A festival unravelling our relationship with clothes
4 days of local events to coincide with FASHION REVOLUTION WEEK, an international movement
See below for all the events taking place throughout Undressed Fest and click the images for more info.
– Ellen Macarthur Foundation
Want to help? Send us an email and let us know what events you would like to volunteer for!
SewingCafeLancaster@gmail.com
Friday 22 April 2022
Clothing Swap Soirée
6 pm – 9 pm | The Storey Gallery
Give your clothing a new life by swapping it! Catered by Baked by Brew, enjoy drinks and nibbles whilst searching for something new-to-you. The Clothing Swap Soirée is the opening event for Undressed: a festival unravelling our relationship with clothes. Mens, Womens and Childrens clothing, accessories, shoes, and hangers (no underwear please). Please only bring clean clothing in good condition, Spring/Summer attire, free from holes and stains — anything you’d happily give to a friend.
Sustainability starts with us and can be easy when we know that the best option is to Buy Less and Care More.
£5 per person | Buy your tickets on Eventbrite or at the door
This is the only ticketed event for the festival, if you would like concession, please send an email, we are happy to help!
Saturday 23 April 2022
Watts to wear
10am – 11am | The Storey Gallery
Clothing and carbon emissions, how our clothing choices affect our energy consumption. Together we will watch Dr Janine Morley’s presentation of Watts to Wear, with break out discussions hosted by Dr Rebecca Whittle, Senior Lecturer at the Lancaster Environment Centre and a Sewing Cafe Lancaster collaborator.
FREE
Clothing Swap & Exhibit
11am – 7pm | The Storey Gallery
Mens, Womens and Childrens clothing, accessories, and shoes, hangers (no underwear please). Please only bring Spring/Summer seasonal clothing, clean and in good condition, free from holes and stains — anything you’d happily give to a friend.
FREE
Street Stitching
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm | Lancaster Market Square
Street Stitching is an act of gentle disruption that demonstrates the pleasure and necessity of garment repair. This is not a protest. It is an encouragement. A way of showing what we’d like more of rather than a protest about what we want less of. The action is a co-ordinated, visually-cohesive happening that takes place on the same day at the same time in dozens of towns and cities.
Anyone can join the line. Bring a chair and a project. We’ll be in Lancaster’s Market Square
FREE
Spinning demonstration
1pm – 3pm | The Storey Gallery
Wool is a local, natural, biodegradable fibre that provides warmth, water repellancy and insulation, come see how it’s spun from natural resource into yarn fit for knitting, crocheting, and weaving. A key fibre for the Textile Care Collective project, looking to establish connections and tell the stories of all involved in textile production – from the sheep who grew the wool, to the hands that spin the yarn, and those that knit, dye, weave or crochet the final product. Ginette MacDonald of ColourWorks, will be will be spinning and answering questions about the process.
FREE
Mending Drop in
4pm – 7pm | The Storey Gallery
Visible mending tutorials and assistance to help you keep your clothes lasting longer!
From visible mending, to patching a knee, to replacing a button. These simple acts that we don’t make space for make a big impact as we care for our clothing and stop buying new. Bring along a garment that you haven’t worn in a while that you would like assistance on, or if you already know how to sew, darn and stitch – drop by and use the time to meet other people and chat while you get your mending done. If you don’t have a project of your own, help complete someone elses or work on your stitch technique. We will have materials, tools and examples to help you mend, along with experienced menders who can guide you in with tips and tricks to mend and make do. Mending styles include (but aren’t limited to) boro, sashiko, patching, visible and invisible mending, button replacement, and darning.
FREE
Monday 25 April 2022
Clothing swap & Exhibit
4pm – 6pm | The Storey Gallery
Mens, Womens and Childrens clothing, accessories, and shoes, hangers (no underwear please). Please only bring Spring/Summer seasonal clothing, clean and in good condition, free from holes and stains — anything you’d happily give to a friend.
FREE
Mending Drop in
4pm – 6pm | The Storey Gallery
Visible mending tutorials and assistance to help you keep your clothes lasting longer! Bring along a garment that you would like assistance on, or if you already know how to sew, darn and stitch – drop by and use the time to meet other people and chat while you get your mending done.
FREE
Natural Dye Project Drop in For Advice
4pm – 6pm | The Storey Gallery
Interested in starting your own Natural Dye projects? Come review our collection of Natural Dye samples and plan your project from local plants by consulting with some of our very own Natural Dye Project members. From growing and selecting plants to processing, preparing, dyeing and experimenting, this is a great opportunity to get started with some helpful knowledge. *this an exhibit and conversation, not a workshop.
FREE
Knit Night & Round Table Discussion
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm | The Storey Gallery
Northern Yarn‘s regular Monday Knit Night “Purl” is moving to the Storey Gallery and Undressed Fest. Bring your project and join us as we discuss Textile Care Collective, a project about place-based approach to slow and natural textile development – including spinning, natural dyeing and knitting/crocheting. We’ll discuss the project goals and what we’ve been working on so far, as well as plans for the future and how others may get involved.
FREE
Tuesday 26 April 2022
Clothing swap & Exhibit
2pm – 5pm | The Storey Gallery
Mens, Womens and Childrens clothing, accessories, and shoes, hangers (no underwear please). Please only bring Spring/Summer seasonal clothing, clean and in good condition, free from holes and stains — anything you’d happily give to a friend.
FREE
Mending Drop in
2pm – 5pm | The Storey Gallery
Visible mending tutorials and assistance to help you keep your clothes lasting longer! Bring along a garment that you would like assistance on, or if you already know how to sew, darn and stitch – drop by and use the time to meet other people and chat while you get your mending done.
FREE
Imagining Sustainable Futures
Round Table Discussion
5pm – 7pm | The Storey Gallery
We know our current textile system is unsustainable, but can we imagine the posibilities for the future?
Together let’s imagine and discuss possible futures for textiles and fashion. What does your ideal future look like? Do you see that happening? How can we usher in a more sustainable future? Join us for a round table discussion.
FREE