iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Just spotted a Vogue Patterns ad in the September 2000 issue of Vogue magazine while flipping through the archives. I'd forgotten that home sewing and high fashion were still sharing the same page in the 21st century! #sewsky #vintagesewing

Screenshot of one page from September 200 issue of Vogue magazine. It includes an advertisement for Vogue Patterns along with a short article.

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

This dress belonged to my friend Nora's grandma. It didn't quite fit and the zipper had come undone, but with a few tweaks it fits me perfectly. Whenever I wear it, I think of Nora. That's what I love about sewing. It's not just about clothes. It's about honoring what matters. #sewsky #vintagesewing

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Reposted by Rachel Russell

Durotriges Dig @durotrigesdig.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

The smallest (and most delicate) of discoveries from our ongoing dig at Winterborne Kingston #Dorset is this 40mm long Iron Age sewing needle Carved from animal bone just over 2,000 years ago 😍 📷 June 2016 #FindsFriday

Tiny bone sewing needle found in an Iron Age pit at Winterborne Kingston in Dorset

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

"[T]heir performances are an expression of feminist empowerment, putting an often devalued form of labour into a different context... highlighting and recontextualising the skill of sewing is also intended as a thoughtful critique of the contemporary fashion landscape."

theguardian.com

Needle drop! The world’s first sewing machine orchestra takes Munich

This weekend, a symphony of Singers (not that kind) will lead an experimental performance that stitches together feminism and fashion – and offers the audience free repairs

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

This is such a bummer for makers and sewists! I've long had a love/hate relationship with Joanns, but this is such a disappointment to lose 500 (!!) stores. For so many, Joanns is the only place to get sewing supplies locally. No more running out to get that forgotten zipper at the end of a project.

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

I've been having fun experimenting with sewing beeswax food storage bags! This round I added a little jojoba oil (¾ tsp to 2 tbsp of wax for an 18" X 22" bag). The jojoba made the bag softer and more flexible than the wax alone. #sewsky

display of items used to make a beeswax food storage bag, including organic beeswax and jojoba oil, plus a completed floral bag with bread inside of it. #sewsky

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Made my first beeswax bread bag with scraps— now to try some fun colors!

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

I’m usually terrible at quick project decisions, but here I am on February 6 ready to start sewing the #bernadetteskirt from @fridaypatternco.bsky.social with some denim in my stash for the #SewSkyChallenge2025!

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

Ready to start sewing the Closet Core #mitchelltrousers now that the fitting, muslining, cutting, notching, and marking is complete. It’s wild how much there is to sewing that doesn’t even involve the sewing machine. I feel like I’m halfway done and I haven’t even wound the bobbin yet! #sewsky

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

This guy is not interested in me making progress on any of my sewing projects.

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Sewing library shelfie! What’s your must have sewing book?

Book shelf filled with a collection of sewing books.

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

The Illinois Moulding Company shadowbox really offers up some real estate for kitschy Christmas decor!

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Sewing as a form of self-expression is timeless, as evidenced by these lovely words from Mary Brooks Picken, circa 1925. She founded the Woman’s Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences, which offered correspondence courses that allowed students to create garments that reflected their individuality.

Cover of The Mary Brooks Picken Method of Modern Dressmaking, 1925. #sewsky #vintagesewing #sewing

illustration of two women wearing handmade dresses from The Mary Brooks Picken Method of Modern Dressmaking, 1925

Do we not express ourselves through the clothes we wear as much as through what we say and what we do? -Mary Brooks Picken
#sewsky #sewing #vintagesewing

And so I say it always seemed to me that every woman would want to make the clothes that are to speak for her. -Mary Brooks Picken, 1925 #sewsky #vintagesewing

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

It's so relatable that the sewing stash is no new invention! ✂️ "Every woman who sews finds herself keeping odds and ends of materials and trimmings from which many attractive things can be easily made," Drucella Lowrie, The Standard Book of Sewing, 1947. #vintagesewing #sewsky

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Love how dressmaking can involve all sorts of delicate fabrics and also a trip to the hardware store for heavy duty tools. I did not explain to the very nice Ace Hardware employee who helped me find this plumbers tape that I would be wrapping it around spiral steel boning for a dress! #sewing

A half constructed strapless bodice along with dressmaking materials on a table including spiral steel boning, plumbers tape, scissors, wire cutters, and cutting mat. #sewsky

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Incredible visualization of the shapes needed to create this dress.

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

This is great advice! I would add to choose something you’re excited to make so that you have that motivating you even if the steps get a little tricky.

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

I can't get over this floaty and crisp white cotton dress with spectacular sleeves and a popped collar worn by Katharine Hepburn in SUMMERTIME, from 1955. You absolutely cannot walk into Joann's and find anything like this fabric in stock! #fashionhistory #vintagesewing #katharinehepburn

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

My grandmother’s sewing machine from 1948. Whenever I teach a sewing class, this machine is my trusty partner as I demo the the project steps. It’s feels special to nurture new sewing enthusiasts on a machine with this much history!

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

One of my very first sewing projects was this denim skirt—I woke up one day and decided I needed a denim ball gown skirt! It was thrilling dreaming up this project, finding the perfect pattern and fabric, and bringing it to life. I was hooked on sewing. But looking back, I wish I knew a few things:

denim skirt made from a Vogue sewing pattern.

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

I was debating if I should open and wear this 1960s vintage paper dress from @hallmark.bsky.social or keep it pristine in its package, so I decided to put off the decision by reading a little about the history of this disposable garment.... #vintagefashion 1/3

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

When I see garments like this one from 1690, I just marvel at the hours this construction must have taken pre-sewing machines. Those bound buttonholes alone!

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

This swing coat is by far one of my most treasured vintage finds, combining my love of sewing with vintage clothing. #sewing

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Instead of tossing out this skirt that was a little too big, I carefully unpicked the waistband and side seams. I've marked the new seam line in blue, removing ¾" from each side, front and back for a total of 3". #sustainability #sewing

Skirt is pictured inside out on a table, with the new seam line marked in blue.

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

My feed feels like 2010 Twitter again!

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Rachel Russell @stitchflourish.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Gonna sew myself through the next four years! #sewing

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