More Than Sewing: Kit Giroux on Representation, Confidence and The Sewing Bee

Kit Giroux shares their journey from passionate sewing enthusiast to semi-finalist on The Great British Sewing Bee, offering an honest look at what it takes to grow your skills and step into the spotlight. 

They talk us through their creative process from initial ideas to finished garments and how sewing has become a powerful form of self-expression.

In this episode, Kit also dives into their thoughts on fast fashion and the importance of making more conscious, sustainable choices when it comes to what we wear. 

They reflect on representation in the sewing world, the impact of being seen, and how clothing can shape identity and confidence.

Looking ahead, Kit shares exciting plans for the future, including exploring pattern design and taking on the challenge of creating a wedding dress. 

Along the way, there’s plenty of insight into pattern drafting, developing your own style, and embracing what makes your sewing truly personal.

Whether you’re passionate about sustainable fashion, curious about the realities of the Sewing Bee, or looking for inspiration in your own creative journey, this episode is packed with thoughtful conversation and fresh perspective.

Key Takeaways: 

• Kit has been sewing since childhood, but had a break and picked it up again as an adult.
• They applied for The Sewing Bee after watching the show with a friend.
• They found that the Transformation Challenge on the show brought out the most creativity and they felt they learnt a lot from this.
• Kit either makes their clothes or shops second hand. They are quite passionate about repairing and preventing clothing from going to landfill. 
• Kit is designing a set of patterns which they hope to have available later this year.

Follow me: 

Instagram: @thesewingsocialpod

                     @thedalythread

Tiktok: thesewingsocialpod

If you've enjoyed this episode and appreciate the work I'm doing, please 

Tip me on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thesewingsocialpod

Also, feel free to get in touch - you can text the show (available through your podcast provider on each episode) or email:

thesewingsocialpod@gmail.com

Guest Details: 

Instagram: @kit_giroux_orginals

Tiktok: @kit_giroux_originals

Affiliate Links:

• Thready Set Go - https://threadysetgo.com

     Discount code for 10% off your first month - SOCIALPOD10

• Sew and Stow - https://sewandstow.co.uk

     Discount code for £10 off your board - Sewingsocialpod

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Background

00:22 Journey into Sewing

02:36 The Sewing Bee Experience

06:43 Thoughts on Fast Fashion

11:41 Repairing and Upcycling Clothing

14:22 Navigating Challenges and Finding Joy

15:56 The Importance of Community and Connection

17:00 Creating Patterns and Personal Style

21:51 The Sewing Industry and Personal Expression

27:37 Clothing as a Reflection of Identity

29:18 Future Projects and Creative Endeavors

30:21 Rapid Fire: This or That?

34:13 Thready set go - 1st month free

Transcript

Gemma Daly (00:10)
Kit, welcome to the Sewing Social podcast, I'm so happy to have you on today.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (00:15)
Hi Gemma, nice to see you.

Gemma Daly (00:17)
Lovely to see you and I was wondering if you could introduce yourself to the listeners.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (00:21)
Hi, I'm Kit Giroux and I was a Season 11 Sewing Bee Semi-Finalist.

Gemma Daly (00:28)
Perfect. Now, I do love to take it right back to the start and I'm really interested Kit to find out how you started sewing.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (00:37)
So there's like lots of different stories because I can never remember how time works. Now I remember when I was in primary school, I used to make these like sock monkeys. Do you remember sock monkeys when they were a thing? Yeah, I used to make sock monkeys and then some friends were like, oh, I really like this. Can you make one for me? I started selling them for 50p and I got in trouble at school for selling them. But I remember even earlier than that, one of my school friends.

Gemma Daly (00:43)
You

Yeah, they were cute.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (01:03)
We did like a play date at her house and all the way up in this, I think it was like a four story house, there was an attic with a giant billiards table. And the mum showed us how to sew cushions. And I think that's the earliest memory I have of proper sewing with a machine. I remember learning how to do a zigzag stitch and doing a plique of this tiny little monster thing as an emblem that I was obsessed with at the time.

But I think that's how I started. then over the years, just started doing patterns. My mom showed me how to kind of interpret a sewing pattern. But then she was like, right, go figure it out and had a great time. And then I did it at uni for a bit, just if I wanted to go out, made a couple of items, made cushions and that kind of thing. And then when I moved to Manchester after uni, I proper picked it up after a long break. And then here we are.

