A retro playsuit – Butterick 6354

I’m back, with what might be my most spectacular creation so far! It’s a retro-style playsuit for my friend/pin-up, Becca BamBam. Her pinup character is so fabulous I felt it fitting to create something equally fabulous to suit.

“Better dead than disabled”: on Stephen Hawking, Me Before You, and “mercy killings”

Content warning: suicide, murder

Is it better to be dead than disabled? It might seem a shocking question, but the idea that death is better than disability is one that is promoted all around us, from fictional stories to news reports. It’s certainly a question that journalists grappled with when (clearly) struggling to write about Stephen Hawking’s recent death, in media coverage that can best be described as an “ableist garbage fire.”

An easier way to cast on

Do you ever find yourself getting confused when you’re trying to cast on a large number of stitches? I inevitably lose count when I’m casting on for a cardi body or hat brim, and only realise my mistake when the ribbing ends with the wrong stitch!

Butterick 6139 in Cath Kidston print

As a child of the 90s, I am equal parts thrilled and amused to see 90s styles come back in fashion. I feel it cements my status as a “real adult” to see clothes I wore as a kid being sold in everywhere from KMart and Cotton On to higher end stores. This particular sewing project was based on a style that my mum would have more likely worn than me*- a simple, sleeveless shift-to-a line dress in cool cotton for summer.

Ottobre 2/2017 merino statement t-shirt

After a few successful garments, I’m back to sharing one of those creations which I love but will likely never wear. I really should have known better – I overheat easily over summer, and tend to spend my days inside in cool cotton and viscose, huddled near the air con. Yet after extolling the virtues of wool fibres and seeing Amanda’s gorgeous merino Plantain tee, I couldn’t resist making myself a merino knit t-shirt.