Craft of Use - Photoshoot
2024-03-15 12:00 - 14:00 UTC | Lancaster Market Square, Market Square, Lancaster, LA1 1AL
Every item of clothing has a story to tell. We are documenting local stories and portraits of garments and wearers for this year’s Fashion Revolution Week event Interwoven.
Maybe your grandmother made it for you and it reminds you of her, or you’ve just had it so long you can’t get rid of it. Maybe you’ve mended it so many times it’s no longer the same fabric it started as, or it was something you bought with your first paycheck and it means the world to you.
Whether it tells a story of your past or reminds you who you can be in the future. The Craft of Use displays how our wearing and caring of our clothing reveals our identity.
This project won’t be possible without YOU – so please wear your favourite/most cherished outfit to Lancaster Market Square on Friday 15th March between 12pm and 2pm. Have your photo taken by local artist/photographer Ginny Koppenhol and share your connection to the outfit in a quick interview (written or recorded).
There will be a second photoshoot during the opening night of Interwoven on 2 May.
Whether we care about designer brands, the newest trends or vintage scores, finding fulfilment in extending the life of our clothes needs to be front and centre to our approach to sustainability. Honouring individual style and identity through clothing – from plain white tees and classic jeans to handmade, patched and mismatched – is important. But we need to consider the socio-environmental impact of the life cycle of the garments from production, purchase, and care, to eventual discard.
To celebrate our individuality and clothing that tells stories, Sewing Cafe Lancaster is creating a photographic archive called ‘The Craft of Use’. We are working with local artist Ginny Koppenhol for this project to capture portraits of beloved clothing.
The Craft of Use Portrait Project is inspired by Kate Fletcher’s work, which has been published in a book by the same name. We will welcome Kate to Lancaster this May as a keynote speaker for the Fashion Revolution Week event where the portraits taken by Ginny will be on display.
If you are unable to attend either event but want to submit your photo and story for the project, please use This Link.
Here are some beautiful examples, for the full stories you’ll have to join us 2-4 May in the Storey Gallery, and we will also be hosting the archive on our website after the event.

“The jumper is threadbare in places and has been mended both visibly and invisibly in many places. Always handwashed. I think this gives it a feeling of being cared for, as an old, loved companion should be.” – Enda on her favourite outfit

“The brand was Avoca, an Irish manufacturer. The garment was in a dire state – quite the dirtiest item I’ve ever seen in a charity shop, although the coat must have been owned by a very keen smoker, as the arms were nicotine yellow and there were even fag ends in the pocket.” – Katrina on her favourite jacket

“It’s been carefully mended many times but now bigger holes have appeared so it’s time to move on to some bolder and more visible techniques and possibly adding on freshly knitted cuffs. It’s definitely got many more years of wearing ahead. Who’s turn next?” – Tom on his favourite jumper

“I love the colours of this blouse, it cheers me up every time I wear it! I got it for my mum donkey years ago, it’s from a fast fashion brand, and over a decade later I’m still wearing it, I haven’t had to mend it even once! I wash it by hand though, because I want it to outlive me.” – Victoria on her favourite blouse

Other Worlds
2023-04-28 17:00 - 2023-04-30 16:00 | The Storey Gallery, Meeting House Lane, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 1TH, United Kingdom
Sewing Café Lancaster presents ‘Other Worlds’ in the beautiful Storey Gallery. The clothing swap is back with a twist, alongside interactive events, guest speakers, music, gallery displays, and workshops in this 3-day event. Everyone participates in fashion (whether we care about it or not) which is a major contributor to climate change – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Join us in giving breath to new ideas and different ways of being, for ourselves and for our future. All welcome, the event is free, but we recommend reserving tickets ahead of time.
This year our theme is ‘Other Worlds’, based on the parallel Worlds project called Fashion Fictions, created by Amy Twigger Holroyd and the idea of ‘Applied Utopia‘ by the Slow Factory. With the premise that we can envision parallel worlds, then work towards making them a reality for a more sustainable future. We hope to create a space for participants to create their own visions and feel inspired to act upon them.
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Friday evening: 5:30 – 9:00pm
Opening Reception
A Warm Welcome to ‘Other Worlds’
Please Book FREE Tickets here so we know how many people to cater for.
Enjoy vegan/vegetarian appetisers, desserts and drinks, with catering from local favourite Baked by Brew.

