Three years ago, I started thinking about a podcast. Like a lot of other projects over the past three years, this one went on the back burner–partly because I wanted to develop an audible means of sharing Whipstitch that felt unique and different and fresh.
I think I’ve done that, and I am SUPER excited to share it with you.
THE WHIPSTITCH PODCAST IS NOW LIVE AND WAITING FOR YOU!
I went into this podcast with the hope of making short, engaging episodes that can be devoured in a quick ride to the store or in the carpool pickup line, while waiting for your takeout order to arrive at the curb, or while cutting out a new sewing project–a single, focused topic discussed the way I would share it with a class in person or over coffee with a friend. Warm, friendly, practical, and intellectually stimulating.
Whipstitch: The Podcast for Thinking About Sewing
These aren’t interviews. They’re stories. They’re lists. They’re ideas that beg to be explored, maybe without any answers, but that feed our sewing and give us food to chew on mentally while we sew. These are the conversations we would have if we were hanging out together, sewing side-by-side. And I’m drinking coffee, which you can occasionally hear in these recordings, because they’re coming from my home to yours. From my sewing room to yours. From my hands to yours.
Sewing is hardly ever just about sewing, I’ve been saying that ad nauseam for years. Sewing connects us to every other part of our lives: our relationships, our history, our homes, our community, our hearts, our souls. The episodes I’ve recorded so far for the Whipstitch podcast each pull on one of those threads at a time and give a little tug, with the hope that it will connect to you in a way that shows how we’re all part of a greater fabric. Metaphors and all.
Episode One: Nine Ways to Instantly Improve Your Sewing
From my years of writing books and teaching classes, I’ve discovered some very simple ways of immediately finding dramatic improvement in the results you get at the sewing machine. I’ve distilled those into this twenty-minute episode, along with some asides and stories that follow my path to uncovering these techniques.
You can download a copy of this episode as a printable PDF by signing up to receive email from the League of Dressmakers, our sponsor for this episode. The League is my online subscription club for fearless sewing, so it seemed the perfect first sponsor for a podcast dedicated to thinking about sewing, and as the idea host for these nine tips.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Schmetz needles can be purchased in bulk. The price has gone up slightly–I say $16 in the episode and they’re currently running about $35, but it’s still a MUCH better deal than buying in smaller quantities.
- SharpenByMail.com has a mail-in service with about a one week turnaround time to professionally sharpen your sewing shears (and more).
- Best Press and Flatter are sprays that help keep your fabric crisp after pressing, in place of old-fashioned starch.
- My gravity feed steam iron is my very favorite one I’ve ever owned ever in the history of sewing. You can find the same model here.
- My favorite seam ripper has a nice, rounded handle that’s easy to hold without gripping too hard–I love these from Clover.
- An at-home dry cleaning kit can easily pre-shrink/pre-treat fabrics that won’t be laundered.
- Doing a fabric burn test can identify fiber content in mystery fabrics.
- My videos for how to clean your top-loading or front-loading sewing machine are two of my most-viewed on the Whipstitch YouTube channel.
- Micro-attachment kits for your vacuum can make cleaning your sewing machine a breeze.
