazes me, is the creating process of this make, it held my attention. I was blown away by the fact that I did not get bored with it, sure I put it down… but I picked it back up again, and again. Pats on the back for that one Jess.
What also tickled me pink is not only is this one of my favourite makes, cocooning in me an emotional coat blanket of happiness, pride, and memories; is that I entered it into the local Show!! I was chuffed to place 2nd (even more chuffed to have remembered to enter in the first place. )
So, a shout out to the Newcastle Show and all agricultural shows and shows in general. Entering homemade cakes and jams, woodworking and art, all the animals and the honey, not to mention the sewing, knitting, embroidery, well I reckon it's pretty darn important to keep this part of our heritage alive. It brings people together, creates community, hones skills that may be lost if they're not showcased as being important. Let's be honest, home sewing fell out of vogue, but it's totally back.
Hobbies are extremely important, as evidenced by the COVID lockdowns, it's also one of my main, "getting to know", people questions, the, "so what do you do" question... no not for work, what do you do for you, what makes you happy when you're not being a mum, a dad, a brother or sister.
What makes you happy when your done with work, with family, what is something that you do for you? I envy those that find work is their hobby, especially if that job is a creative one. Financial renumeration for one's creative pursuits, hells yes.
You never know what might happen if give it a go.
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