Introducing ‘Worlds’ with Dr Amy Twigger Holroyd
Associate Professor of Fashion and Sustainability in the School of Art & Design at Nottingham Trent University, Amy leads research projects at the intersection of fashion, making, design and sustainability. Her research focuses on fashion transitions: the participatory exploration of alternative, open and plural fashion systems that respect the Earth’s capacity to support life.
Live Music & Storytelling with Jennifer Reid
Folk music has lost its way, and people have lost track of their geographical heritage. The working classes made music as a provocation and this is a tradition Jennifer continues. She is a performer of nineteenth century Lancashire dialect weaving songs and will be sharing them with us to celebrate the heritage of local textile workers.
Explore ‘Other Worlds’ (continues throughout the weekend!)

Discover the Worlds created by past participants in the Fashion Fictions workshops and create your own.
View projects that explore parallel worlds from a local perspective that are currently working towards more sustainable, just, and equitable futures.

Clothes Swap with a Twist (continues throughout the weekend!)

Free to participate.
Please bring clean items in good condition, items you’d be happy to give to a family member or friend.
Accepting clothes, shoes, and accessories for men, women and children.

The clothes swap will continue throughout the weekend, meaning we constantly have new clothes coming and going during our open hours. This year, we’ll be capturing some of the clothes’ stories and cataloguing them for future wearers.
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Saturday 11:00am – 2:00pm
Clothes Swap with a Twist & Explore Other Worlds

Free to participate.
Please bring clean items in good condition, items you’d be happy to give to a family member or friend.
Accepting clothes, shoes, and accessories for men, women and children.

The clothes swap will continue throughout the weekend, meaning we constantly have new clothes coming and going during our open hours. This year, we’ll be capturing some of the clothes’ stories and cataloguing them for future wearers.

Saturday 10:00am – 12:00pm
Music Workshop with Jennifer Reid – FULLY BOOKED
Kick off Saturday with a musical workshop of Lancashire dialect weaving songs with Jennifer Reid. We highly suggest taking a listen beforehand!
Folk music has lost its way, and people have lost track of their geographical heritage. The working classes made music as a provocation and this is a tradition Jennifer continues. She is a performer of nineteenth century Lancashire dialect weaving songs and will be sharing them with us to celebrate the heritage of local textile workers. Jennifer researches ballads and applies them to modern life. Tickets REQUIRED
Saturday Afternoon
2pm – 6pm. Tickets Required
Our friends at FoodFutures will be hosting Rob Hopkins ‘From What is to What If” workshop in the Storey Auditorium.
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Sunday 10:00am – 11:00am
World’s Workshop
Sewing Cafe Lancaster will facilitate Dr Amy Twigger Holroyd’s ‘Fashion Fictions’ Worlds workshop where participants imagine, explore and enact enticing alternative fashion Worlds. Not into fashion or sewing? Don’t fancy yourself a clothes designer? Not a problem, engage through the lense of consumer, waste management, or apply the workshop to another area of interest. Tickets recommended

Sunday 11:00am – 5:00pm
Clothes Swap with a Twist & Explore Other Worlds

Free to participate.
Please bring clean items in good condition, items you’d be happy to give to a family member or friend.
Accepting clothes, shoes, and accessories for men, women and children.

The clothes swap will continue throughout the weekend, meaning we constantly have new clothes coming and going during our open hours. This year, we’ll be capturing some of the clothes’ stories and cataloguing them for future wearers.

Sunday 11:30am – 12:30pm
Hapa-zome Workshops – FULLY BOOKED
Quite literally meaning ‘leaf dye’, hapa-zome is the Japanese technique of smashing flowers and leaves into fabric. A quick and creative way to upcycle fabric using locally collected plants. Capturing beautiful natural colours to enhance and revive clothing and textiles. You are welcome to bring clean white or light coloured natural fabrics (cotton, linen, etc) and any flowers or leaves you might want to try. But all tools and materials will be supplied. Children may join with the supervision of an adult. Tickets recommended
Sunday 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Speaker Series
To close out our weekend of possibilities, we’ve invited local guests for a Speaker Series. Hailing from Lancaster and the North of England who are already living in ‘other worlds’ through their art, community projects, research, and businesses. From foraging to forging connections, there are so many ways we can we practice radical acts in our own lives, living in our own ‘other worlds’ to create a more sustainable, fair and equitable future for our shared world. We’ll welcome local artist Sam Pickett, Maria Benjamin of The Wool Library, and Sewing Cafe Lancaster community members Katrina Barnish, Enda O’Regan, Virginia Edwards, Sian Bowes and Victoria Frausin to discuss local projects. Tickets recommended
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Any questions, feel free to shoot us an email at sewingcafelancaster@gmail.com