Gemma Daly (01:55)
Yeah amazing. like how long had you been properly sewing then before you took that plunge and applied for the sewing bee?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (02:04)
Right, okay, okay, so on the show

they said that I'd only been sewing for a year. That's a lie. I never said that. What I think they got confused that is I'd started sewing up again for about a year. So I've probably been sewing since like nine. So a long time, yeah, long time just drips and drabs, then proper going at it from the age of like 21, 22.

Gemma Daly (02:09)
Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, and what was the moment then that you decided, yeah, I'm going to go on this huge show on TV?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (02:36)
⁓ well, think me, me and my flatmate, Alastair, we watched it like religiously because it was this great. And I was sewing quite a lot at the time because I've just gotten back into it. and he was like, well, you should go on that. I was like, okay. ⁓ only if you help me with the application. Cause I get really stressed about applying for things. so we helped me through all the application we we went through all the questions. I was like, does this sound real? Is this good? It's like, yeah. And then, and then, ⁓ rounds and rounds of.

Gemma Daly (02:54)
huh.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (03:03)
of getting on in terms of the interview stages and all that and then managed to get through. Yeah.

Gemma Daly (03:10)
some of the other bees have sort of let us in on that process because I understand it is quite the process, isn't it?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (03:17)
I remember it

started in like March 24, way up to the filming in September 24. So it was a long, long process, yeah.

Gemma Daly (03:27)
Yeah. You were amazing. You were a really amazing contestant and you won, I believe, is it six out of nine pattern challenges? Yeah. Was there like a particular standout moment for you from those wins or the show in general?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (03:37)
Yes, yes, six, I think. Yeah.

So many, I think the first pattern challenge win, like the first one of the series blew my mind. I think you could see it in the first shot. I'm bright red. It was really hot in that room as well because we had overhead lighting. But I was so, so hot and bright red because I was just sort of embarrassed but also really giddy and gleeful because this is a show that I've been watching since I was like 13 when it first came out.

And so to have won the first pattern challenge that I've been put forward for was amazing. And then I think my other great moment was the paper dress when I won garment of the week for that. It was, I wasn't expecting to win garment of the week for any of my made to measures. Cause as soon as you saw anything that Caz had designed, cause we talked about things beforehand, you see something she does that and you'd like, yeah, I'm not, but then.

Gemma Daly (04:24)
Mmm.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (04:38)
The paper dress is something that I put so much work into and I thought if I win any of them, if I hope, I hope it will be this one. And I was so chuffed to bits with that.

Gemma Daly (04:48)
Yeah it was a lovely design but I imagine it was so delicate wasn't it?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (04:54)
It was, but I enjoyed it in a really sadistic way. ⁓ I think what I really enjoyed about the sewing room is I get, I don't want to say get off on pressure, that sounds wrong. But I really enjoy it, I think. So I've got a degree in maths, and that's a lot of exams, and I thrive under kind of exam pressure. And that's why I really like the transformation challenges and pattern challenges, because you've got really short time window.

Gemma Daly (04:58)
You

I know what you mean.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (05:21)
And I think I did struggle with the made to measures just a bit because I didn't have that rigorous way of doing it. I just kind of went for it. I hardly ever practice anything beforehand because I didn't have time because I was working a full-time job. But the paper dress, what I really enjoyed about it is I knew there weren't that many steps in it, but I knew that whatever step I had to make, it would be really slow and calculated and any tear would mess up the entire thing. We did have one tear, but it was in the seam allowance of the armpit.

Gemma Daly (05:44)
Mm.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (05:48)
So that was fine, but yeah, it was really, really difficult. But what it was, it was crepe paper backed with stitched interfacing. So you could still tear it one way, but the other way it had a bit more strength. So I managed to pattern it just a way so that it had a bit more strength so it was less likely to tear.

Gemma Daly (05:58)
Mm-hmm.

actually never heard of the paper dress, it is a thing, isn't it, in like history that you research, but I'd never heard of it before.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (06:10)
Yeah.

It's so cool. And they even made like paper saris for Air India as part of a promo campaign. It's just a huge piece of, I think it's a huge piece of fashion history, because really, it's something that started fast fashion as a whole. The idea that you could buy for less than a dollar a dress, probably, I don't know what the exchange rate is, but you could buy a really cheap dress just from postage, wear it once, twice, throw it away.

Gemma Daly (06:19)
Wow.

Right.

You

crazy isn't it? It is. It is. And while we're on that subject then, what are your thoughts around the whole fast fashion thing? I know that's quite a big question because it's a huge topic but have you got any particular thoughts or feelings around it?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (06:43)
And that's exactly what people do now. So it's insane,

I've got a lot of thoughts or feelings around it. So you might have to stop me if I get on one. I am a big advocate for slow fashion. The issue with slow fashion though, is it's not always accessible. The reason why people go to Primark or now Timu and Sheen is because clothing is so cheap and it does tend to look good. Like for body calm dresses, like a lot of Jersey dresses look.

