Episode 107: Connection, Confidence & Community with Melissa Santiago-Val from Sew Positive

Hello, and welcome to Making Stitches Podcast! This time, I’m delighted to be joined by Melissa Santiago-Val founder and CEO of Sew Positive. What began during the pandemic as a community effort making face masks to raise money for NHS charities has grown into an inspiring charity using sewing, mending and up cycling to support peoples’ mental health and wellbeing.

In our chat, Melissa shares her own creative journey, the story behind Sew Positive and how stitching can be more than simply making something with our hands. We talk about creativity as a tool for connection, confidence and community, and explore how sewing can help people through difficult times while also encouraging a more sustainable approach to the clothes we wear.

You can find out more about Sew Positive over on their website and you can find lots of other information on their linktree here.

Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!

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The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.

The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.

You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.
Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.

Episode 105 : Pattern challenges, THAT paper dress and life after Sewing Bee with Kit Giroux

This time on Making Stitches Podcast, I’m joined by Kit Giroux, a semi-finalist from the 2025 series of The Great British Sewing Bee. In our chat, Kit talks about their sewing journey, from first learning as a child to rediscovering a love of making a year or so before appearing on national television. We also chat about what it was really like to take part in Series 11 of The Great British Sewing Bee.

Kit’s sketch book featuring the Pop Art Paper dress

Kit shares some brilliant behind-the-scenes insights from their time in the Great British Sewing Bee Sewing Room, including the story behind the unforgettable paper dress created for Pop Art Week, which went on to win Garment of the Week. We talk about the pressure of choosing and getting your hands on the right fabric when the challenges start, stepping through the screen to appear on a show you’ve loved for years, and the joy of making clothes that truly reflect your personal style.

Kit’s Taekwondo Transformation Challenge

Kit in a self made outfit (including his famous jeans) — Kit’s Taekwondo Transformation Challenge

As well as looking back on Sewing Bee, Kit also talks about their plans for the future, including their hopes to release an original range of sewing patterns.

Thank you so much Kit for speaking to me for Making Stitches!

You can find Kit on Instagram and TikTok.

Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!

To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link

The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.

The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

Episode 102 : TexStyle Festival 2026: A weekend of community, colour & creativity

Two weeks ago, the first ever TexStyle Festival threw open its doors at Manchester Central. It was an amazing weekend of creativity, community and lots and lots of chatting! It was the idea of the mother and daughter team behind the Buxton, Cumbria & Stafford Wool Gatherings, (Michelle Greaves and her Mum, Carole) to create a bigger show encompassing other textile and fibre crafts in their home town of Manchester.

It did not disappoint, it featured dozens of stands showcasing beautiful crafts and items to buy, a range of fabulous workshops, a break-out zone called ‘The Hive’ where visitors could escape the busyness and just sit and chat and even work on their wips. Plus there was a Textile Talks stage hosted by yours truly which showcased some fabulous creative folk speaking on their specialist subjects.

I was thrilled and very honoured to be asked to host the Textile Talks stage, and loved every minute of it. In this episode you can hear from all of the speakers who stepped up to the mic over the weekend including, textile artist Sophia Gardiner, Stephen West from Westknits, Amelia Rogers from Amelia Stitches, Gareth from the show’s sponsor Manchester Wool and Yarn, Debbie Munro from The Lace Knittery and Jane Smith from Atelier Nejiribana speaking on the history of traditional Japanese embroidery.

I also spoke to other stall holders and exhibitors who were spending the weekend with us in Manchester and hope you get a real flavour of what the first ever TexStyle Festival was actually like.

The communal rug being created on the Manchester Tufting Workshops stand

My thanks to everyone who spoke to me for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast! You can find all of their websites below:

Michelle Greaves from TexStyle Festival https://texstyle.uk/

Sophia Gardiner – textile artist https://www.instagram.com/sophiagardinerart/?hl=en

Stephen West from Westknits https://www.westknits.com/ & https://www.stephenandpenelope.com/en-gb

Amelia from Amelia Stitches https://ameliastitches.com/

Gareth from Manchester Wool & Yarn https://manchesterwoolandyarn.com/

Debbie from The Lace Knittery https://www.thelaceknittery.com/

Jane Smith from Atelier Nejiribana https://www.nejiribana.co.uk/ & http://www.japaneseembroideryuk.com/

Laili Cleasby from Emily Foulds https://www.emilyfoulds.com/

Victoria Salmon from Another Knitted Thing https://www.anotherknittedthing.com/

Tricia Bashan from Knitting & Crochet Guild https://kcguild.org.uk/

Alena Ruth from Manchester Tufting Workshops https://www.tuftingworkshops.co.uk/

Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!