Undressed
2022-04-22 - 2022-04-26 | The Storey Gallery, Meeting House Lane, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 1TH, United Kingdom
Undressed: A festival unravelling our relationship with clothes.
22 – 26 April 2022
“Textile production is a major contributor to climate change. It produces an estimated 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per year – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.” – Ellen Macarthur Foundation
Sustainability starts with us and can be easy when we know that the best option is to Buy Less and Care More.
Join us over the course of 4 days for a clothing swap, guest speakers, activities, mending drop ins, and an exhibit. The opening event will be held on Friday, April 22nd from 6-9pm at The Storey Gallery, the tickets are £5 per person. Bring clothes to swap and enjoy drinks and nibbles from Baked by Brew as you find something new-to-you. Tickets can be found through the website.
Undressed Fest coincides with Earth Day and Fashion Revolution Week, an international event. The Clothes Swap Soirée on Friday evening is the only ticketed event – the clothes swap continues with free admission across Saturday, Monday and Tuesday events.
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.
We hope to see you there, and feel free to bring your friends, neighbours, and kids!

Hapa-zome and Bundle Dyeing
2022-04-18 08:00 - 17:00
Come and have a go at Hapa-zome and bundle dyeing with spring flowers at Claver Hil, with Enda O’Regan and Katrina Barnish from Sewing Cafe Lancaster.
Free and all materials provided
This is an outdoor event, please come dressed for the weather.
Claver Hill Community Food Growing Project is located on Ridge Lane, just past the Central Lancaster playing fields.

What is Sewing Cafe all about?
2022-03-08 18:30 - 20:30 | Lancaster Priory, Priory Vicarage, Priory Close, Lancaster, LA1 1YZ, United Kingdom
Learn more about Sewing Cafe Lancaster, ongoing and upcoming projects and events, and how you can get involved in a community of passionate individuals who care about sustainability and our closets. We’d love to meet more of this community in person!

Beer & Yarn
2022-03-01 18:00 - 22:00 | Stonewell Tap, 8-10 Church Street, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 1NP, United Kingdom
Bring a project and connect with the sewing, crafting, mending community.
Would love to see your faces and hear about what you are working on.
An evening event where Menders, Embroiderers, Knitters and Crocheters come together socially to share and enjoy the craft.
We love natural fibres and natural beer.
First Tuesday of every month, 6 – 8pm (and usually later!) at Stonewell Tap.
We are an inclusive club open to all.
Our event is free, but we kindly ask you to buy a drink from the great selection at the bar.

Unlocking Lockdown: Exhibition
2022-02-01 - 2022-02-12 | The Storey, 27 Meeting House Ln,, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 1TH, United Kingdom
Unlocking Lockdown is a community-based arts project organised by Sewing Café Lancaster.
The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns have brought hardship and challenges to all of us in different ways and to varying degrees. In the midst of these tough times, we hope there were some positives too, such as people working together to support one another, perhaps discovering new strengths/skills in themselves and the world around them.

Natural dyes at Midwinter Market
2021-12-17 10:00 - 17:00
Our Natural Dyes exhibition at the Midwinter market!
On the 17th December from 10:00-17:00 Lancaster’s Midwinter Market will return to Lancaster’s central market square; showcasing local food and drink producers, woodworkers, community food projects and local craftspeople.
It’s a great chance to source food and ‘sustainable’ gifts for Christmas from small local businesses and community projects – supporting our local sustainable food and crafts economy. It also provides the perfect opportunity to meet local landworkers and crafts people directly and celebrate the Midwinter for: “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness”?

Confirmed stalls so far include:

Backsbottom Farm will be selling a range of unique cider vinegars, organic heritage apples and woodland crafts.

Relic Plastic will be showcasing their range of 100% recycled artisan plastic gifts – extending the life of plastic destined for the landfill or incineration.

Lancaster and Morecambe College will be decorating biscuits for people to try, whilst also bringing along a range of Christmas products to sell.

