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SLOW WORK SEWING

Image by Amir Bagheri

Slow work is an invitation to think deeply about craft

Like the movements for slow food and slow fashion, slow work invites us to examine the origins and meaning of our craft. When we engage in slow work, we ask where our materials came from - how many hands have handled this cloth before ours, and whose hands, and why? Did this fabric begin life as a plant, an animal, or a fossil fuel? We consider the history of the processes we employ: who made these gestures in generations past, and how did they find their way to us? We recognize that every act of making is rooted in complex systems - agriculture, politics, history, economics and culture - and interrogating these connections is vital to practicing our craft in a manner that is sustainable, ethical and meaningful.

Read more about slow work and intentional making on the blog.

I will never ever be a weaver - I spent like two days warping this tiny inklette loom, and still totally messed it up. 😣

I will never ever be a weaver - I spent like two days warping this tiny inklette loom, and still totally messed it up. 😣

My mom being a badass circa 1982

My mom being a badass circa 1982

Mexico travel wardrobe! Top edition. Stay tuned for bottoms and shoes 😘

Voiceover and captions didn't work for some reason, so here's everything shown!

Two #sorbettotop both in double gauze (from Nani Iro and Atelier Brunette), pattern by @seamwork
A little open back #krissacrop, on top of a bikini top by @edgewaterave
A self-drafted cotton lawn beach coverup, made with fabric naturally dyed with avocado peels+pits
A reversible triangle bikini top also by @edgewaterave which I hear you can wear like 50 diff ways, stay tuned
A handknit #outlinetank by @jessssiemae designs, made in Mojave yarn from @kelbournewoolens
And a bunch of little silky camisoles to wear on their own and under things, all in ecovero viscose from Atelier Brunette - mostly #crystalcovecami by @itchtostitch

et voila!

Mexico travel wardrobe! Top edition. Stay tuned for bottoms and shoes 😘

Voiceover and captions didn't work for some reason, so here's everything shown!

Two #sorbettotop both in double gauze (from Nani Iro and Atelier Brunette), pattern by @seamwork
A little open back #krissacrop, on top of a bikini top by @edgewaterave
A self-drafted cotton lawn beach coverup, made with fabric naturally dyed with avocado peels+pits
A reversible triangle bikini top also by @edgewaterave which I hear you can wear like 50 diff ways, stay tuned
A handknit #outlinetank by @jessssiemae designs, made in Mojave yarn from @kelbournewoolens
And a bunch of little silky camisoles to wear on their own and under things, all in ecovero viscose from Atelier Brunette - mostly #crystalcovecami by @itchtostitch

et voila!

Still regularly finding things to make my daily life a bit more functional and beautiful in @_making_things by @rosepearlman and @readtealeaves - this is a finger corded yoga mat carrier with an ingenious loop that lets it open and tighten easily and adjust to any size

Still regularly finding things to make my daily life a bit more functional and beautiful in @_making_things by @rosepearlman and @readtealeaves - this is a finger corded yoga mat carrier with an ingenious loop that lets it open and tighten easily and adjust to any size

Thank you to Tina VanDenburg for hosting me on her awesome podcast "In Kinship" last week, "for makers who crave a vibrant life." We had such a fun, WIDE ranging conversation, from homesteading adventures to mental health struggles, garment sewing to embroidery, sources of creativity and forming community - and so much more! Watch on youtube, listen on the podcast page, or wherever you get podcasts. All links in bio!

Thank you to Tina VanDenburg for hosting me on her awesome podcast "In Kinship" last week, "for makers who crave a vibrant life." We had such a fun, WIDE ranging conversation, from homesteading adventures to mental health struggles, garment sewing to embroidery, sources of creativity and forming community - and so much more! Watch on youtube, listen on the podcast page, or wherever you get podcasts. All links in bio!

Haven’t used any beading in my embroidery for a long time but my conversation with @kinshiphandwork on her podcast yesterday made me think about texture and I realized I’ve been missing this. I think I’m going to be beading again for awhile….!

Haven’t used any beading in my embroidery for a long time but my conversation with @kinshiphandwork on her podcast yesterday made me think about texture and I realized I’ve been missing this. I think I’m going to be beading again for awhile….!

Finally finished my #framedsweater by @dreareneeknits! Wanted to have this done by Rhinebeck but better late than never! Made with @westyorkshirespinners Croft and @brooklyntweed #replyrambouillet

Finally finished my #framedsweater by @dreareneeknits! Wanted to have this done by Rhinebeck but better late than never! Made with @westyorkshirespinners Croft and @brooklyntweed #replyrambouillet

Reduced my entire yarn stash to one very luscious box.

