Between August and December 2023 we ran a series of 12 workshops at Avondale Library and ALL GOODS community art space space. All workshops were free to join and open to the public.
Below is an archive of all of the events.
The series was made possible by the Auckland Council Creative Communities fund. Thanks also to our other supporters:
INNATURE (organic mattress offcuts)
RUBY (fabric offcuts)
West Auckland Resource Centre (fabric offcuts)
Creative Mending Circle
Sat 5th August 10:00am – 12:00pm
Avondale Library
Join us for a restorative mending gathering, and repair beloved garments with your own creative flair! We offer hands-on guidance on darning, patching and other visible mending techniques.
Bring your own mending or upcycling project.
Darning: Woven & Duplicate Stitches
Sat 12th Aug 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Avondale Library
Join us for an advanced darning gathering, and repair beloved garments with your own creative flair! We offer hands-on guidance on darning, including weaving for woven cloths and duplicate stitching (Swiss darning) for knitted garments.
Mindful Stitching: Embroidered Brooches
Mon 21st Aug, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Avondale Library
Join us for a meditative afternoon exploring stitching and embroidery, to make wearable brooches using local material offcuts.
Make use of the craft supplies we have for sharing, including fabric scraps and clothing intercepted from the waste streams. A treasured collection of books on embroidery and resilient textiles will also be available for inspiration.
Resourceful Felt-Making – textures & bowls
Tue 5th Sep, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
ALL GOODS, 99 Rosebank Rd, Avondale
Join us for a meditative workshop repurposing local material offcuts into woollen bowls and other sculptural explorations.
Felt from wool is the oldest known textile, originates in central Asia, and has many traditional practical uses such as shelter, clothing and footwear.
It is a wonderful, sustainable, soft-yet-sturdy material, and is often used for crafting artworks, toys, festive decorations and handmade gifts
We will play with using resists to create 3D forms and textures.
Frugal sewing: patchwork bags
Tue 12th Sep, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Avondale Library
Practice zero-waste sewing by making useful and beautiful tote bags and pouches from fabric offcuts!
We will share and showcase a variety of approaches to making with scraps: quilting, Japanese boro/sashiko, Korean jogakbo/bojagi & fabric rope-making. We will then creatively design our own bags using clean scrap fabric from RUBY, Innature and the West Auckland Resource Centre. Guidance on hand-sewing and handle design will be given. A variety of totes and pouches for different uses will be available for inspiration.
Ecodyeing with Local Plants
Mon 18th Sep 1:00pm – 3:00pm
ALL GOODS, 99 Rosebank Rd, Avondale
Learn how to use windfalls and weeds to dye local fabric offcuts for creative reuse.
We will learn the basics of ecodyeing, using foraged and abundant plants such as loquat leaves and rusty iron, to colour local wool and cotton/hemp offcuts.
We will dream of ideas for creative uses for the fabrics, as well as explore ways of using the excess dye, such as making watercolour paint.
Mindful Stitching & Mending
Tue 26 Sep, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Avondale Library
Join us for a restorative mending gathering, and repair beloved garments with your own creative flair! We offer hands-on guidance on darning, patching, boro/sashiko and other visible mending techniques.
Bring your own mending or upcycling project.
String-making with Tī Kōuka and other plants
Sat 30 Sep, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Avondale Library
Learn the ancient craft of string-making with materials around you! You can make string of many thicknesses, from fallen leaves of Tī Kōuka leaves, red hot poker, day lilies as well as fabric scraps. These can then be turned into netting, jewellery or sculpture.
Frugal Electronics
Sat 7 Oct, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Avondale Library
What happens if we treat our e-waste as valuable components rather than material? What new and useful things could be made by Identifying and recombining functioning parts? Join Adam and Xin in an exploration of the possibilities.
Felted woollen beads
Mon 16 Oct, 3:15pm – 4:00pm
Avondale Library
Make a colourful felted necklace using wool scraps! Join us for a meditative workshop repurposing local organic mattress offcuts and woollen yarns into felt beads that you can wear, through learning the ancient craft of wet-felting. No experience needed. All ages welcome.
Hand-made soft toys I
Tue 5th Dec, 1pm – 3pm
Avondale Library
Practice zero-waste sewing by making beautiful soft toys from fabric and wool offcuts!
We will share a variety of patterns for making soft toys. You can creatively design and sew your own softies, using clean scrap fabric and wool from RUBY, Innature and the West Auckland Resource Centre. Guidance on hand-sewing will be given. A variety of palm-sized toys will be available for inspiration.
Hand-made soft toys II
Sat 9th Dec, 10am-12pm
Avondale Library
Practice zero-waste sewing by making beautiful soft toys from fabric and wool offcuts!
We will share a variety of patterns for making soft toys. You can creatively design and sew your own softies, using clean scrap fabric and wool from RUBY, Innature and the West Auckland Resource Centre. Guidance on hand-sewing will be given. A variety of palm-sized toys will be available for inspiration.
All events supported by