Gemma Daly (07:04)
You

Mm-hmm.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (07:28)
good, because that's what they're meant to do. They won't last long though. And that's what the issue is. You're buying something, it's not lasting long, it's going to landfill. Or if you don't want to wear it, you send it back and it doesn't actually get sent back, it goes to landfill. then you've got the dichotomy of if you want to buy something slow fashion, it's often about 100 to 200 pounds. And people just can't afford that. Like, that's probably about a third of people's rent.

Gemma Daly (07:29)
Mmm.

you

Kit Giroux(they/them) (07:55)
or half people's rent, and it's just not achievable. much as I'm against fast fashion, it's, it's all people can kind of afford. And that's awful. So there's ways that people can think about how they approach clothing and break that cycle, even if they're in that predicament, because I personally don't earn that much to buy clothing, that's why I make it. So I could, if I didn't make clothes, I would go to vintage shops and get vintage clothing, secondhand shopping.

Gemma Daly (07:55)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (08:21)
clothing from charity shops, or I'd wear the crap out what I've got until it fails and then I'd fix it. I've got a Britney Spears t-shirt from Primark that I got in 2018. And it's got loads of holes in the bottom from where my belt buckle has punctured it. I think I've Sashiko-ed over the top of it in like matching colors and it's really cool. But I love that t-shirt even more now because I've done that. And I think when you repair things, you dye clothing, even if it's like something cheap from Primark.

Gemma Daly (08:34)
Yeah.

Amazing.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (08:48)
Because you've done that, it makes you want to wear it more and makes you want to give it a new lease of life.

Gemma Daly (08:54)
It's even more personal, I guess, isn't it? Cause you're putting that, you're putting that effort into it. But it sounds like we sort of need something in the middle. So you've got your slow fashion and then you've got your fast fashion. But like you say, there's such a vast price difference that there also needs to be a mid fashion as well. Like.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (08:56)
Yeah.

I think there is that though, you've got vintage clothing, you've got things like Depop, where, I mean, when's the last time you bought something from a shop that wasn't vintage or secondhand?

Gemma Daly (09:18)
True, true.

I've recently bought a pair of jeans new, but I do feel guilty about it because... No, but I do, I get this thing, because I make most of my clothes, but there are certain things where I do want to make them. I just know that that's going to take me quite a long time. Like jeans, it's a time investment, isn't it?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (09:28)
Okay.

I'm not gonna say you should.

Mm.

you bought them. I don't know how much you spent on them, but I'm sure you're going to wear them to death because that's kind of your principles. I made jeans a year ago, just over a year ago now. I'm actually wearing them right now. They're selvedge denim jeans. Love them. I think I posted about and not washed them yet. Not washing yet, but they look brand new. I wear them every other day. ⁓ It's not actually that difficult to make a pair of jeans.

Gemma Daly (09:53)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

wow.

Yeah.

No, it's not. It's more the fitting. yeah, the making is not that difficult and I absolutely agree. It's the fitting. And I know that with stuff that I buy, I have these particular issues. So I know I should just translate it into stuff that I make, but again, it's that time investment that I don't always have. So that's just my particular issue.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (10:16)
It's more than fitting.

Well, that's the thing that's the

thing that comes back with fast fashion people don't have the time to even think about kind of what clothing they're wearing and how it impacts the environment. And that's why it exists. People like that one click, get that clothing the next day. And it's just ease. makes your life easier. But sometimes it's nice to take the slower route.

Gemma Daly (10:40)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Absolutely. And the thought of just wearing things once is really... it doesn't make me feel good even to think about it.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (11:05)
Yeah, I'm a bit on the fence with that because I do sometimes make things just to wear once. Like an event, but I will wear it again. Like I made this glittery jumpsuit that I've worn probably about three times. The only reason I don't wear it so much is because the glitter gets everywhere. Like, if I've been all night out with you and I'm wearing that, you know who I've been hugging. ⁓ It'll be like an infectious disease.

Gemma Daly (11:09)
Right, okay. Like an event type. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, it'll be all over.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (11:32)
glitter everywhere. I've

got friends who won't go out on a night out with me if I'm wearing glitter. Just because of that. So that there's reasons why I things multiple times because they're special event clothing.