Claver Hill community food project will have ‘no-dig’ winter salads on sale, surplus veg and locally made chutneys, jams, jellies and cider – made from locally grown fruit and veg. All money raised directly supports this great community food project.

FoodFutures will be launching the midwinter edition of THRIVE Magazine – North Lancashire’s community food magazine – which seeks to highlight and celebrate all the great food work going on locally. They will also have prints on sale and a Midwinter hamper prize draw for anyone who signs up to be a FoodFriend during the day.

Billy’s Eggs, a solid supporter of LESS’s seasonal markets, will have a range of local and free-range eggs, honey, free range cheese and preserves on sale.

Logs Direct will be taking orders for fire wood, including a range of ‘eco logs’. And the Woodland Trust will be handing out information about their work protecting and regenerating British woodlands, including how you can get involved.

To keep us warm, Eggcup will be serving takeaway soup made from surplus food and the Bubbly Box will be offering mulled wine alongside other hot drinks.

If that wasn’t enough, Sewing Cafe Lancaster will also be setting up a one-day-only pop up exhibition “Should Natural dyes be employed again on an industrial scale?”

Join us on the 17th December to find out more!

Clothes Swap, Mend along and Talk
2021-11-23 19:30 - 21:00 | Gregson Lancaster, 3 - 35 Moor Gate, Lancaster, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 3PY, United Kingdom
What’s on offer?
This year’s Crafternoon will focus on fashion and its implications for social and environmental justice. Bring your mending and join us to explore the fate of secondhand clothing as we unpick the connections between clothing, climate and more…
What’s it about?
The rise of the so-called fast fashion industry is a major contributor to climate change and a host of other social and environmental impacts. This mend-along session will take us on a tour of what happens to the clothes we donate or throw away – we’ll get inspired with talks from some of the researchers and activists working in this field and then put our thinking caps on to try and design some alternative solutions.

Booking in advance is required

Mending at Great Big Green Week
2021-09-25 13:00 - 16:00
Come and join us for a mending session at the Cornerstone in Sulyard St, Lancaster LA1 1PX

The Lancaster Gregsons and the Brockbanks: Links to Empire and Transatlantic Slavery
2021-09-21 09:30 - 22:30
By By Lancaster Royal Grammar School
Because the past has loads to teach us about the quest for profit, growth and consumption
Sewing Café Lancaster is making a banner about Lancaster and the slave trade. To get inspired the researchers are talking (online) about the stories they have found. Everyone is welcome, get the zoom link at
sewingcafelancaster@gmail.com or at www.sewingcafelancaster.com
LBHG Lancaster is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81866016026?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 818 6601 6026
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Dyeing With Kitchen Waste
2021-07-31 13:00 - 17:00
Come and have a taste of the variety of vibrant colours using non toxic plant based processes.
Bookings at:
1pm to 2:30 pm https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dyeing-fabric-with-kitchen-waste-lancaster-health-festival-tickets-163827166465
3pm to 4:30 pm https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dyeing-fabric-with-kitchen-waste-lancaster-health-festival-tickets-163827296855
Come and have a taste of the variety of vibrant colours using non toxic plant based processes. Learn the basics on how to extract and use pigment from vegetable waste on natural fibres. Suited for beginners, limited spaces available, materials included.
Chemical dyes are extremely toxic and cause huge amounts of pollution at every stage of their production and use.
Ingredients in chemical dyes are responsible for huge amounts of pollution of soil and water, this goes beyond those involved in the industry and affects people living in the whole region.
Little textile production occurs in the UK or across Europe, so we become
increasingly divorced from the process and problems inflicted and awareness
declines.
Connect more closely with nature, join us for a small scale DIY alternative to fast fashion, and have fun in the process.
You will learn more about food waste and textiles while having fun in the process

Beer&Yarn
2021-07-13 18:00 - 21:00 | Stonewell Tap, 8-10 Church Street, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 1NP, United Kingdom
We are back to the Pub!

Bring a project and connect with the sewing, crafting, mending community.
Would love to see your faces and hear about what you are working on.

