A Stitch in Time – Decorative Mending Using Applique Workshop

Learn how to repair clothing and textiles using decorative mending and applique with tutor Rachel Dengate.

Australians throw away an average of 300,000+ tonnes of clothing waste annually, contributing to our environment's degradation and taking up unnecessary landfill space.

Mending using creative techniques, including applique, is a fun and innovative way to extend the useable life of clothing, reduce the need and our reliance on the consumption of ‘new’ items, and improve environmental outcomes.

About the Workshop.

Do you have clothing in need of repair?

Join Rachel Dengate at the sustainable reuse enterprise Trashy, Penrith, to learn how to mend clothing using applique creatively. Add your touch to apparel with this visible mending style, allowing you to explore your artistic flair using clothing items as a wearable canvas. This workshop is best suited for basic to intermediate-level sewers.

Where: Trashy Store, 4/92-112 Henry Street, Penrith

When:

• Monday 14 April 2025 (6.00 pm – 8.00 pm)
• Thursday 20 April 2025 (10.30 am – 12.30 pm) 

All materials needed for the workshops have been sourced and generously supplied by Trashy, so you only need to bring your enthusiasm!

To ensure participants receive close care and guidance from the workshop tutor throughout the event, place availability is strictly limited to 12 people. Click here to secure your ticket for either the daytime or evening event via Humanitix.

This project is a NSW Environment Protection Authority Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy initiative, funded from the waste levy. Supported by Penrith City Council.

These image(s) are examples of the topics that will be covered in this workshop. Please note, they are not the tutor's original work.

About the Tutor

Rachel is an artisan with a 30-year passion for working with leather and fabric and sharing her expertise. She meticulously handcrafts each item in her Western Sydney studio, seamlessly blending time-honoured techniques and modern upcycling practices.

Rachel's commitment to sustainability is woven into every process step, from carefully selecting repurposed leather remnants to incorporating fabric offcuts into her designs. Beyond her artisanal practice, she is passionate about passing on her leatherworking and sewing skills, empowering others to create sustainable and unique pieces.

About Trashy

Trashy, a start-up, female-owned and operated enterprise based in Penrith, is dedicated to transforming the community’s perception of fashion ‘waste’ by advocating and supporting conscious consumerism and championing the value inherent in remnant and discarded textiles, haberdashery and other creative resources.

Trashy is a social enterprise that purchases most of its offerings from business closures, retired dress/costume makers, seamstresses, and byproducts of the manufacturing of clothes and upholstery. This incentivises businesses and individuals to see the potential value in quality discards that may otherwise end up in landfills. By purchasing this so-called textile and fashion 'waste', Trashy helps keep these valuable resources in circulation, extending their economic value, and helping reduce the demand for new textiles. This helps reduce the impact of textile production and transportation on the environment, aligning with Trashy's commitment to sustainability and supporting the circular economy.

Trashy’s founder, Annette Atalas identifies as a neurodiverse woman, who understands the social challenges of being misidentified, misinterpreted, and misrepresented. This drives her commitment to advocating for, creating, and providing social and employment opportunities for other neurodiverse and disabled individuals, ensuring that creativity and innovation are accessible to all.

For more information about Trashy visit, www.trashypenrith.com.au.