slow fashion retreat in Maine

i’m over the moon to be heading back to Maine this summer for the 2nd annual Slow Fashion Retreat! we had such a good time last year, we’re doing it again. same time, same place, same teachers… the details are posted and registration will open Monday, March 5 (do you get Sam’s newsletters? she’ll announce it there first). so it seems like the perfect time to finally show you my photos from the first one!

this retreat has a really cool format unlike any other; the whole group is divided into three smaller groups, and each third rotates through an all-day class with each teacher over three days; the fourth day is an open studio day for finishing projects and applying what you’ve learned in the various classes. we’ll be repeating the same basic format (and building on it) because it worked so well last year that each group layers their techniques in a different way. Katrina Rodabaugh will teach sashiko stitching and visible mending; Jessica Lewis Stevens will teach natural dyeing, and I’m teaching how to draft and sew your own custom tunic.

it was so fascinating to see how everyone’s results were so unique! the project was very simple, which allowed for playing and combining of fabrics…

anna, katherine (both above) and casey (below at the ironing board) had a dyeing day before they came to me, and so incorporated some dyed pieces into their projects…

the dyeing studio was outside and we had beautiful weather, so the sounds of the ocean (and a little seawater dyeing) accompanied the workshop.

it’s always hard to wrangle a group photo with finished projects, since everyone tends to finish at different times, but here are six ladies with their newly stitched and self-drafted tops! for many, it was their first experience sewing their own clothing.

did i mention we were just steps from the beach? somehow we were so busy and it all went so quick, i think i only went for one beach walk. this year i’m determined to do it every day i’m there!

jessica added new dye concoctions daily to the mix; some projects worked a dyed piece of fabric into them, and some got transformed by the magic of natural dyes once complete, like julie’s indigo-dipped top below (2nd from left). when she made it earlier in the week, it was white!

i sincerely hope i’ve inspired you to come stitch and dye with us this year.

you’ve got one more week to hem and haw, and see if you can make room in your summer schedule! we know that a bunch of last year’s participants plan to return (how could they not? they’re the only ones who REALLY know how much fun it was…) so the remaining spots will surely go quick.

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