Gemma Daly (11:41)
Yeah, while we're on the sort of subject of like ⁓ repairing and slow fashion and that kind of thing, I saw that you did some work at the Good Clothes Show, didn't you? Like repairing denim, is that right?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (11:53)
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I did. ⁓ So repairing denim is, there's multiple ways of repairing denim. You can do probably invisible stuff, which is high tailor stuff, which I can't do. You can do Sashiko, which it takes a lot of time and it's not always the strongest. So it's good for like maybe a knee patch or somewhere on the thigh. Or you've got, which I did the good clothes show, just putting a patch underneath and just stitching the hell out of it ⁓ and make it.

Gemma Daly (12:06)
You

Mm-hmm.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (12:25)
making it work. And so that's what I did the good clothes show and I got a couple of people take me up on it. It was just kind of pay what you feel but I wanted to make sure that people just want throwing away jeans. Yeah, I've got friends who just whenever they've got a pair of jeans about to go they're like, hey Kit, can you repair it? It's usually crotch. I don't know what they're doing.

Gemma Daly (12:33)
Yeah, absolutely.

I know.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (12:42)
thick thighs. I've got a lot of friends with thick thighs and that's the issue there. But then if you're repairing something, I don't like to repair something with stretch in it because I know that it's going to break even more because the elastane in all the jeans will just degrade over time.

Gemma Daly (12:52)
Mmm.

Yeah, but denim in general is one of those great fabrics, isn't it, that can be repaired and repaired and repaired. So don't throw your jeans away, people.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (13:01)
was brilliant. Yeah.

Don't throw your jeans

away. And if you're like, this is unrepairable, make a bag out of it. Or a corset. I've seen some people do some like really nice corsets out of denim. You can do anything out of denim.

Gemma Daly (13:11)
Absolutely, good idea.

I think,

yeah, think Caz made a really cool top, didn't she? Yeah, about out of pieces of denim. Yeah. She has, she has. So just going back to the show briefly, do you think there was a particular challenge that pushed you most out of your comfort zone?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (13:19)
Yes. Yeah. It's like a rap corset. Yeah. Stunning. Yeah. She's always been good at denim. yeah.

Oh, I can hardly remember it. was like two years ago now. Was it two years ago? It was a year and a half ago now. the week that I went out, made to measure challenge. went in that and I wasn't, I didn't feel prepared. I didn't feel confident in my design

Gemma Daly (13:46)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (13:57)
Yeah, it just, it felt like the ground was falling beneath me. Okay, right. That's it then. See you in a bit. It's, it's fine though. It's, but it was just a really kind of sad moment for me because I think I just at the end of that, I'd been working like full time whilst we've been filming and I definitely lost, lost a bit of chutzpah. Is that the right word? don't know.

Gemma Daly (14:19)
Yeah, I get it,

because that's a lot, isn't it?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (14:22)
It's a lot. It's a lot. And like, I know, Yas felt very similar to me, because she was working in the same time, But essentially, I was working full time job and I lost a bit of oomph by that last one, which was a real challenge for me. And then in terms of. I mean, I loved all the challenges.

I had so much fun. And what I think I put into what I got out of it, I tried to not stress about, I just tried to have fun. I really tried to have fun. When I would land lower some weeks, I'd be like, okay, fine, sure. But I've had a good time doing it. And the week that I did go home, I had a really great time. And no regrets.

Gemma Daly (14:39)
That's really good.

Well, that's the main thing. That's

the main thing. Yeah, absolutely no regrets because you obviously put your all into it and you did amazingly well. But I think, you know, at the end of the day, we have to remember that it is about fun. Yes, you want to win, but it's about the taking part really, isn't it? Yeah.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (15:15)
Exactly, Yeah.

And you just meet so many great people. Yeah, I was really quite envious we had, there was a Knitting and Stitching Festival in London last week and I couldn't make it down because really expensive. But I was like, I missed all my mates. They were all down there. was like, ⁓ it's just got so much FOMO. But love them, love them all so much.

Gemma Daly (15:38)
That's lovely. I think that is one of the nicest things that you see coming out of the show. Your tight little group of bees. It's a lovely thing to watch.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (15:48)
Yeah, we do. We've got a tradition now that every year we're to do a little weekend away in August. So we're doing another one this year, which should be quite fun.

