Check Your Thread: Sewing More Sustainably

It seems like every day, another small craft business announces that it’s closing down. In this solo episode I’m looking at the causes. What can we do to both support small businesses AND buy less new stuff for the sake of our planet?

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Image source: Tim Mossholder via Unsplash

Find out more about the Last Sewist Standing challenge:

Ep. #118: Last Sewist Standing with Lise Bauer

This Forbes article, ‘The Benefits Of Shopping Small All Year Long’ by Jim Granat, was really interesting.

The shoplocaluk.org website has some more useful information.

I used the definition of the cost of living crisis from this fuelgenie.co.uk article.

Enjoy Gina Ferrari’s Substack.

You’ll have heard me say it a ton of times before: sewing clothes yourself isn’t necessarily the most sustainable way to clothe yourself or your family. But obviously, you’ll be prizing my sewing machine out of my cold, dead hands. However, with literal mountains of existing garments already in the world, there are plenty of other ways to source clothing with a reduced environmental and social impact. In this episode, I speak with Izzie Eriksen, founding director of a Glasgow-based social enterprise called ApparelXchange, about the various ways we can clothe our young people more sustainably. We also hear what ApparelXchange is doing to tackle child poverty AND nurture their local community.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Izzie Eriksen is the founding director of Glasgow-based social enterprise ApparelXchange. Follow them on Instagram @apparelxchange.

This episode is the sister to:

Ep. #206: How to Sew More Sustainably for Kids

Photos from the ApparelXchange shop and warehouse:

Many of us experience the sewing and crafting communities as a welcoming haven in which we find self expression, safety and belonging. But just how inclusive are sewing spaces, both virtual and IRL? And how can we build them better? Guest host Kat Camfield is back with an incredible conversation with Frances Andonopoulos, the visionary behind a different kind of sewing school, Sincere Studio in Portland, Oregon. They discuss how Sincere Studio was built from the ground up with everybody and every body in mind, and why only the social enterprise model can work when creating a space that truly serves all members of a community.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Kat Camfield is a sewing teacher and sewing retreat organiser living in Victoria, Canada. You can follow Kat on Instagram @cooperativekatsews.

Hear Kat on previous episodes of CYT:

Ep. #196: Eco Printing - Kat Camfield with Carly from Lorelei Textile Design

Ep. #200: Making Check Your Thread - with Zoe & Kat, Part 1

Ep. #201: Making Check Your Thread - with Zoe & Kat, Part 2

Ep. #204: The Sewing Machine, A Novel - Kat Camfield with Natalie Fergie 

Frances Andonopoulos is the founder of Sincere Studio in Portland, Oregon.

You can follow them on Instagram @sincerestudiopdx.

What does it take to be a self-sufficient maker? How do we acquire our knowledge? And to what extent are we subject to crafting influencers and advertising? This is the second part of my most recent conversation with return guest Shams el-Din Rogers, in which we explore this idea. We also share what’s giving us hope as we push into 2026.

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Find Shams el-Din Rogers @sepia_textiles on Instagram.

Listen to her on previous episodes of CYT:

Ep. #32: Textile Activism with Shams el–Din Rogers 

Ep. #49: Sewing as Art and Political Action with Shams el–Din Rogers

Ep. #77: Stashes and Spaces with Shams el–Din Rogers

Ep. #81: Travel, Sustainability and Sewing with Shams el-Din Rogers

Ep. #142: Values Based Spending and Making with Shams el-Din Rogers

Ep. #153: The Provenance of Materials and Techniques - Shams with Allie Davies

Ep. #212: Creativity, Craft & Clutter with Shams el-Din Rogers

Shams is on the board at the Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto.

Shams regularly recommended the seminal book ‘Affluenza’ by Oliver James to her students.

Watch the trailer for the Japanese film Rashomon, directed by Akira Kurosawa.

Follow Works In Progress Toronto, the collective Shams is a member of, on Instagram (@works.in.progress.to)

During our conversation we references the following previous CYT episodes:

Ep. #210: How Frugality Builds Community with Mariel Davies

Ep. #207: Style Shifts and Sustainability with Lindsay Ashworth Fraser

I’m guessing that most of us find that a cluttered crafting space affects our creativity. It can also lead to over buying when you repurchase something you already own but weren’t able to locate. Very good friend of the podcast, Shams el-Din Rogers, is back to talk to me about the tactics she’s been using to get her space and her in check, and the impact that’s having on her creativity. Maybe these are tactics that would work for you….

Support the podcast over on Patreon!

Find Shams el-Din Rogers @sepia_textiles on Instagram.

Listen to her on previous episodes of CYT:

Ep. #32: Textile Activism with Shams el–Din Rogers 

Ep. #49: Sewing as Art and Political Action with Shams el–Din Rogers

Ep. #77: Stashes and Spaces with Shams el–Din Rogers

Ep. #81: Travel, Sustainability and Sewing with Shams el-Din Rogers

Ep. #142: Values Based Spending and Making with Shams el-Din Rogers

Ep. #153: The Provenance of Materials and Techniques - Shams with Allie Davies

Shams is on the board at the Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto.

Shams’s favourite embroidery designers:

Krista West of Avlea Folk Embroidery 

Nuri of Shaded Stitchery

Listen to Shams on the Black Women Stitch’s podcast, Stitch Please:

Ep. #123: Don’t Trash It, Sew It!!: Sustainable Creativity with Shams el-Din Rogers