Storytelling Café: The Lancaster Lindows
2021-07-13 09:30 - 10:30 | Online
Because the past has loads to teach us about the quest for profit, growth and consumption
By Jasmine Patel, Emma Chandler and Emily Yates, Lancaster Girls Grammar school students and researchers.
Sewing Café Lancaster is making a banner about Lancaster and the slave trade. To get inspired the researchers are talking (online) about the stories they have found. Everyone is welcome, get the zoom link at
sewingcafelancaster@gmail.com or at www.sewingcafelancaster.com

Convivial Clothing: let's explore the power of positive change
2021-07-07 13:45 - 15:15
Sewing Café Lancaster and Stitched Up Co-operative collaborate to reimagine the textile Industry while doing some mending!
7th Degrowth / 16th ISEE International Society for Ecological Economics Conference: “Building Alternative Livelihoods in times of ecological and political crisis”
Registration: https://www.eventsforce.net/hg3/197/register

Storytelling Café: Dent Runaway Story and Sattherwaite Family
2021-06-15 09:30 - 22:30
Because the past has loads to teach us about the quest for profit, growth and consumption
Sewing Café Lancaster is making a banner about Lancaster and the slave trade. To get inspired the researchers are talking (online) about the stories they have found. Everyone is welcome, get the zoom link at
sewingcafelancaster@gmail.com or at www.sewingcafelancaster.com

Natural Dyes & Printing: The Basics
2021-06-05 10:00 - 16:00
Learn how to make a dye from dried or fresh ingredients, experiment eco-printing and more
by Katrina Barnish and Sewing Cafe Lancaster’s team.
Where? At The Rewilding, Patty’s Barn LA2 0DY https://www.the-rewilding.com/
How much? Early bird £60 until the 22nd of May Full £65
How to book? sewingcafelancaster@gmail.com
Limited numbers in a Covid safe environment

Ibo Boy and Dent Runaway Stories
2021-05-25 09:30 - 22:30
Ibo Boy Story by Drahoslava Machova and Dent Runaway Story Professor Imogen Tyler, an online Storytelling Café.
Sewing Café Lancaster is making a banner about Lancaster and the slave trade. To get inspired the researchers are talking (online) about the stories they have found.
Everyone is welcome, because the past has loads to teach us about the quest for profit, growth and consumption.
Book your place here or get the zoom link at sewingcafelancaster@gmail.com.

Storytelling Café: Jack Gladstone and the Demerara Slave Rebellion (1823)
2021-05-18 09:30 - 22:30 | Online
By Professor Imogen Tyler
Online Storytelling Café. Sewing Café Lancaster is making a banner about Lancaster and the slave trade. To get inspired the researchers are talking (online) about the stories they have found.
Everyone is welcome, because the past has loads to teach us about the quest for profit, growth and consumption.
Book your place here or get the zoom link at sewingcafelancaster@gmail.com

Storytelling Cafe: Frances Elizabeth Johnson
2021-05-11 09:30 - 22:30 | Online
By Professor Alan Rice
Online Storytelling Café. Sewing Café Lancaster is making a banner about Lancaster and the slave trade. To get inspired the researchers are talking (online) about the stories they have found.
Everyone is welcome, because the past has loads to teach us about the quest for profit, growth and consumption.
To book click here or get the zoom link at sewingcafelancaster@gmail.com

Give Away: Mending kits
2021-04-24 12:00 - 13:30
Come along, meet the team, have a chat and get one of the mending kits our team have made for you.

Conversation
2021-04-22 18:00 - 19:00
Imprint mag and the Sewing Cafe Lancaster: on sewing, sharing skills and building communities

Mending session: skill share
2021-04-20 08:00 - 17:00
Bring along your socks to darn, that lovely dress that need attention or learn how to sew the button back on your jeans. You will learn skills for life and reduce your carbon footprint by reusing and repairing in a Covid safe environment.
No sewing experience is necessary, Sewing Cafe Lancaster will take you through the steps. Spread the word. 90 minutes slots, booking required at sewingcafelancaster@gmail.com

Beer&Yarn
2021-03-08 20:00 - 23:00 | Online
Join us the second Monday of every month to work on projects over a pint. Bring a hand-sewing, knitting, crocheting, mending, or embroidery. We’ll be meeting on zoom until our favourite local pub is open again.
Looking forward to seeing you!

Beer & Yarn
2020-05-11 20:00 - 23:00 | Online
Join us the second Monday of every month to work on projects over a pint. Bring a hand-sewing, knitting, crocheting, mending, or embroidery. We’ll be meeting on zoom until our favourite local pub is open again.