Gemma Daly (15:54)
wow.

that's lovely. So you currently work in digital marketing, is that right? Yeah. And I saw you talking in another interview about creating your own pattern line. Is that something that's currently a work in progress?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (16:01)
That is right,

It is still a work in progress. I said that I'd get it done by end of January. We're now on spring. So that's not working yet. I have, I've got patterns working on the actual instructions for the patterns now. I've got them all digitized. We're to be looking at a tote bag, a bum bag and a jacket. The idea is just like your basics workwear, but going to see kind of how people like it and what else they might need.

but the idea is I don't want to do garments that are really frivolous. It's just gonna be core, ⁓ staple, capsule maybe? Capsule items that people should need and unisex, of course.

Gemma Daly (16:45)
Hmm.

Yeah, that sounds really interesting. going to be like patterns that we can buy and make ourselves or is it finished products that you're going to be selling?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (17:00)
Patterns that you can buy and make yourselves. I will be selling ⁓ like kind of samples and that kind of thing ⁓ When I do have my website up and running just you know in case people can't be arsed to sew It happens, you know, not everyone does it but they might think that's really cute. I want one But yeah, so I'll be ⁓ Uploading those and hoping people get interested and buy them but is I'm gonna be aiming for like Different stages of where you're at with your sewing with the three items that I'm pushing out there

Gemma Daly (17:15)
Absolutely.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (17:29)
And I might bring out a pattern for some jeans. Because some people quite like my jeans.

Gemma Daly (17:32)
Hmm

Yeah, fantastic. So lots of promising things in the future then. It will! That's it. So let's talk about your style Kit, your personal style, and how would you describe it?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (17:40)
I'm all talk. It's never going to happen. It will. It will manifest, manifest.

⁓ I'm gonna throw that back at you. How would you describe my style?

Gemma Daly (17:56)
Ooh, that's interesting. So I think you've got a flamboyant element, haven't you? you said you like to make those sort of event pieces. So you've got your jumpsuit and I've seen a couple of other sort of fancy sparkly things, but I don't know. think, because you, I've seen you in a skirt and I've seen you in a kilt, but they are, they're classics as well, aren't they?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (18:22)
Yeah,

so I love an event piece and I think there's, there's, inside you there are two walls. One, one is I do like a flamboyant thing. I like going out and dressing up, feeling pretty. I'll wear something sparkly and shiny for that, which is But then I also really like classic. So like right now I'm wearing some selvedge denim jeans, a really nice straight cut, a flannel shirt and some suspenders.

Gemma Daly (18:29)
you

Kit Giroux(they/them) (18:46)
And to be honest, I will wear that pretty much most days with a nice workwear jacket because don't need to mix up that wardrobe too much. If it works, it works. If I feel good and if my arse looks great, I'm happy. Right. So I'd say my style would be classic workwear. There's that thing where you describe your style in three adjectives. like classic workwear, colourful.

Gemma Daly (18:49)
Mm-hmm.

yeah.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (19:11)
I do like my colours and I'm playing with colours. So I think that's how I describe myself. But then there's the other side of when I'm going out and it's just sparkles and glitter and being pretty. But yeah, you mentioned like skirts and kilts there. I like to play around with gender quite a lot. So I'm non-binary. I think men can wear kilts and skirts and whatever they want as well. I don't think a dress is for me, though. I only ever wear it when I'm impersonating Kate Bush.

Gemma Daly (19:12)
Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

You

Kit Giroux(they/them) (19:33)
I like wearing skirts, but even if I'm that out there, like it to be quite workwear inspired, quite sharp edges and semi masculine as well. So like that nice blend.

Gemma Daly (19:46)
Yeah, I love that though and I was gonna talk about your denim kilt because I wanna know how much fabric that took and how long it took as well to make.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (19:57)
Too long and too long. So fabric, think I got. it was 160 centimeters wide. I needed six meters. So I think I had three meters of the fabric, but I cut the fabric in half widthways. So I managed to make it work. And that's with me. I've got a 40 inch waist. So 100 centimeters. so I had to.

Gemma Daly (19:59)
Hahaha

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (20:21)
condense it all down to that. And a bit of an overlap, which was fun. But what took the most time was pressing the pleats and getting them all good. Poor Jess, I ruined her table when I went down to London for London Fashion Week because I bought the kill and I was steaming the kilt on her table. was like, yeah, it'll be fine. It'll be fine. And there's like pleat lines on her table and I feel so bad about it. She's forgiven Though actually I've not heard from her in a while. Now that I think about it.

Gemma Daly (20:23)
Yeah.

⁓

So you mentioned London Fashion Week there, you got invited down didn't you?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (20:54)
Yeah, it was Victoria from the Children's Week who did the adaptive dungarees with us. So she's got this brand called Unhidden, is a fashion brand for adaptive fashion. It's really great. They ⁓ work with Primark as well. That's where the kind of fast fashion and the issues with it come in, because it's a really great cause, but also it's Primark. I'm like, but it makes clothing accessible to people who would probably not have nice clothing.

