Who this site is for
This site is for the ones who yearn for clothes, shoes and accessories that are as unique as they are. The ones who want to live life differently.The ones who find there should be something beautiful and magical about what we wear each day. The ones who want to experience the deep satisfaction that comes with empowering ourselves to make almost anything we need.
What you will find on this blog
Here I write about the fabrics, materials and patterns I use and where to find them, about textile printing, embroidery, dyeing, knitting, crocheting and spinning as well as shoemaking and leather crafts in general. I will show you books and websites I like which teach you new skills, talk about what inspires me and new discoveries I have made.
About me
I love the handmade lifestyle. Making something beautiful that my two home-educated children and I use every day makes me endlessly happy. I’ve been making clothes, shoes, jewellery and bags for more than 10 years, teaching myself as I go along.
I grew up in Germany and Iraq, but have since lived in many countries, on different continents. We now live in the UK. I sometimes joke my ancestors must have been nomads -a lot of desert crossings- as I never feel settled always wanting to go where I have not been before, exploring different cultures and experiencing new ways of living life.
I started making my own clothes and sandals while living in India, with all the wonderful fabric available, what else could I have done? I sat there for hours stitching dresses and tops by hand until I bought one of those manual sewing machines from centuries ago that I could use through the many power cuts.
I do not have the ambition to make clothes that look like I bought them in a shop. I want them to look handmade, colourful and unique. My preferred fabrics are organic handwoven cotton, hemp, linen, silk and lately organic jerseys. During the colder months, I mainly knit and crochet with wool I spin on my spinning wheel.
I love watching my children make their own shoes out of cardboard and fabric scraps, knit their doll’s clothes and use the spinning wheel to make the wool they need for their projects.
I want them to grow up with the attitude “what I need I make myself”, this way they will seldom have too much and cherish what they do have much longer and deeper than something bought in a shop. I want them to be creators rather than collectors.
I hope you join me on this journey of teaching yourself to make whatever you need and have a lot of fun in the process.
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Please note I’m an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. I only recommend craft books I love and use myself.