And finally, thank you to Michelle & Carole at TexStyle for inviting me to host the Textile Talks stage!

I have just one grainy photo of me in action!!

To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link

The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.

The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

Episode 99 : Happy Stitchmas! The Making Stitches 2025 Christmas Special

Hello there and Happy Stitchmas!

It’s that time of year again when I take a look back at the past 12 months and choose some of the highlights of my podcasting year.

2025 has been a big year for me, I celebrated 10 years of blogging (Postcard from Gibraltar and then Making Stitches Blog) and 5 years of Making Stitches Podcast.

In this episode I share some of the chats I have had this year and you may have heard before as well as some new chats too.

Included in this episode are:

Christine Perry from Winwick Mum speaking about 10 years of the Winwick Mum sock along.
Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet talking about 10 years of her blog and our celebration of a decade online with our Let’s Celebrate Wreath collaborative crochet pattern.
Sara & Sean MacLeod from Crochet in the Glen chatting about the fun they have together and how they love to share their silliness online.
Kirstie MacLeod, the artist behind The Red Dress, who I met at Woven in Kirklees on World Stitch Day.
Becky Davies-Downes from William & Tilda who appeared a couple of times on the podcast last year. I interviewed her again at Yarndale this September, and this is the first time I’ve shared our chat.
Also at Yarndale, I spoke to Julie Park, a close friend of Amanda Bloom, who sadly died this year. Julie has taken on Amanda’s social media accounts after her death and has raised funds to support the Yarndale Start-Up Bursary for fledgling creative businesses at the festival in memory of Amanda and her daughter Jenny.
More recently, I was at the Christmas edition of the Crochet Sanctuary Crochet Days just last weekend. While I was there I spoke to Lisa and Lynda-Rose who run the Crochet Sanctuary and, who were my guests on the first ever edition of Making Stitches back in the spring of 2020.
I also caught a quick few minutes with Heather from Keep Calm & Crochet On and Jess from Hook & Cwtch.

I hope you enjoy listening, and that you have a great Christmas. I’ll be back again soon, with the last episode of the current series – and my 100th episode!

Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!

To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link

The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.

The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

Episode 93 : The Red Dress with Kirstie Macleod

The Red Dress on display at Woven in Kirklees, June 2025

The Red Dress, recently recognised by the Guiness World Records as the largest collaborative embroidery project, is a truly stunning piece of work. It was created by Kirstie Macleod, a British artist, over a period of 14 years with the help of 380 different embroiderers.

Image shows The Red Dress on display at Woven in Kirklees Festival, June 2025

The dress is made of 87 silk panels which have been embroidered by people from 51 different countries and includes techniques passed down through generations, the work of skilled crafts people and first time stitchers. There are purely decorative sections and others which reflect stories of trauma, resilience and healing.

The embroiderers include female refugees from Palestine, Syria and Ukraine, women seeking asylum in the UK from Iran, Iraq, China, Nigeria and Namibia, survivors of war in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda and DR Congo. Now complete, The Red Dress tours museums and exhibitions around the world amplifying the voices of the people who have contributed to it. Kirstie has also recently published a fascinating and beautiful book about the project called The Red Dress – Conversations in Stitch.

Image shows a close up of some of the stitching on The Red Dress

I was lucky enough to see The Red Dress for myself and hear Kirstie speak about this truly amazing project at World Stitch Day at Woven in Kirklees Festival this summer. I feel privileged to have been able to see it and hear just a few of the stories of the people behind this mammoth project.

I hope you enjoy listening to this episode, if you would like to find out more about The Red Dress, please visit Kirstie’s website for more info on its creation and where you can see it for yourself.

To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link

The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.

The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

Episode 83 : Menopause Makes with Jenni Smith & Kay Walsh

Image shows Jenni Smith & Kay Walsh standing together smiling at the camera in front of a beautiful patchwork quilt.

