How Sewing Changed My Life: Creativity, Wellbeing and Building a Handmade Wardrobe with Dr Claire Ashley

In this episode, Dr Claire Ashley shares how she discovered sewing during a challenging period in her life and how it grew from a practical skill into a powerful source of creativity, confidence, and wellbeing. 

From teaching herself to sew, to building a colourful handmade wardrobe, Claire reflects on the lessons, challenges, and joys of her sewing journey.

We explore the mental health benefits of sewing, including how creative hobbies can boost self-efficacy, reduce stress, and provide a sense of accomplishment.

Claire also shares her passion for sustainable fashion, upcycling clothes, and embracing a more mindful approach to making.

Whether you're new to sewing, looking to rekindle your sew-jo, or interested in the connection between creativity and wellbeing, this inspiring conversation is packed with practical tips, encouragement, and fresh ideas for your next sewing project.

Claire Discusses: 

• Her self-taught sewing journey during the pandemic
• The role of sewing in mental health and wellbeing
• Upcycling charity shop finds into new garments
• Challenges and rewards of sewing from scratch and upcycling
• Inspiration from nature and social media for sewing projects

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

*Join my Substack where we continue the conversations: 

The Sewing Social: Off The Mic - https://substack.com/@thesewingsocial

Guest Details: 

Instagram: @wiredtomake

Tiktok: @wiredtomake

Book: The Burnout Doctor 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1399412809

Affiliate Links:

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

     Discount code for your first month free - SEWINGSOCIALPOD

• Sew And Stow - https://www.sewandstow.co.uk/

     Discount code for £10 off your board - SEWINGSOCIALPOD

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Claire Ashley and her sewing journey

06:25 Claire’s inspiration for her own sewing 

07:41 Upcycling charity shop garments

12:16 What sewing brings in one sentence

12:36 Exciting plans

14:03 Where you can find Claire

14:35 Join my Substack

Transcript

Gemma Daly (00:00)
Welcome back to the Sewing Social podcast. I've got Dr. Claire Ashley with me again today and this is the final episode in our Wellness Week series. Now we've talked all week about different health conditions and their relation to sewing, but today I wanted to go into Claire's personal sewing journey.

So first of all, Claire, tell us how you learned to sew.

Claire Ashley (00:36)
So I am completely self-taught. I basically started sewing about five years ago. And at the time, was going through a really difficult time actually, so I was quite burnt out. I was recovering, but I'd had a little bit of a blip and I'd started to slide a little bit, becoming increasingly more anxious and my symptoms were becoming a little bit more significant at the time. And we were just coming out of lockdown.

Remember that? Feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it? But we, you we weren't able to get out and to socialise in the same way that we had been pre pandemic. And I was feeling quite isolated. My husband went away to work for three months and I don't really have family locally to help me with the kids. So I was actively looking for something to do in the evenings that wasn't Netflix or doom scrolling,

Gemma Daly (01:02)
Hmmmm

Claire Ashley (01:26)
I wanted to be doing something, I want to be proactive about doing something that was going be good for my well-being. And as it happened, I just walked past a fabric shop in Bristol. The fabric shop was like so amazing, it doesn't exist anymore, but I don't know if you're aware of it. Sarah, yeah, Sarah the owner, we ⁓ got to know each other quite well actually over the coming years before she closed down the business.

Gemma Daly (01:38)
Mmm, I remember it.

Claire Ashley (01:49)
But basically, yeah, I walked past the shop and ⁓ looked in the window and literally my jaw just hit the floor. I saw these beautiful fabrics, including a very, very vibrant leopard print fabric. And I was like, my God, what is this? This is what I need to do. So I went home and I started Googling how to learn to sew. I had done a bit of sewing at school, but basically as an adult hadn't ever done anything like that.

Gemma Daly (02:03)
you

Claire Ashley (02:18)
So I started Googling. I found the Tilly and the Buttons Love at First Stitch book, I think it is. Got that, planned out my first few projects. Went back to like so amazing because it was a pandemic. You had to make an appointment to go. I couldn't just go in. So I made an appointment and she was so helpful. She helped me pick out fabric for my first projects. I'd taken the book in so that she could help me pick out a suitable fabric. And then she was like,

Gemma Daly (02:24)
Mm-hmm.

⁓ yeah!

Claire Ashley (02:46)
have you got fabric scissors? And I was like, no, do I need them? Have you got pins? No. So she helped me get all of the essential equipment that I didn't even know that I needed. ⁓ And then I think the very first thing that I made was a hair tie. It was literally just a piece of fabric folded in on itself. You sew it, turn it out, sew it over. That's it, a hair tie. And then I made a pair of PJ bottoms, which I still have.

Gemma Daly (02:49)
you

Hahaha

Claire Ashley (03:16)
I still wear. Honestly, the crotch on that, an absolute disaster. Luckily I'm the only person that can see it. And then I started making dresses because why not? I have a lot of audacity. This is what I found in my sewing journey is I'm like, I see something, I wanna make it. Even if I don't have a pattern, I don't know how to do it. I'm like, I'm gonna do it. So I basically learned mostly, I would say, through trial and error, just buying patterns and going for it.

