Episode 94 : Yarndale 2025 – Celebrating Yarn & Community

On the weekend of 27th & 28th September, Skipton Auction Mart was again transformed into Yarndale. The festival of all things creative brings stall holders and crafts people from far and wide to share their love of their creative passions.

While knitting and crochet take centre stage with every imaginable colour and type of yarn, there are many other crafts to enjoy, including embroidery, sewing, spinning, felting, lacemaking and so much more.

I went along with my trusty microphone and chatted to so many people, friends I’ve known online, people I’ve met before and so many new acquauintances too. It was a total joy.

(Picture shows a stunning blanket by Sue Maton from The Mercerie)

Image shows a blanket designed by Sue Maison from The Mercerie

Image shows the Amanda Bloom stand at Yarndale 2025

I was also thrilled to be able to chat to Julie Park, a good friend of the late Amanda Bloom, who was there to represent her friend and support 3 new creative businesses with the Yarndale Start-Up Bursary.

Sammy from Auspicious Stitch was one of the Yarndale Start-Up Bursaries supported by the fundraising effort by Amanda Bloom’s friend Julie Park.

Image shows Sammy from Auspicious Stitch standing by her Yarndale stall

My thanks to everyone who spoke to me for this episode including:

Carley from Unicorn Puffs & Rainbows

Lydia from Laurette Crafts

Sue Maton from The Mercerie

Emma Wood from Verde

Julie Park on behalf of Amanda Bloom & the Yarndale Start-Up Bursary

Sammy from Auspicious Stitch

And Sara & Sean from Crochet in the Glen

It was a treat to catch up with Sara Macleod from Crochet in the Glen again after spending the day at Yarndale.

I even found the time to try my hand at Brioche Crochet in a workshop with Emma Wood from Verde.

Thank you again to everyone who chatted to me on Saturday at Yarndale – you really helped make it a special day for me!

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.

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.

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 92 : World Stitch Day 2025

World Stitch Day was held at Oakewell Hall in Batley, West Yorkshire

Back on 1st June this summer, the Woven in Kirklees Festival kicked off with World Stitch Day at Oakwell Hall in Batley. Among the attractions of stalls from local community groups, textile artists, workshops and an interactive fabric ‘Time Machine’ was The Red Dress on display in West Yorkshire for the first time.

One of the community stitch projects on show at the Woven Opening Event

The Red Dress is an award winning collaborative embroidery project which was conceived by the British artist Kirstie Macleod. It took 14 years to complete and features the work of 380 embroiderers from 51 different countries, many of whom come from marginalised communities. The dress is currently in the middle of a global tour and was on display for the whole of June at Oakwell Hall in Birstall.

The ‘Woven in Kirklees’ textiles festival first launched in 2019. The community festival celebrates all kinds of textiles and related crafts with yarn bombs, textile art exhibitions, workshops and talks.

Adam Strickson & colleague from 6 Million +

The biennial festival runs for a whole month and this year had 130 different events happening throughout June. Initiated in 2019 by Kirklees Council, the festival “is owned by everyone, including community groups, textile businesses, cultural and educational organisations, artists and heritage sites across the district”.

I went along to World Stitch Day and spoke to a number of the exhibitors, the festival’s curator, Nat Walton as well as Kirstie Macleod about the amazing Red Dress.

Kirstie Macleod giving her talk to the Woven attendees

Here are some useful links to discover more about the events and groups featured in this episode:

Me and my Caravan Collective Textile Time Machine Panel!

And to find out more about the appeal to make crocheted hearts for the North West & North Wales Paediatric Transport Service, please click this link.

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 91 : Let’s Celebrate with Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet

Image shows a Let's Celebrate Wreath held up in front of a view of the sea on a sunny day

Hello and welcome to the first episode in this new series of podcasts from Making Stitches.

This time, I’m sharing a chat with my crochet friend Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet. Eleonora and I have both celebrated a special blog birthday this year. It’s 10 years since we both began our blogging adventure.