My guests for this episode are a pair of friends who met at a tap dancing class and went on to become creative business partners. Jenni Smith & Kay Walsh have been sewing for more than 30 years, many of which were spent working together in their sewing studio in Ilkley in Yorkshire.

Since Covid, their classes in sewing and quilting have gone from in person, on a local level, to online and a world-wide audience. They say their mission is to empower women through sewing, one stitch at a time.

Image shows the front cover of the book Menopause Makes by Jenni Smith & Kay Walsh

Their latest project, the book, Menopause Makes was borne out of many conversations between the friends about the Menopause. They had previously written a book together and decided that, as menopause and perimenopause symptoms were a frequent topic of conversation between them, why not write about it in a sewing context?

Image shows a woman smiling with her eyes closed and wearing a beautiful brightly coloured loose jacket — The Cool Down Cover Up modelled by Jenni & Kay’s friend Alison Lewis from Liberty Haberdashery Department

Along with a foreword by Dr Hannah Davies, a doctor specialising in menopause and lifestyle medicine, the book contains 10 patterns, one for each of ten different menopause symptoms. They include a sleep mask to aid insomnia, a basket for lost things to help with memory loss and a ‘Keep Cool Quilt’ for night sweats.

Image shows a pair of eye masks with a cup of tea and an open book also in shot — Insomnia : Sleep Mask

Jenni and Kay have chosen projects which are useful and achievable for beginners. Each project starts with a description of the symptom which it relates to, and how it can help.

Image shows a tote bag hanging on a door knob — Low Mood : Weekend Away Tote

As well as running classes, both online and in person, Jenni & Kay have travelled abroad to meet crafters from overseas, tell their stories and learn about their traditional crafts and techniques producing crafty travelogues as part of their online courses. Among their creative destinations have been Ireland, the Netherlands and Hawaii along with locations closer to their homes in Yorkshire, like Scotland and Northumberland.

To find out more about Jenni, Kay and Menopause Makes, please check out their website.

Image shows Jenni Smith & Kay Walsh standing together on a wooden bridge with a patchwork quilt draped over the side of the bridge and yellow and white windmill behind.The photograph was taken in the Netherlands. — Jenni & Kay in the Netherlands

To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.

The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .

The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

Episode 81 : Making Stitches 2024 Christmas Special

Hello and welcome to the Making Stitches 2024 Christmas Special! As always at this time of year, I’m taking a look back at some of the year’s highlights for Making Stitches.

Included in this year’s extravaganza is Tansy Forster from The Longest Yarn, author and academic Barbara Burman, crochet designer Emma Varnam, Dr Gemma McKenzie from Threads of Protest, Heather Gibbs from Keep Calm And Crochet On, Lisa & Lynda-Rose from The Crochet Sanctuary. Thank you to everyone who has spoken to me for Making Stitches Podcast this year!

I’d also like to thank Jackie, Rachel, Nick, Nickie, Jen, Penny & Steph my fellow Crochet Sanctuary attendees who gave me their 2024 highlights for this episode.

Thank you to you too for listening and following my podcast adventures for the past few years – I’ve loved being able to bring these creative chats to you for you to enjoy!

I hope you have a happy and peaceful Christmas and that 2025 is good to you!

Lindsay x

If you would like to support my fundraising effort for FareShare Greater Manchester, you can buy the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath crochet pattern here.

To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.

The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .

The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

Episode 80 : Learning lessons from history with Becky Davies-Downes

Image of Becky Davies-Downes sitting on a wooden box and leaning her head on her hands looking directly at the camera. — Becky Davies-Downes

Thank you for joining me for the 80th episode of Making Stitches Podcast! This time I’m sharing a chat I had with Becky Davies-Downes from William and Tilda, who, after almost two decades working in TV & film costume departments, is now sewing beautiful bags and other accessories inspired by 1940s wartime Britain.

William and Tilda Make Do & Mend style floral brooch — William and Tilda Make Do & Mend style Floral Brooch

I first bumped in Becky in September this year, at the Yarndale Festival. There, she spoke to me about how her current venture had come about, as well as a little bit about her previous career. I simply had to have a more in-depth chat with her about all things ‘make do and mend’ as well as her previous life working in TV & film.

