An online day of sewing inspiration. One fee gives you access to all 7 presenters. Every presentation is recorded and will be available for viewing for 6 months after the event. Register on our EVENTS page.
Learn more about each presenter and what he/she will be talking about...
Ali Giles-Damjanovska
Presentation - Weaving the cloth I sew
About the Presenter - Ali is a bespoke hand weaver, sewist and knitter working from her home studio on the South Coast of NSW. Ali weaves cloth from which she sews tailored and classic garments, as well as menswear, scarves and shawls.
Ali studied clothing construction and fashion design at the Melbourne College of Textiles before working in the haute couture industry in Melbourne and Perth. After retiring from a second career as a school teacher, Ali returned to her love of cloth and sewing. Pre-Covid, Ali studied weaving under Liz Clana for three years and is the current president of the Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild of NSW. Ali is also a member of the Complex Weavers (International) and the AICCM (Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material - Textiles). Ali’s first love is ethnic design and technique, and the domestic culture of textiles.
Website - www.alisongiles.com/
Jane McDonald - BeBe Bold
Presentation - Sashiko Made Easy
Jane will talk begin by talking about the history of sashiko including kogin, hitomezashi (one stitch sashiko) and Moyozashi. She will also show samples of the different techniques including how sashiko is used in boro and how these techniques can be incorporated into clothing, quilts, bags etc.
This presentation will also include a demonstration on how to transfer various patterns onto fabric and the methods used for stitching the different Sashiko techniques.
About the Presenter - Jane developed a strong interest in quilt-making after moving from the UK to Australia in the mid 1980s, where she settled in the Northern Rivers region of NSW with her family. She started her textiles business, BeBe Bold, from her studio over 15 years ago. From those early stages of teaching at the studio, she now participates with BeBe Bold in major textile events and is invited to teach around Australia. BeBe Bold continues to develop, with the opening of a second studio in France offering a strong online presence overseas whilst also participating at textile events in Europe and the UK.
BeBe Bold offers a wide range of Japanese textiles including yarn-dyed and traditional fabrics, sashiko, kogin and embroidery. Jane especially loves working with, and teaching different forms of sashiko, including kogin and hitomezashi (one-stitch sashiko). She is especially fond of hitomezashi for its combination of weaving and stitching techniques as she finds the repetitive design very relaxing and meditative.
Whilst expanding BeBe Bold’s outlook, Jane remains dedicated to offering the latest in contemporary Japanese textiles through a respect for traditional craft methods.
Website - www.bebebold.com
Instagram - www.instagram.com/bebebold/
Facebook - www.facebook.com/bebeboldjapanesetextiles
Pete Trimble - Pete Sews
Presentation - Come on a jacket tailoring trip with Pete
Your jackets and coats are made to fit a model in a workroom and probably not you. Come on a trip with Pet, discovering how you can tailor your own jacket to fit you perfectly. Pete will share tips on how to decide on the best fit and how to mark it up. He will then show you how to turn your jacket inside out, complete the sewing and press it back into what will basically be a new jacket.
About the presenter - Pete creates bespoke menswear on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. He has been sewing for around 10 years, during that time creating dozens of custom, unique outfits for a range of clients. Self-taught in almost all aspects of sewing and garment construction, Pete is a unique creator. His skills are in creating outfits for men who like to make a statement including the use of unique fabrics and special details. All Pete’s garments are handmade in his studio in Coolum Beach. From measurement to design to sewing and finishing, everything is completed by Pete, for you and only you.
Website - petesews.com.au/
Instagram - www.instagram.com/petesews/
Facebook - www.facebook.com/petesew
Jane Milbourn - Textile Beat
Presentation - Towards Sustainable Dressing
This will be a live Zoom presentation
A PowerPoint presentation about clothing culture in a climate-changing world and 10 ways we can reduce our material footprint; think, natural, quality, local, few, care, make, revive, adapt, and salvage.