While there’s no doubt that Eleonora’s blogging and designing has taken her to extraordinary places compared to my own experience, it’s been so lovely for me to follow her success and share my own journey with her over the years. Our blogging platform connected us in our early days of blogging, and for the past decade we have regularly communicated both through blog comments and through social media.

Image shows Lindsay from Making Stitches and Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet smiling at the camera

We were lucky enough to be able to meet in person at Yarndale in 2022, then again last year. It was at Yarndale 2024 that we decided to work on a collaboration to mark our blog birthdays.

Today, we are launching our collaborative crochet pattern, the Let’s Celebrate wreath. You can find the patterns for the wreath cover and the bunting over on Eleonora’s blog at coastalcrochet.com and the patterns for the amigurumi balloons & birthday cake on my blog at makingstitches.co.uk

Image shows the Let's Celebrate wreath a crochet collaboration between Lindsay Weston from Making Stitches & Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet

Also in this episode, you will hear a few teasers of what to look forward to in upcoming episodes of Making Stitches including World Stitch Day at the start of Woven in Kirklees, a chat I had with Kirstie Macleod, the artist behind The Red Dress, and Amy Ting, the amigurumi designer behind Curious Papaya and the author of Amigurumi Critters.

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 90 : Passionate about Punch Needle with Micah Clasper-Torch

When Micah Clasper-Torch first designed a coat using fabric which had been embellished with punch needlework, her passion was born. Moving from the intense world of fashion design in New York to a more laid back lifestyle in California, Micah embraced the craft of punch needle and ran with it.

Her passion for the craft is infectious, so much so that she launched Punch Needle World, a platform to celebrate the art, craft and history of punch needle. Micah has taught thousands of people how to punch needle through online courses and has recently written a book about the craft sharing 15 designs merging fashion and punch needlework.

In this episode you can hear Micah talk a little about the history of punch needle, how she is spreading her love of the craft and how she has merged her two passions of fashion and punch needle too.

If you would like to find out more about Micah, you can find her website here and her Instagram account 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 89 : Looking ahead to the Woven in Kirklees festival with Nat Walton

The ‘Woven in Kirklees’ textiles festival first launched in 2019 and is due to kick off for its 2025 edition this weekend. The community festival celebrates all kinds of textiles and related crafts with yarn bombs, textile art exhibitions, workshops and talks.

Nat Walton, curator of Woven in Kirklees

The biennial festival runs for a whole month and this year will have 130 different events happening throughout June. Initiated in 2019 by Kirklees Council, the festival “is owned by everyone, including community groups, textile businesses, cultural and educational organisations, artists and heritage sites across the district”.

The Red Dress (Credit: Sophia Schorr-Kon)

Among the attractions on offer this year is ‘The Red Dress’. The Red Dress is an award winning collaborative embroidery project which was conceived by the British artist Kirstie Macleod. It took 14 years to complete and features the work of 380 embroiderers from 51 different countries, many of whom come from marginalised communities. The dress is currently in the middle of a global tour and will be on display for the whole of June at Oakwell Hall in Birstall.

Close up of some of the detailed embroidery on the Red Dress.

(Main embroidery by Zenaida Aguilar, supported by Kitzen Mexico 2018. Photo Credit: Sophia Schorr-Kon)

I caught up with the festival curator Nat Walton in the busy run up to this year’s launch to find out more about what people can expect to see at this year’s Woven.

You can find out the full programme of events at the ‘Woven in Kirklees’ Festival on their website.

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.

Image of small balls of cotton yarn in rainbow colours with the Making Stitches Podcast overlaid

Episode 88 : From Sewing Wedding Dresses to Crocheting a Turner Prize Winning Doily with Rachael Mills

When Rachael Mills took up crochet as a means to giving up smoking, little did she realise that it would one day lead to her making a Turner Prize winning doily! Last year, when the Glaswegian artist Jasleen Kaur was named the winner of the Turner Prize, crocheter Racheal was celebrating at home in Blackburn. I was thrilled when she agreed to come onto the podcast to share her side of this amazing story.

