Category Archives: TUTORIALS

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…

Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico and ballet director Sergei Diaghilev only worked together on one Ballets Russes production, but their union would prove momentous and life-changing for both. Their collaboration was significant for Diaghilev because it was the last production he would produce before his death later that same year. It was also important for…

Swiss Symbolist painter Ferdinand Hodler’s art is a homage to the wonders of the Swiss landscape, conveying jagged, snow-peaked mountains and glossy mirrored lakes with flat panels of vivid, jewel-like colour. The indigo of NIGHTSHADOW BLUE Linen was his favourite colour for conveying depth and shadow, which he brought in to describe shadowy mountain ranges…

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was a dreamy romanticist, painting idealised historical scenes set amongst the marble pillars and iridescent light of ancient Greece. Cool shades of aqua blue like BLUE BAYOU Linen brought crisp, fresh lightness into his scenes, particularly when combined with the glossy marble architecture of the ancient world. In amongst these tranquil and…

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…

19th century painter Alexei Savrasov portrayed stunning, Romanticised visions of the Russian landscape, capturing the sparkling freshness and icy air of winter when everything was obscured by layers and layers of snow. Sensitively attuned to the natural world at this time of year, he carefully observed how subtle shades of bluish grey like that of…

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…

If something about pleats reads as old-fashioned or formal in your mind, let our Sara Pleated Pants sewing pattern be the proof they can be anything but. Everything about these pants is as effortlessly chic as it gets. They are relaxed and airy, the sort of pants you’d want to wear all summer long on…

My first forays into natural dyeing began with the vibrant blue dye of indigo. Indigo is the name given to the dye that comes from plants (of which there are many species) containing the indican compound that produces an incredible blue dye. Used throughout Asia, South America & Africa, indigo has a rich and vibrant…