Welcome!

Having spent the past 18-months or so frolicking on Instagram with the joyous bunch that is the online sewing community, the time was nigh to set up this website.

I’ve been meaning to do this for years, but there is always an excuse – new baby, new degree, new job, new… you name it. Not to mention the strange but heady dose of procrastination that keeps you from doing something you know you’ll enjoy.

So, mid-pandemic, here goes! I’m Ruth, a UK-based writer and editor in the full throes of a (just about manageable) love affair with sewing. After nearly twenty years working as a journalist – in magazines, newspapers, broadcast news (most recently, as editor of Love Sewing magazine) – it feels rather sweet to finally set up a blog all of my own.

My focus here will be on sewing: from patterns, reviews and how-tos, to think pieces on sewing as it relates to creativity and personal economy.

The lens through which I look at sewing is slow fashion with a dash of frugality. Sewing offers a route to more sustainable and ethical fashion; it’s not perfect, and I would never pretend it could be, but it is a start. In this blog I will discuss the ins and outs of making your own clothes while celebrating the wonder of sartorial creativity.

Somehow, over the years, my professional life and hobby grew entwined; it seems only fitting that work and play collide here. I hope you enjoy reading the blog and find something to inspire and motivate your own creative practice. Let me know if you do – I’d love to hear from you!