Category Archives: TUTORIALS

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was one place where I could have all the links to tutorials for all the different collars I love/ am eager/ am always scared to make? It would save me from bookmarking separate pages and possibly procrastinating which, let’s face it, is long. Yes! We think so too, so…

In ancient Ireland, the Oak held special meaning with the Celts. Considered the King of the forest, it was associated with strength, nobility, longevity, inspiration and knowledge. The Oak itself has a lineage dating back roughly 85 million years. Historically, the oak was essential to the Irish way of life, providing shelter, fuel, building materials,…

Are you ready to make some beautiful linen stockings? They are a great use of your scraps.  I recently had the honor of being featured in the Curated By You series, and I decided to use the leftover QUARTZ linen from my dress to make some new Christmas stockings for my family. We have quite the miss-matched collection…

Recently, I forced myself to take some time during one of my busiest times of the year, to purposefully go into nature and forage for sources of colour. I particularly love experimenting with new plants, seeing colour magically emerge from the dye bath. I love learning about the nuances of plants and familiarizing myself with…

Just like I announced in my last entry, today I would like to replace fear and anxiety with some inspiration. Some of you might remember the keywords IRONING and ZIPPER. I will talk about both of these in some detail today. But I promise you, it’s not that horrible and it won’t hurt. You have…

There are so many dye plants in bloom during these warmer Summer months. I was recently surprised to find “Lady’s Bedstraw” growing in my neighbourhood. I am looking forward to the Autumn when I can harvest the roots for pinks and reds. With natural dyeing, you can use a few different parts of the plant:…

Is there anything better than getting out of the bath or shower and wrapping yourself up in a soft towel? While your daily bathing routine might not feel luxurious, our waffle weave bath towels can change that. To turn your bathroom into a fancy spa, just follow this tutorial and make a full set of…

This tutorial will focus on the stitching of Sashiko on the fabric pieces cut out for the front and back bodices of the Ashton Top by Helen’s Closet. These fabric pieces have been prepared for Sashiko stitching by drawing 0.5cm x 0.5cm grids on them. For my preferred method for drawing a grid on dark-coloured…

Although green is found abundantly in nature, especially here on the “Emerald Isle”, there is no one plant that gives you a rich deep green directly from the dye pot. Yes, a variety of plants can indeed give you subtle hues or shades of green but to get a true green one has two main…

This is a tutorial where I will be sharing how I embellish the Ashton Top (designed by Helen’s Closet Patterns) with Hitomezashi Sashiko. The tutorial is divided into two parts, and in the first instalment, we will be focusing on preparing the grid for Sashiko-stitching on the Ashton Top. After drawing the grid on the…

If you like sewing your own clothes, there will be a time where you will come across a pattern that requires knowing how to sew set-in sleeves and attaching them to the bodice. And this is when this tutorial will come in handy. A set-in sleeve is the most basic of sleeves and as its…

Following on from Part One last weekend, here is Part Two of our Shibori techniques tutorial. Remember to check the Organic Indigo Vat Tutorial to use in combination with these techniques. The first method I will show you is a traditional Japanese technique known as Itajme. This is the name given to a method of…

Don’t you just love it when your garment looks as good on the inside as the outside? There are many terrific sewing techniques that can provide a neat and clean finish to your projects and the flat-felled seams are one of them. A flat-felled seam finish gives sturdy seams and a clean look. Just like…

Following on from our recent Organic Indigo Vat Tutorial, today we have a Shibori tutorial for you in two parts. Shibori is the Japanese word for the ancient art of creating patterns through resistance and manipulation. This is usually done by binding, stitching or clamping fabric before dyeing in an Indigo vat. There are many…