Reduced my entire yarn stash to one very luscious box.

Leftover yarn couched and woven onto raw silk noil ground

Leftover yarn couched and woven onto raw silk noil ground

That fair haven light. I’ll miss this place one day. “Almost 40.”

That fair haven light. I’ll miss this place one day. “Almost 40.”

I love arranging supermarket flowers. Willa chose these for me for my birthday and the vase was a gift from Bren last year. I’m so lucky for all the beauty in my daily life and honestly never take it for granted. Here’s to the last year of my 30s!

I love arranging supermarket flowers. Willa chose these for me for my birthday and the vase was a gift from Bren last year. I’m so lucky for all the beauty in my daily life and honestly never take it for granted. Here’s to the last year of my 30s!

That time I took a blacksmithing class and hammered a knife out of a hot piece of metal. I could stand to do some hammering and stoking of a blazing furnace about now.

That time I took a blacksmithing class and hammered a knife out of a hot piece of metal. I could stand to do some hammering and stoking of a blazing furnace about now.

I’ve been punch needling since the election. Made this. It has felt very satisfying to repeatedly stab a sharp object into a surface with some force. Rhythmic and cathartic.

I’ve been punch needling since the election. Made this. It has felt very satisfying to repeatedly stab a sharp object into a surface with some force. Rhythmic and cathartic.

Working on my Mexico capsule wardrobe. Bren and I made a decision to take an impromptu trip to Cancun for a second honeymoon after a rough few years. Super excited and of course I listened to the @lovetosew.podcast travel episode RIGHT after we decided and knew I had to sew a few pieces. Stay tuned!

Working on my Mexico capsule wardrobe. Bren and I made a decision to take an impromptu trip to Cancun for a second honeymoon after a rough few years. Super excited and of course I listened to the @lovetosew.podcast travel episode RIGHT after we decided and knew I had to sew a few pieces. Stay tuned!

What a pleasure to lead Embroidery as Narrative at @tatterbluelibrary yesterday. Thanks to all who joined ❤️❤️

What a pleasure to lead Embroidery as Narrative at @tatterbluelibrary yesterday. Thanks to all who joined ❤️❤️

Left for me in my studio: “WR [Willa Rahman, yes she has only my last name, fuck the patriarchy], LOVE, PAPA, MAMA, HOME, RICE [proudest Bengali mom moment], HOTTOGO, UCBMHTGO [you can bring me hot to go]”. Yes the @chappellroan love continues lol

Left for me in my studio: “WR [Willa Rahman, yes she has only my last name, fuck the patriarchy], LOVE, PAPA, MAMA, HOME, RICE [proudest Bengali mom moment], HOTTOGO, UCBMHTGO [you can bring me hot to go]”. Yes the @chappellroan love continues lol

Another knit dress! This is the #CoreBrise (free!) pattern from @corefabrics and could not be more pumped about how easy this was to make and how cute and comfy it is! Also love this boat neckline!

Another knit dress! This is the #CoreBrise (free!) pattern from @corefabrics and could not be more pumped about how easy this was to make and how cute and comfy it is! Also love this boat neckline!

Yesterday was me and Bren’s 11 year anniversary, and I memorialized it with this beautiful interpretation of one of my fav photos. (Swipe to see the original.) thank you @pigmentninja for this beautiful artwork and your total kindness in dealing with my leg that would not stop twitching all over the place! Here’s to another decade of joy and struggle and making it through, together.

Done at @atelier.eva in Brooklyn

Yesterday was me and Bren’s 11 year anniversary, and I memorialized it with this beautiful interpretation of one of my fav photos. (Swipe to see the original.) thank you @pigmentninja for this beautiful artwork and your total kindness in dealing with my leg that would not stop twitching all over the place! Here’s to another decade of joy and struggle and making it through, together.

Done at @atelier.eva in Brooklyn

It’s Tauko No. 13 launch day! I had so much fun taking part in #makeandshare13 for launch day. I made the Dynamo dress out of super soft cotton double gauze that I picked up in Tokyo last month. I hand sewed the collar, cuffs and waist tunnel and love the fit. Sewed the smallest size with no alterations except length. I am going to take in the skirt as this is just way too much fabric for me - I like something a bit more straight cut. But I will definitely make again, maybe in a silky rayon. Get your Tauko! 🥳🎉 @taukomagazine #taukomagazine #taukomakeandshare #handsewing #garmentsewing #handmadewardrobe #memadewardrobe #memadeeveryday #sewist #sewistsofinstagram