Rachael’s first creative job was piece work sewing at a bridal gown factory, she then went on to set up her own sewing business when she was made redundant and later on took up crochet as a hobby to keep her hands busy when she gave up smoking. She now spends her mornings on her sewing business and her afternoons crocheting commissions and teaching up to 50 people each week in her crochet classes.

You can find Rachael’s creative business Facebook pages here: REM Designs for sewing and Crazy Crochet Creations.

Some of Rachael’s creations including her Memory Bears & Lapel bags

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 87 : Celebrating 10 years of the Winwick Mum Sockalong with Christine Perry

My guest for this episode is my yarny friend, Christine Perry, who first made an appearance on the podcast back in 2021. Since chatting back then, we have become friends and when I heard that she was gearing up to a big milestone in her sock-knitting journey, I asked her if she would like to come back onto the podcast and chat about it.

Last weekend, on Saturday 3rd May, Christine celebrated a whole decade of encouraging people around the world to. knit socks through her Winwick Mum Sockalong. Christine’s main aim is to encourage beginners to get over their fears of knitting in the round, turning heels and Kitchener stitch and be able to set off on their own sock knitting adventures.

It worked for me – I think it’s highly unlikely that I would ever have attempted to knit a pair of socks before chatting to Christine! I can now proudly say that on Saturday I followed Christine’s request to cast on a new pair and get knitting to mark this significant milestone (and this is my 4th pair!).

I hope you enjoy listening to our chat!

You can find all the details about Christine’s 10th anniversary giveaway over on her Winwick Mum blog as well as her free sockalong tutorials.

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 86 : Spreading Joy Online with Sara & Sean from Crochet in the Glen

When I first approached Sara from Crochet in the Glen and asked if she would like to be a guest on Making Stitches Podcast, she couldn’t understand why I’d want to speak to her. Like many (thousands) of other people who follow her Instagram account I’d enjoyed seeing her posts from her home on the picturesque Cowal Peninsula on the West Coast of Scotland – not just for the scenery, or her beautiful crochet creations, but because of her “crochet supermodel” husband Sean!

Sean and Sara are collectively a hilarious team. Their posts are colourful and very, very funny. Sean can often be spotted strutting down an imaginary catwalk in their home wearing some of Sara’s crochet creations – often wearing several different items at the same time.

I am so glad that Sara said yes to an interview and as a bonus, Sean was able to join us too. I hope you enjoy listening to them share their story as much as I did when I recorded it!

You can find Sara and Sean at the Crochet in the Glen Instagram account.

Since the last episode of Making Stitches Podcast was published, Making Stitches has celebrated a birthday – it’s now 5 years old! Thank you to everyone who has come onto the podcast over the past 5 years, everyone who has listened and supported me along the way!

Lindsay x

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.

Episode 85 : The Gift of Crochet with Marianne Rawlins of Maz Crochets

Image shows Marianne Rawlins the guest of this episode standing in the foreground of the photo smiling at the camera

The image shows Marianne Rawlins, the guest on this episode standing in the foreground of the photo smiling at the camera. — Marianne Rawlins

For so many of us, crochet (or any craft) is as gift which offers mental release, a chance to focus on something away from the day-to-day worries of life and that creative spark so many of us need. When Marianne Rawlins was working part-time whilst raising her very small children, crochet arrived in her life. It gave her a creative outlet and ultimately an additional career, as her hobby developed into writing and designing for Simply Crochet magazine.

Our paths crossed through her work for Simply Crochet and I asked her to come onto the podcast to talk about how her hobby had opened up new doors for her. Whilst crochet is not Marianne’s ‘day job’ it does play a very important role in her life and she takes great pleasure in not only designing and making crochet items herself but writing articles for the magazine about other makers and testing new yarns which have come onto the market for practical features.

You can find Marianne on Instagram as @mazcrochets and on Ravelry too, where she sells her crochet patterns.