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Stitch it, Don't ditch it

sew organised style

Release Date: 07/28/2025

Fabcycle in Vancouver Canada show art Fabcycle in Vancouver Canada

sew organised style

Irina McKenzie is today's podcast guest. Irina and Erin are the fab faces behind Fabcycle! The account FABCYCLE (@fabcyclevan) developed as a Vancouver-based social enterprise focused on reducing textile waste by connecting apparel industry deadstock with makers, creators, and people who sew. Founded in February 2019, this initiative evolved from a waste reduction mission into a community hub for sustainable fashion.  FABCYCLE is a collection service of textile waste that you can support both online and in person. Fabcycle works directly with local apparel manufacturers...

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Nicole Nehrig show art Nicole Nehrig

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Nicole Nehrig is a clinical and research psychologist based in Brooklyn, New York, with a deep passion for knitting and textile arts. She holds a PhD in clinical psychology and is the author of the book . Her book explored how women through history overcame their life changes with their textile works. You can follow her on Instagram at also on her website and you can find her on Revelry under Nerdy knitting. In 12 months Nicole knitted 12 adult sized sweaters. She's met a few knitting friends through her love of knitting. One of her knitting friends that she mentions, has shown Nicole...

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Alexandra Wall show art Alexandra Wall

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is Alexandra's sewing community resource for us to use. lives in Cardiff, Wales and she's trained in the fashion industry. Once she was working in couture designer houses, the amount of waste at that level and in high street brands made her rethink her priorities. Thankfully she found us in the sewing community when she began to develop sewing patterns. Now Alexandra mainly works with sewists in providing them with skill building opportunities and resources, rather than produce fast sewing patterns. Head to Alexandra's YouTube account now https://www.youtube.com/ Or her website In...

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Jane Milburn OAM show art Jane Milburn OAM

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Jane Milburn OAM is TextileBeat on Instagram. She's a sustainability consultant, Slow Clothing pioneer, TEDx speaker, Churchill Fellow, upcycler and agricultural scientist. Jane has authored Slow Clothing and The Process of Mending - a recipe book. Clothing accounts for up to 10 percent of our environmental footprint and everyday practices that extend the lifespan of clothes – caring, repairing, rewearing, restyling, upcycling – can reduce its ecological impact and create independence from fast-fashion cycles. Mary V Morton and Jeanna Wigger, the authors of Stitch it Don't Ditch it,...

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Amanda dot Stitches show art Amanda dot Stitches

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Amanda.Stitches on Instagram is both today's podcast guest and guest editor on SewOver50 Her standout roberts.woods drafters grid dress at Perth Frocktails this year took our breath away and we had to invite Amanda to tell us all about this dress.  As Amanda said 'the #draftersgriddress has been many months in the making, planning started early this year with the sourcing of vintage tablecloths - not just any cloths, but ones that had similar pink tones & were the same shade of white. Several were ordered online, only to find when they arrived they weren’t suitable - I’ve got a...

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Leanne Munro show art Leanne Munro

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It's not everyday you find an English woman in New Zealand who specialises in sewing kilts. Leanne Munro sewed 15 kilts in less than 12 months as part of her kilt making training. Yes she quilts but her passion is kilt making. Just ask the locals in New Plymouth, New Zealand.  Her skills include not just sewing kilts but also recreating better kilts from existing kilts. Leanne has a lot of knowledge about sewing kilts and she's more than happy to answer any questions about making a kilt.  We both shared some of our knowledge of X marks the Scot. https://www.xmarksthescot.com/ The...

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Izumi Montgomery show art Izumi Montgomery

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Izumi Montgomery is a Japanese artist and sustainable craft facilitator based in Sydney Australia. Izumi holds a Masters in Sculpture from Tokyo University of the Arts and she has also studies fashion at TAFE New South Wales. This is where she developed a strong interest in ethical and uncycled design. She combines traditional Japanese techniques such as Tsumami Zaiku (folded fabric flowers) with reclaimed materials to create thoughtful workshops. Alongside teaching, Izumi regularly facilitates sessions at Reverse Garbage and other community spaces where participants are invited to slow down...

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WearWereGoing show art WearWereGoing

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Alexis Bailey has come through a period of not designing and rebranded to become WearWereGoing. A listener suggested I interview Alexis and in this episode, you'll hear how Alexis has been supported by some of her Patreon community to create zero waste patterns. She's now turned this corner of her life and Alexis is a positive person to speak to. Sew Organised Style features people who freely support the sewing community. You're welcome to be a podcast guest by contacting us . Alexis was suggested to me to be on the podcast by one of our instagram followers. If you are able, consider...

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Random acts of crochet kindness show art Random acts of crochet kindness

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Mental wellness advocate and author Olivia Dieterich has released an uplifting book, Random Acts of Crochet Kindness (published by Search Press), that has one purpose: to create something special and then leave it out in the world for someone else to find.  Olivia creates 25 beginner friendly designs to label with kindness and place in your local community, ready to brighten someone else’s day. These tiny acts of kindness have captivated fans worldwide with the #RandomActsOfCrochetKindness Facebook page which has 357.8K followers where people spread love to strangers.  Patterns,...

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Her Heart Australia show art Her Heart Australia

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Her Heart Australia was able to provide Ronda Hazell with a cardiologist for her current heart diagnosis. Maria Theoharous and Dr. Radhika Arunkumar discuss prioritising health, specifically women's health and focusing on key questions about heart attack. They share a checklist reviewed by health professionals and highlight differences in symptoms of a heart attack between women and men. Her Heart Australia resources can be found at Listen to the podcast for more healthy heart tips. Post script: Ronda did more of her own research about her heart condition and she is now getting assistance...

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More Episodes

Jeanna Wigger and Mary V Morton are the authors of Stitch it, Don’t Ditch It.

Mary direct messaged Jeanna when Mary heard Jeanna on Check Your Thread podcast. They teamed up and wrote this really helpful book about mending via hand sewing.

As a sewist, you would assume mending clothes is the focus of this book. 

What Mary and Jeanna have created is a resource for anyone to mend not just clothing but any textile or object they want to give a second or third life to.

Stitch It provides all basic hand sewing skills and mending techniques to repair garments by hand.

Skills are presented with instructions for both left- and right-handed menders, with accessible line drawings accompanying each skill.

The book includes indispensable explanations of fabric types and construction, to guide readers in learning about their clothes, and how those factors influence each repair.

If you are able, consider supporting this podcast through our patreon account. There are 3 new tiers to choose from to support SewOver50's only podcast.

Every podcast is free and the archive is gradually being uploaded on to the podcast YouTube channel.

Sound with permission by Kaneef on YouTube.

SewOver50 intersects with all communities. SewOver50 where we are so over ageism. 

Our focus is the sewing talent each person shares on social media and providing recognition of their willingness to share their skills whether a beginner or experienced sewist.

Make sure you listen to your SewOver50 friends in our SewOver50 podcast archive.