Good on you have done the detective work for us and written the ultimate clothing material guide to the vast selection of fabrics found in clothes that you can find on shop shelves, in your wardrobe and fabric shops.
Author Archives: Mary H
Fabric Swap and Sale
Come along and get some lovely fabric at Days for Girls sale and swap on Sunday 23 April 3pm until 5.30pm, at Northfields Community Centre, Ealing. Bring cash and as much or as little fabric you want to swap, as there is always plenty of fabric to chose from.
Mends for Jeans
Jeans are the more hard-wearing clothes in our wardrobe and designed to last. However as we do wear them a lot, jeans still need patching usually around the crotch or knees. Here’s a few examples of how we make some almost invisible and visible mends. Rear end mend! These jeans ripped on the rear alongContinue reading “Mends for Jeans”
Setting up a Clothes Repair Group
Our guide to set up your own clothes repair cafe, giving you suggestions on what you need and how to go about setting up sessions.
Sewing needles guide
When buying hand sewing needles it’s worth investing in good quality needles and getting a variety so you have the right size and type to use for the mend you are doing. A variety pack can be a good way to get a range without a big outlay. Needle Basics Below are some useful technicalContinue reading “Sewing needles guide”
Sugru: a new type of mend
We love Sugru at Ealing Repair Cafe for fixing things. It is mouldable like plasticine and dries like rubber. The Sugru website is full of project inspiration, fixes and hacks of what to apply Sugru to. Have you got any favorites for using Sugru it for mending? Ealing Repair Cafe fixes Here’s a selection ofContinue reading “Sugru: a new type of mend”
Sustainable wins: Fabric Wrapping
What do you do at birthdays, Christmas and celebrations things to make it sustainable? We used to end up with a huge pile of wrapping paper every birthday and Christmas but now we have very little as we have swapped to reusable wraps and bags. At Christmas the amount of wrapping paper thrown away atContinue reading “Sustainable wins: Fabric Wrapping”
Ealing Repair makes a difference
Mary, our founder and volunteer for Ealing Repair Cafe was nominated for the Environmental category for the BBC Radio London Make a difference award. The full details of all the nominated BBC Radio London Environment projects nominated on Facebook Make a difference Award. BBC Radio London’s Make a Difference Awards were held at Ronnie Scott’sContinue reading “Ealing Repair makes a difference”
Water dissolvable patching with Sulky
Want to do something a bit different when mending your clothes? Try covering holes to with embroidery in the shape of moths or butterflies using sulky stabilizer.
Ealing Repair Cafe Sewing Machine and bag
We kindly had a sewing machine donated to Ealing Repair cafe. Its great to be able to offer the sewing machine again. Although the majority of repairs are easier done by hand, some mends are quicker and easier using the machine. At Ealing repair cafe, we can only help with repairs, for sewing lessons orContinue reading “Ealing Repair Cafe Sewing Machine and bag”
Sustainable fashion show needs your outfits
Do you upcycle clothes and fabrics to create outfits or mend your own clothes? We are looking for your upcycled and repaired clothes to feature in EalingSewnUp Sustainable fashion show & swap in October at Gunnersbury Museum.
Fabric Swap and Sale
Come along and get some fabric at Days for Girls swap and sale on Sunday 10 July from 2.30 until 5.00 pm, at Northfields Community Centre, Ealing. Bring as much or as little fabric you want to swap. For the fabric and items you bring along, you will receive tokens (or you can buy tokens)Continue reading “Fabric Swap and Sale”
Upcycling t-shirts into yarn
Many people are upcycling old t-shirts. You can make dusters for the house or facecloths. Here we have made it into yarn to craft with. For Jubillee I made some headbands and bracelets for the kids in red, white and blue. Cut the t-shirts into strips. You can either do this with scissors or rotaryContinue reading “Upcycling t-shirts into yarn”
Sewing machine servicing and lessons
We get a lot of enquiries about either sewing machine lessons or sewing machines that aren’t behaving well. So have put together our recommendations. Sewing Machine Care The Restart party has this brilliant Skillshare on maintaining your sewing machine, including some great hints and tips. Well worth a watch. The Restart Project is a greatContinue reading “Sewing machine servicing and lessons”
Postbox topper arrives on Northfields Avenue
Ealing repair cafe made a postbox topper to promote us and also give people inspiration for mending their clothes. Each heart shows a way you can patch or mend your clothes.
Ealing Repair Cafe 