Gemma Daly (20:57)
you

Mmm.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (21:21)
otherwise, well, they might have nice clothing, but it might not be fit for the purpose. so we got invited down and we had an absolute hoot, all got dolled up and dressed up and just had a great time. I met some really great people there as well just in the industry. it was was nice to make some good connections.

Gemma Daly (21:37)
amazing. Do you feel like the sewing industry currently sort of represents you or caters for you with regards to patterns that are already out there or do you tend to draft most of your own stuff?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (21:51)
I say it doesn't. It doesn't cater to a masculine form at all. I went into a local sewing shop and I went through all the magazines, know, McCall's, Simplicity and all that. And I had to look at the men's section. you know, I will wear men's clothing, I'll use men's patterns, just because it's built for my body. they're also bloody boring. It's what it is, is when I see it, and this is me unfiltered, I see it as that. Okay, so it's ⁓ sewing patterns.

Gemma Daly (21:53)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (22:18)
someone's wife's going to make this for their husband in somewhere in the middle of, you know, Texas. That's what I, and I'm like, there's nothing. And then there are some other ones which are a bit more unique. Like you've got the know me patterns. They do a really great range. I've got a couple of those, which I've tried out. They're not all for me, but I've tried it out. And I like their patterns and a lot of them are like kind of rejigged simplicity or McCall's ones. then you've got the indie patterns as well, but it's hard to trust those.

Gemma Daly (22:24)
I'm

Mmm.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (22:45)
there's so many AI ones on Etsy at the moment and to get the right ones. But then even with the indie patterns, the majority of them are for female form. So yeah, I I draft all my own patterns really. There's a couple that I kind of hack from others, but really quite rarely. Cause there's nothing out there that I want to do. And also I really enjoy drafting. I think it's fun.

Gemma Daly (22:47)
Mmm.

It's probably your mathematical brain though, isn't it? Because everybody I've spoken to who is a pattern designer tends to love that mathematical part of it.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (23:13)
Yeah.

I love it. also I've got an art background as well. So I used to I studied art at A level. But I mean, I used to draw quite a lot of photorealism, which is very mathematical as well. And so I like the drawing, and I like the design. And I like the maths as well, and the process and being able to fix and tinker in the problem solving. I love it. Absolutely love it. And then I'll see a garment that I like, and I would probably just take a picture of it and try and pattern it as well.

Gemma Daly (23:40)
Yeah.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (23:46)
so I think I've made a couple of shirts. This is, uh, the shirt that we're right now. It's a green flannel, um, shirt. got it at a vintage sale when I was 18, I think I've won it ever since it used to be huge on me, but then I gained weight. Um, and I looked even more pretty, uh, and I thought, okay, well it fits perfect. Let's make, make the same. So I just drafted it off this, hacked it. What's it called when ah, clone it. That's the word. So, so some items that'll clone.

Gemma Daly (24:08)
clone it.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (24:12)
But actually, that's how I started in terms of pattern drafting. had a denim jacket and I cloned that. was like, actually, this is really fun and enjoyable. And I just started doing more and getting good at it and then experimenting with doing it from like a raw block. It's really fun. I highly recommend anybody give it a go.

Gemma Daly (24:31)
Yeah, I was gonna say, ⁓ where do think someone should start? But obviously cloning or like literally drawing around things you already have that fit you well is a good place to start, isn't it?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (24:42)
It depends how your brain works, right? So if you're someone who can look at something and kind of vaguely understand how it fits together, then I'd say do that. I'd say clone some items. But if you're not that kind of person, you need to understand how something works. I'd say get a pattern book, a pattern drafting book, get a block, get that block to fit you. And then the world's your oyster.

Gemma Daly (24:44)
Mm-hmm.

Good advice, good advice. So we talk a lot on the show about the sewing community and sort of what it means to people and how people have found it. And I think in general, people would say that it's quite a supportive place to be. Would you have that same thought or experience?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (25:09)
Hmm.

I think generally, yes, but it depends who you surround yourself with. Right? So, I don't follow anyone on Instagram that I don't feel like I can relate to, or I don't really like what they sew. and they're only putting good vibes out there, but I think my experience on the show of the sewing bee would have been quite different to a lot of other people's experience on the sewing bee.