It’s Tauko No. 13 launch day! I had so much fun taking part in #makeandshare13 for launch day. I made the Dynamo dress out of super soft cotton double gauze that I picked up in Tokyo last month. I hand sewed the collar, cuffs and waist tunnel and love the fit. Sewed the smallest size with no alterations except length. I am going to take in the skirt as this is just way too much fabric for me - I like something a bit more straight cut. But I will definitely make again, maybe in a silky rayon. Get your Tauko! 🥳🎉 @taukomagazine #taukomagazine #taukomakeandshare #handsewing #garmentsewing #handmadewardrobe #memadewardrobe #memadeeveryday #sewist #sewistsofinstagram

Turns out I’m really into a wooden stacked heel….this isn’t even the full collection 😂

Turns out I’m really into a wooden stacked heel….this isn’t even the full collection 😂

Last Japan update: what I did on Naoshima, art island. Visited numerous buildings by Tadao Ando, experienced two immersive installations by James Turrell that moved me so deeply I still can’t process it, visited eight traditional century old houses that have been converted into art spaces, stayed at a modern ryokan with private in room hot spring bath, ate more good food, drank more good drinks, gloried in being alive in this world.

Last Japan update: what I did on Naoshima, art island. Visited numerous buildings by Tadao Ando, experienced two immersive installations by James Turrell that moved me so deeply I still can’t process it, visited eight traditional century old houses that have been converted into art spaces, stayed at a modern ryokan with private in room hot spring bath, ate more good food, drank more good drinks, gloried in being alive in this world.

What I did in the remote mountains of southern Japan. Ate multiple kaiseki meals at a gorgeous ryokan, soothed my troubled heart in sulphuric hot springs perched high above a river, was ferried up and down a cliff to said onsen by cable car, wept at the beauty and suffering we must bear in this brief life in equal measure. Visited a village of hundreds of scarecrows created by artist Tsukumi Ayano to remember the inhabitants of her nearly deserted village, a testament of grief I’ll not forget.

What I did in the remote mountains of southern Japan. Ate multiple kaiseki meals at a gorgeous ryokan, soothed my troubled heart in sulphuric hot springs perched high above a river, was ferried up and down a cliff to said onsen by cable car, wept at the beauty and suffering we must bear in this brief life in equal measure. Visited a village of hundreds of scarecrows created by artist Tsukumi Ayano to remember the inhabitants of her nearly deserted village, a testament of grief I’ll not forget.

Things I did in Tokyo- hung with my college bestie and my beautiful sister @tashfinaa , ate approximately 1000 mind blowing meals for under $10, ate at two Michelin starred restaurants on the same day, visited Tortoro, had major fabric decision paralysis, had major fashion inspiration overload, took in enough atmospheric interiors & exteriors for a lifetime, learned about the rituals and thrills of sumo, was stunned by the public art aesthetic - even subway station art so strange and wonderful and haunting I’d travel the world to see it. Trip of a lifetime, more coming on our jaunts to the remote Iya Valley and Naoshima, the Art Island.

Things I did in Tokyo- hung with my college bestie and my beautiful sister @tashfinaa , ate approximately 1000 mind blowing meals for under $10, ate at two Michelin starred restaurants on the same day, visited Tortoro, had major fabric decision paralysis, had major fashion inspiration overload, took in enough atmospheric interiors & exteriors for a lifetime, learned about the rituals and thrills of sumo, was stunned by the public art aesthetic - even subway station art so strange and wonderful and haunting I’d travel the world to see it. Trip of a lifetime, more coming on our jaunts to the remote Iya Valley and Naoshima, the Art Island.

Those tiny details like adding a contrasting strap or interesting binding are what I live for. When I started sewing, I wanted all my makes to be unique, "different," and often ended up sewing prints, patterns, and silhouettes that I would never actually wear. It took me a stupid number of years to realize that what I learned in designing spaces applies to clothing as well - what makes a space (or a garment) feel luxe is the use of high quality natural materials that last and patina, overall cohesiveness, and unexpected details. Slowly moving toward more wearable makes with a single interesting feature - an asymmetrical seam placement, an inverted box pleat, vintage buttons, a flash of color in the lining. Way cooler than the loudest quilting cotton. 😂

Those tiny details like adding a contrasting strap or interesting binding are what I live for. When I started sewing, I wanted all my makes to be unique, "different," and often ended up sewing prints, patterns, and silhouettes that I would never actually wear. It took me a stupid number of years to realize that what I learned in designing spaces applies to clothing as well - what makes a space (or a garment) feel luxe is the use of high quality natural materials that last and patina, overall cohesiveness, and unexpected details. Slowly moving toward more wearable makes with a single interesting feature - an asymmetrical seam placement, an inverted box pleat, vintage buttons, a flash of color in the lining. Way cooler than the loudest quilting cotton. 😂

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