ARTISTS & MAKERS OF FROME Skye Pennant from Slow Stitch Club
time and loved the idea of using the teaching skills I had gained to share mending tips with other people. What is your physical creative process? What materials and techniques do you use? If I’m mending for myself, the creative process is normally based on practising a new mending technique or just starting out with a simple stitch and seeing where it takes me. If I’m working on a commission then I love chatting with the customer about what they want the repair on their clothing to say. I’m normally sent clothing that has sentimental value, so it’s really important to me that the repair respects that and gives it a new lease of life.
What is your artistic background? I studied Fashion Design Enterprise at UCA Epsom, where I specialised in menswear, but I’ve always been a creative magpie especially with anything craft based. Textiles was my favourite subject at school by far! I love exploring different crafts and always want to try something new; I’ve always had creative side projects on the go alongside work. What made you follow this path? Funnily enough, it was my degree that pushed me away from the fashion industry as, even back then, I felt uneasy about the overproduction of clothing and its impact on the planet, as well as the mistreatment of garment workers, which is still a huge issue. Slow Stitch Club is all about repairing clothing by using simple sewing techniques such as darning to visibly mend in a beautiful and intentional way. This keeps our favourite pieces in our wardrobes for longer, and out of landfill. It grew really organically through lockdown for me as I started sharing the clothing I was repairing and the tools I used to make it easier. I started an Instagram account and was amazed at how much people connected to what I was sharing. I was working as a textiles technician in a high school at the 22
THE LIST FROME
Materials-wise, I try to use what I already have to hand as much as possible and love working with natural fibres such as linen. I most enjoy repairing with darning techniques, and they’re my favourite to teach at workshops, but I also love learning about Sashiko and think that it’s a great method of repair for denim especially. What inspires your work? On a larger scale I’m constantly driven forward by the change I can make from each repair - even if it’s only for a pair of socks. It’s an expression I end up repeating a lot - “it’s not about the socks!” - as it can be really frustrating when people don’t see the point in what I’m doing, but if I can help to keep even just one piece of clothing out of landfill for longer then it’s worth it. More personally, I love teaching and seeing others learn and experiment with their clothing. It’s so cool to see someone pick up a needle and thread for the first time and a few hours later have expressed their creativity and learnt a new skill to mend a favourite piece of clothing. How did lockdown affect the way you work and create? I held my first workshop the week before the first lockdown happened, so I had to transition to virtual
A r t i s t s a n d Ma k e r s o f F r o m e