Gemma Daly (25:27)
Hmm.

you

Kit Giroux(they/them) (25:44)
because I did get as much as I got really lovely people reaching out. I got a lot of hate online, just from people who didn't really like me. I got a lot of negative feedback on, I say feedback, I wasn't even on Facebook, but you know, people show me but on the Facebook groups of people just being really, really nasty. And it does make me quite wary going to like big sewing events, because I know that that's a lot of the people that are going to be going to those.

Gemma Daly (25:50)
Okay.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (26:10)
And it kind of sucks, you know, it's like, it's just a hobby that everyone does. I think people forget that people who are on the show are human. an edit does a lot of things. But by and large, the community that I've engaged with, I've never had anybody be nasty in person. It's just all those people online.

Gemma Daly (26:13)
Absolutely.

Was that, and you might not want to go into it, but was that more about your personality that they were, you know, having a go about? Or was it the things that you were making or wearing?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (26:40)
It was a bit of both. As ⁓ a person who's grown up queer, you notice when people are trying to find other things to find fault in because they're not happy with the queerness. I'm not going to go into too much detail about that, but I think I've said what I said there. But then in terms of my personality, a lot of people thought I was quite cocky, which I am. I'm confident. And I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, but a lot of British people don't like confidence, which...

Gemma Daly (26:52)
Mm-mm. Mm.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (27:06)
I get. And then in terms of my designs, lot of people just didn't like those and that's fine. You don't have to like people's designs. But it's just when you start actually coming for people for no reason, just being super nasty, that's not on. It's not on. So if anybody's listening and you've done that, naughty.

Gemma Daly (27:13)
No.

No, there's absolutely no need.

There's no need, there's no need at all. I wondered if you'd got any thoughts or insights about how your clothing makes you feel because I'd love to hear that.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (27:38)
Okay, so in kind of the gay scene in Manchester, there's lots of kind of fetish nights, right? Bear with me on this one. I don't know what this is your wheelhouse, where people wear things that they really love to wear. So like it might be leather, you've probably seen leather men of the 80s, people like bikers, right? Or people like wearing rubber, like latex outfits, or people like wearing sportswear or suits, right?

Gemma Daly (27:45)
Mm-hmm. Okay.

Yep.

Yep, yep.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (28:04)
And I've never really fit into cause it's just not something that I have. It doesn't get me going. Okay, cool. It looks fun. I'll have, maybe I'll go out and get dressed, but it's not something that really makes me tick. Um, but when I'm wearing clothing that I've made, I just feel really sexy. You know, it's like, you feel proud. You can stick your head up high and yeah, I made this. I, yeah, I feel, I feel really good. Yeah.

Gemma Daly (28:20)
That's really good.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (28:28)
And I think that's what I can relate it to it. That's kind of like a new thing that I've realized I was like, yeah, that makes sense because I went to an event the other week and I made something for it. It's like not anything part of that community, I was like, yeah, I made something for it made something I was like, this is great. I'm having a great time. I feel gorgeous I think that's how I'd relate it. It makes me feel more self-confident and it makes me feel sexy

Gemma Daly (28:52)
Love that. That's what you want at the end of the day, isn't it? That confidence coming out and your clothing is a representation of you, really, isn't it? So that's brilliant.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (28:55)
Yeah.

Yeah, 100%.

But then sometimes when I'm just wearing a hoodie and some joggers and I'd curl up in a ball with my hair all over. Yeah. Yeah.

Gemma Daly (29:08)
You gotta be comfy too!

So do you have any exciting plans coming up Kit, either for things you're working on or makes

Kit Giroux(they/them) (29:18)
Yeah, lots I am doing a quilt at the moment for a friend of mine. It's a trans love quilt. It's a lot like the AIDS Memorial quilt of the 90s and naughties. And that's actually something I'm working on right now, which I'm excited for. I'm not a big quilter and all the squares came different sizes. So I've had to do some magic to patch that all up.

Gemma Daly (29:31)
Mm-hmm.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (29:42)
And then I'm also working on my sister's wedding dress, which is an August Yeah. ⁓ yeah, of course. Yeah. I got in the post about seven meters of 100 % silk Duchess satin, which is it was too much. was like 120.

Gemma Daly (29:45)
Aha, was that what all the fabric was that was the secret?

Wow.

⁓ my God.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (30:02)
I know,

know. Oh, but it was 100 % silk, no polyester, none here. So I've got that, I'm making that for my sister. I need to do a toile of that actually. And that wedding is in August. And then I've got another secret project that I can't tell you about, but that's going to take most of my time until September.

Gemma Daly (30:08)
Uh-huh.