About the presenter - Jane is a natural-fibre champion, author of Slow Clothing: finding meaning in what we wear, and a 2019 Churchill Fellow investigating ways that hands-on upcycling can help reduce textile waste and enhance wellbeing. Jane holds agricultural science and leadership qualifications that she applied to a career in rural journalism and advocacy before becoming concerned about fashion excess and the rise of synthetic fibres. This led her to set up Textile Beat in 2013 as a platform for conversations about ethical and creative ways of wearing and caring for clothes in a climate-changing world. Jane is a life-long slow fashion practitioner who inspires others to explore creative upcycling and make, mend, adapt, refashion and repurpose garments already in circulation. When the global pandemic deferred her Churchill Fellowship study tour, Jane adapted by doing a permaculture design course that affirmed her focus on natural fibres and living simply.
Website - www.textilebeat.com
Katrina Hadjimichael
Presentation - Introduction to English Paper Piecing
Katrina will give a history of the English paper piecing technique of joining fabric shapes together to form larger pieces and for applique embellishment. Examples of antique pieces will be shown and described. She will present a needle book project with EPP embellishment. All aspects of creating the EPP will be demonstrated including choosing fabrics, fussy cutting, using templates, covering papers, joining pieces, preparation of joined pieces and hand applique techniques. She will also talk about the equipment used.
About the presenter - Katrina has been making quilts for nearly 30 years and teaching her original designs around Australia and internationally for 20 years. Her well known Jane Austen Quilt Collection includes a series of bed sized quilts featuring English paper piecing and hand applique in the style of antique quilts. Floral and small geometric prints that can be “fussy cut” are her favourite fabrics. She loves to share her passion for quilting and especially enjoys teaching ladies the joy of hand work and slow stitching. Katrina’s quilts have won several ribbons at the annual Sydney Quilt NSW Quilt Show, where she has exhibited quilts for more than 15 years. Katrina also teaches machine piecing and machine applique techniques to create beautiful traditional quilt designs. Recently she has concentrated on producing smaller projects such as needle books, pouches, bags and cushions and she strives to make her patterns understandable and enjoyable.
Website - www.katrinahadjimichael.com.au
Samantha Waude - Purple Cloud Sewing
Presentation - Planning and Pacing Your Sewing Projects
The presentation will be split into two parts. The first will cover how to plan sewing projects and things you can do that are sewing-related for when you are maybe low on energy or in pain.
The second will be around pacing and looking in-depth into the things we can do whilst we are sewing to reduce strain on our bodies and minds. This will include how to break down patterns to batch sew our projects.
About the presenter - Samantha is a sewist, living in the UK, who likes to quilt and sew garments. She has been sewing for several years and started as part of rehabilitation for a brain injury. She is passionate about sewing but just as passionate about making sewing and crafts more accessible for everyone.
Blog - purplesewingcloud.wordpress.com/
Instagram - www.instagram.com/purplesewingcloud/
Facebook - www.facebook.com/purplesewingcloud/
Pinterest -www.pinterest.com.au/purplesewingcloud/
Rhodes Fashion Sewists
Presentation - Charity Sewing
What started as a need to fund their new group premises became an activity that gives this group the ability to use their fabric stash and sewing skills, as well as the satisfaction of knowing they make a difference to the lives of people who have been displaced from the homes.
Angelika Splittgerber (or Gel) and Carol Liston, with behind-the-scenes help from Wilhemina, provide the background to why charity sewing was something they had to do, through to something they now choose to do.
Carol discusses the way they have explored different ways to contribute to the local community. Gel talks about how to find a cause that suits your sewing group members. Lots of preparation and consultation are some keys to successful charity sewing.
Carol then tells us about the importance of their simple charity sewing projects and how they have meant so much for their current charity partner Dandelion.
About the group - Rhodes Fashion Sewing group is one of the many Australian Sewing Guild groups. They have been meeting for many years and have skilled sewists from different backgrounds and parts of Sydney. At times, other Guild members join their monthly meetings to take part in sewing classes from experts that help further their sewing skills.