Gemma Daly (03:16)
Well done. Yeah.

Claire Ashley (03:45)
I don't really know how else to learn. Sometimes if there's techniques that I don't know, I'll look it up on YouTube or quite often a lot of the indie designers might have, like a lot of them have really good instructions and so they might detail techniques in their instructions and I find that really helpful or they'll have a link to a YouTube video where you can have, know, sew along or they explain a technique and that I found really helpful. But basically, it was just trial and error and a lot of audacity to be honest.

Gemma Daly (03:58)
Mm.

Claire Ashley (04:14)
But I started making stuff and I found that I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the process. I enjoyed the stuff that I was making. I hated everything on the high street at the time. I didn't think that it was really catering to what I wanted. What I wanted at the time was lots of bright colours, lots of bright prints because I was feeling really stressed and I was trying to regulate my mood basically with what I was making. So

That was really great. then, just over the next few years, just started to sew more frequently. It definitely became a part of my life, sewing, you know, maybe one or two garments a month, I would say on average, ⁓ and just really enjoying, challenging myself, learning new skills. So I started making dresses, then tops, trousers.

little bit of stretch, but my machine hates stretch, actually I don't do too much of that. I got an overlocker maybe 18 months into my journey. That was a game changer all of my seams started to look really good and it did make sewing stretch a little bit easier as well. yeah, mean, it took, yeah, it became a huge part of my life actually in a way that I didn't anticipate when I started.

Gemma Daly (05:08)
you

Yeah, that's a lovely story and I think it's great to have a bit of audacity and just go for things.

Claire Ashley (05:33)
Yeah, I think some of that comes from my medical background because quite often as doctors, like you just get thrown in, like obviously you go to medical school, you work really hard, you're book smart, right? But when it comes to the actual job, quite often you just have to get on with stuff in situations where you don't feel comfortable and you're having to apply your knowledge in high stakes situations quite often, especially as a junior. And also your problem solvers. And generally speaking, we're quite as medics, like if you've got a problem and you don't know the answer,

then it's up to you to go and find that answer. Like you've got to go and look it up or go and do your research, like look at a research paper, what have you. So we become quite self-efficace, if that makes sense. So I'm used to, that's just how I problem solve, generally speaking, and how I learn is through that experiential learning. So I think there was a lot of overlaps between how I've learned as an adult and then how I threw myself into sewing as well.

Gemma Daly (06:25)
Yeah, absolutely. So I'd love to know what inspires you when it comes to your own sewing.

Claire Ashley (06:32)
I get inspired a lot by designer makes. So again, it comes back to that audacity point. I see something online and I'm like, I reckon I could make that. I can't help myself. Honestly, like it's great because it means that I pushed myself, but it also can be quite frustrating when things go wrong and they do go wrong. Trust me. I've had so many failed projects and I think that's helped to push me ⁓ with my skills probably.

Gemma Daly (06:41)
You

Claire Ashley (06:57)
quicker than had I not tried to push myself with the designer-inspired makes. I get a lot of inspiration from, I love nature, I love getting outside, particularly this time of year when the leaves are coming out. I love flowers, I love the sea, I live by the sea, I see the sea every day of my life, I love being by the coast, so I get a lot of inspiration from nature.

I'd say social media as well, get a lot of inspiration from seeing what other people are doing and how they are creating. And sometimes real life as well, just what other people are wearing as well. I say mostly it comes from looking at the high end stuff and thinking, how could I do that?

Gemma Daly (07:40)
Yeah, good for you.

And you've made some amazing garments from upcycling things from the charity shop as well. Tell us about some of the things you've made so far and do you find that more challenging than starting from like a flat piece of fabric?

Claire Ashley (07:56)
Yes, I do find it more challenging. I think when you're used to sewing from a pattern and having a flat piece of fabric, in some respects, I think that's a lot easier for a couple of reasons. First of all, just the fabric yield.

is so much bigger, so you've got a bit more room for error. And sometimes you have to play pattern tetris to get everything on the piece of fabric. But you know, if you bought the right amount of fabric that is all going to fit and you're going to be fine, with upcycling, it's different. One of the things I struggled with to begin with was, you know, you've got a finished garment in front of you, is making that leap from backwards and going, rather than having a flat piece of fabric that could become anything, you've got something already made and you're like, what, what, what could, how could I change this?

what could I do differently? So one of the things that helped me with that was to unpick all the pieces and then you get the pieces of fabric laid out in front of you, completely undone, unless of course there's a design feature that you want to keep and sometimes that is appropriate to not undo that. But then you look at it and I think for me anyway, it makes it easier to then think about what it could be when you've got the fabric there just laid out.

But that's one of the other tricky points about upcycling is your fabric is, it'll be cut in shapes that are quite small and sometimes difficult to then apply patterns to. So you have to think really creatively. So I'd say it's almost an entirely different skill set to sewing from a flat piece of fabric and using patterns. ⁓ It's definitely the problem solving angle is, and the creativity is an added component that you don't necessarily have to think about.

think when you're sewing from a pattern and a normal piece of fabric. but I find it really exciting. I love the challenge of it. And I also love a good charity shop rummage. I think who doesn't? And I find it quite exciting now to go in and to like, normally I would head straight to the men's section and look at what's available there because you get more fabric.