Okay.

⁓ amazing, will we see it eventually? Yeah.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (30:24)
You will, you will. It's not just gonna be, it's never gonna happen. And

then obviously the patents that will definitely be coming out. They will. Please just message me every day like, have you done them yet? Have you done them yet?

Gemma Daly (30:31)
Yes they will. We will hold you to it.

Well that sounds really exciting. So just to wrap up Kit, I'd like to do a little game of this or that if that's okay with you. You must choose one option. Wovens or knits?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (30:45)
Okay. I'm very indecisive, so this can be funny.

Hehehehehe

Gemma Daly (30:56)
There you go, decisive straight off the bat.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (30:58)
All the way, I just, I tried

Lycra the other day, I made some like singlets, that was fun, I had a good time, but I love a knit. No, the other one, woven. I'm getting mixed up, woven fabrics, wool, just give me wool, I'll have a good time with wool.

Gemma Daly (31:05)
The eel of the waifu.

Transformation challenge or made to measure?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (31:16)
Transformation challenge. Major measure was fun, ⁓ but transformation challenge, I just learned so much more about myself with it because I didn't realize how creative I was.

Gemma Daly (31:24)
Amazing. Prints or plains

Kit Giroux(they/them) (31:27)
It used to be prints, I now sway to plains but if I can have a lining it would be a...

Gemma Daly (31:33)
Awesome. A meal out or a takeaway?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (31:36)
⁓ now. Get dressed up. Be a bit fancy. Have some wine. Have five wines. Have six wines. Just have lot of wine.

Gemma Daly (31:38)
That's it.

scissors or a rotary cutter.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (31:47)
Depends on the fabric. I'm not going to tie myself to either.

Gemma Daly (31:51)
What would you use your rotary for?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (31:53)
I would use my rotary cutter for a lighter weight fabric that's slippy or a jersey. then I would use my scissors for a wool or a heavyweight fabric or a canvas or a denim.

Gemma Daly (32:04)
Interesting. Draft it yourself or follow a pattern. An organized stash or creative chaos.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (32:07)
Draft it myself.

Um, can I have both? Cause I have got both. I've got an organized stash right next to me. It's all lined up and then next to my wardrobe in my room, it's just chucked all in. So I'm going to say bye.

Gemma Daly (32:13)
Yes.

Fair enough, fair enough. Pre-wash fabric or live dangerously.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (32:28)
Pre-wash, please everyone, pre-wash. My Lord. Unless you can't pre-wash it, just pre-wash it.

Gemma Daly (32:33)
I know. We beg you, please pre-wash.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (32:36)
⁓ and linen

if you've got it just make sure you pre wash linen, otherwise you'll hate yourself forever. Yeah, I've got a lovely war orange shirt that I didn't pre wash. It was the first linen shirt that I made. And I still wear it. I iron it every time but I have to iron it every time.

Gemma Daly (32:40)
It will shrink. Yeah.

ahead or make on a whim.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (32:56)
Plan ahead. Yeah, I didn't write anything down. there. Yeah. Yeah.

Gemma Daly (32:58)
but you've got it in your mind what you want to... yeah it's there.

And the last one, practical garments or a statement piece?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (33:08)
I mean we talked about this, I like both.

Gemma Daly (33:12)
I know, but you have to pick one kid.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (33:15)
If I was gonna,

if my legacy on the planet was anything, I'd say practical garments. Clothing that you can wear to death.

Gemma Daly (33:21)
Fair enough, but you'll still make that statement piece.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (33:23)
And why not make your

practical garment a statement piece?

Gemma Daly (33:26)
I thought you might say that actually. Yeah.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (33:29)
Yeah, like, wear clothing

that is fabulous, but also works.

Gemma Daly (33:33)
Yeah, because isn't your favourite colour orange anyway, which is a bit of a statement. I try!

Kit Giroux(they/them) (33:37)
You've done your research. I love

orange is great. I've got an orange toolbox. I'm crocheting an orange hat at the moment.

Gemma Daly (33:48)
Awesome. Where can people find you Kit?

Kit Giroux(they/them) (33:51)
So I'm on Instagram and TikTok and that's kitjiruoriginals. If you can't spell my last name, just type in Kit G and I think it comes up.

Gemma Daly (34:01)
perfect. Well, thank you so much for joining me on the Sewing Social podcast today.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (34:06)
Thank you very much, Gemma. It's been delightful.

Gemma Daly (34:08)
It's been a pleasure. You take care. Bye.

Kit Giroux(they/them) (34:11)
Thank you. Bye.