William and Tilda 1940s style gas mask bag made out of green tweed — William and Tilda 1940s style Gas Mask Bag

My deepest thanks to Becky for speaking to me, not once, but twice in quick succession for Making Stitches Podcast!

You can find Becky’s website ‘William and Tilda’ here and from there you can find all of Becky’s social media links too.

William and Tilda Vintage Style handmade needle book — William and Tilda Vintage Style Handmade Needle Book

While you’re here, can I just mention my latest crochet pattern – the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath, which I’ve designed to raise much-needed funds for FareShare Greater Manchester?

FareShare Greater Manchester is a charity which diverts thousands of tonnes of surplus food from the food industry each year to hundreds of charities and community groups in Greater Manchester and the surrounding area. It is simply wrong that so much food would otherwise go to waste when so many people are struggling to access healthy and nutritious food.

An image of the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath — FareShare Festive Feast Wreath

The FareShare Festive Feast Wreath is a Christmas crochet pattern for a wreath based on a Christmas dinner – including sprouts and pigs-in-blankets. All the money raise from the sale of the pattern will be going directly to FareShare Greater Manchester.

You can find out more information about FareShare Greater Manchester here.

You can buy the crochet pattern for the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath here.

To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.

The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .

The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

Episode 71 : Creativity for Mental Health

Hello I’m thrilled to be back with another series of episodes of Making Stitches Podcast. This time I’m doing something a bit different, instead of launching the new series with a new interview, I’ve taken a dive into the archives.

Since I last spoke to you, Making Stitches celebrated its 4th birthday (which I think is pretty decent in podcasting) so I thought I’d indulge in a look back at some of the voices which have featured up until this point.

One theme which has been consistent throughout, is the very real benefit that being creative can have on your state of mind. It can be a light relief at a time of high stress, a positive outlet during anxiety and depression, a focus in the midst of paralysing grief.

Quite a few of my guests (not all included here) have spoken about how their craft has helped them during hard times. Speaking from experience, my creativity, be that through crochet, sewing or even making this podcast has really helped me over the years. I am a real advocate for being creative as a result.

Join me as I share chats from the Making Stitches archive:

Lisa & Lynda-Rose from The Crochet Sanctuary about the Pandemonium blanket crochet-along during Covid https://www.crochetsanctuary.co.uk
Patchwork quilter Emma Jones from the Vintage Sewing Box on the importance of making for mental health https://www.vintagesewingbox.co.uk
Textile artist Matthew Downham on finding stitches to ease his anxiety. https://matthewdownham.wixsite.com/mysite
Former BBC Brussels correspondent, Mary Jane Baxter on leaving a high pressure career for a creative life on the road in her Bedford Bambi campervan. https://unbound.com/books/sew-on-the-go
Peace & anti terrorism campaigner Figen Murray OBE on how knitting has helped her grieve the loss of her son, Martyn in the Manchester Arena bomb attack. https://www.figenmurray.co.uk
Dr Mia Webb, clinical psychologist, knitter and podcaster on the Why I Knit podcast on the benefits of knitting for mental health. https://www.therapeuticknitting.org

Clockwise from top left, Lisa & Lynda-Rose from The crochet Sanctuary, Emma Jones, Matthew Downham, Dr Mia Hobbs, Figen Murray & Mary Jane Baxter

To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.

The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .

The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

Episode 69 : Why Sewing Matters with Barbara Burman

Hello and welcome to Making Stitches Podcast!

My guest for this episode is the historian and writer, Barbara Burman, whose latest book is ‘The Point of the Needle – Why Sewing Matters. Barbara, a retired academic from the University of Southampton and the University of the Arts, spent more than 40 years teaching and researching the history of dress and textiles.

In her latest book, Barbara takes an in-depth look at the social and cultural significance of sewing drawing on contemporary voices as well as historical research. In it, Barbara asks what people are sewing, why they are motivated to sew and why people choose to mend?

This was a fascinating chat which covered lots of different aspects of Barbara’s work – I hope you enjoy listening!

You can find a link to ‘The Point of the Needle – Why Sewing Matters’ here.

To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.

The theme music for Making Stitches Podcast is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .

The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.