And also, normally I would say men's clothes, you're more likely to have natural fibres and that's my preference. I don't like to work with polyester if I can avoid it. Sometimes I do, but if I'm upcycling, I don't want to touch poly because it just, doesn't handle as nicely. And I think it looks cheap quite often and I don't want to look cheap. quite often it doesn't feel nice on your skin. Like I'd much rather have natural fibres. So yeah, I tend to head for the men's section and they're also bigger.

Gemma Daly (09:59)
Mm.

Hmm.

Claire Ashley (10:18)
So you get more fabric and so it's a bit more forgiving when you're thinking about what it is that you're trying to make.

Gemma Daly (10:23)
Yeah definitely and you've had some amazing finds haven't you so far?

Claire Ashley (10:28)
Yeah, so just thinking about some of the stuff that I've made, ⁓ I made a really lovely halter neck waistcoat from a men's &S shirt, which I think is probably the thing that I'm most proud of when it comes to my upcycling. I have actually hanging up here, I can see it, a shirt that I recently picked to make into like a tie at the back. And that was based off of a designer item. That was quite a fun.

make to do. I've made a couple of items from like denim skirts. so like a mini skirt and then like a tie top. I also made an Adelphi top from a denim skirt as well and that was really fun I enjoyed that. And I also find

Because I don't believe in twirls. And really, our life is too short. know if I'm sewing for a big occasion, then yeah, absolutely, I'll toile it because I don't want it to go, I don't want to cut into the good fabric. Like that's just silly, get it right and then go for the good stuff. But there's something about if you're upcycling something from the charity shop, I kind of feel like less, like I feel like I can go for it. I feel like if I'm making something and it works out fantastic, it's a wearable toile I might then use that pattern.

Gemma Daly (11:35)
Mm-hmm.

Claire Ashley (11:42)
with a more expensive fabric, for instance. And so it's kind of like a trial run. Oh my God. You know what I mean? A trial run.

Gemma Daly (11:46)
A toile twile.

Claire Ashley (11:52)
So it's really interesting. The data tells us that only 10 to 30 % of charity shop items are actually bought and the rest all go to landfill. And so I feel like even if I buy something and it doesn't work out, I've always learned something and most likely I have saved something from landfill as well. So I get satisfaction on multiple levels when I'm doing those makes, you Yeah.

Gemma Daly (12:15)
Yeah, absolutely.

Now if you could describe what sewing brings you in one sentence, what would it be?

Claire Ashley (12:22)
Gemma, you know from the conversation that we've had today that I yappied a lot and I'm gonna find it quite hard to put it into one sentence. But I'm gonna keep it simple. It has brought me a huge amount of joy. And I'll leave it at that, yeah.

Gemma Daly (12:35)
that's really lovely. Yeah,

that's really lovely. Now, do you have any exciting plans coming up? Makes? Projects?

Claire Ashley (12:44)
So at the minute, the biggest project that I'm doing is that wardrobe decluttering process. So that is my focus for May. I'm currently making a glazed skirt by Alamand Studios. So the most amazing shimmery organza, but it's a nightmare to work with. It doesn't press. So perhaps I'm regretting my choices slightly there, but that's what I'm currently making. I also am going to be making a leather bandana, which is quite exciting. So I...

Gemma Daly (13:09)
Mmm.

Claire Ashley (13:12)
bought a scrap bit of leather from a flea market. I really want to try incorporating leather work into my handmade wardrobe so I thought it was a good entry level. Four pound, you can't go wrong really can you? But the only reason why that hasn't been started is because I realised my rotary cutter has a chunk missing out of it so I was cutting the fabric for the glazed skirt and I realised I was having to get the scissors out and then I looked and I... Anyway so I've got to get that in, I haven't ordered it yet so that needs to be done.

Gemma Daly (13:23)
you

Claire Ashley (13:39)
⁓ So yeah, at the minute for me, I don't have any big plans really when it comes to sewing, but the biggest job is clearing out this wardrobe, finding something to do with the handmade makes that need to be moved on. And then I'm going to be looking at creating in so far as I can, a color coordinated capsule wardrobe type situation. So that's gonna be the biggest project coming up for me.

Gemma Daly (14:03)
Amazing, lots of work in progress there. can people find you Claire?

Claire Ashley (14:05)
Yeah.

So you can find me on Instagram and TikTok. I'm at the Sorbello edit.

and I also have a book.

⁓ It's an award-winning book. It is called The Burnout Doctor. It's basically your evidence-based guide to truly effective burnout prevention and recovery.

Gemma Daly (14:24)
Amazing and I just want to really, really thank you for joining me on this special series of the Sewing Social podcast this week, so thank you.

Claire Ashley (14:32)
Thanks for having me.

Gemma Daly (14:33)
You take care.