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Meri Blouse is a traditional dress worn in the Pacific Islands, originally introduced by missionaries I've heard. I made these four for a concert at church for some New Guinean ladies. The pattern cutting is very simple with little fabric wasted. And
To finish Me Made May, here's my favourite make of all time, worn by the lovely Emily. It's 5 metres of Ikea upholstery fabric, patternmaking uses subtraction cutting methods (google Julian Roberts, he has lots of free resources). As you can see from
What can I say? I'm in no danger of running out of handmade clothes for Me Made May (last count- more than 50 items in my wardrobe) but they are getting more...unusual. This flatpack shawl (it is a flat shape with armholes) was a college design proje
I made three of these dresses, because they look more complicated to make than they really are. This is black linen with a bit of sashiko stitching - cool to wear in summer or over a tee shirt when the temperatures go down. #memadewardrobe #sewers of

Save the Earth...it's the only planet with chocolate on it.

Download this free t-shirt design at www.green isthenewblack.typepad.comToday, I'm officially starting work on Clothesline's next pattern range which has the working title "Green is the New Black".

Before you think I'm jumping on the sustainable clothing/environmentally-friendly bandwagon just because it's fashionable, let me whip out my green credentials.

Hanging on the wall in the Pool Room of my parent's house is my framed and faded degree from Griffith Uni. It's from their School of Australian Environmental Studies and dates back to the 1980's. Yep, I was a greenie before some of you were even born!

I've fallen off the green bandwagon a few times over the years, but you don't have to be a hippy-loving, cause-fighting, non-leather shoe-wearing, organic-eating, kombi-van-touring, do-gooder to be green. Just do the little things that you can.

I'd like to learn how to make my wardrobe a bit greener, so I've hunted down some background reading to get ideas.   Sifted through some very dull tomes, but found a few gems like these two easy reads.  Source them at amazon.com or put them on hold at your local library.

Tamsin Blanchard - Green is the New Black. For those who love to be ethical, dream of cheap clothes that don't cost the earth -  clothing with a conscience!

Summer Rayne Oakes - Style, Naturally. One-stop resource for all things green. Great profiles on ethical fashion design labels.

Plus out of Brisbane, Peppermint, a new eco-fashion magazine to hunt down... Happy reading!