Stash Chats – Episode 4: Emma from Studio 7t7

Another Stash Chat, another amazing Guest! I first met Emma at The Big Sew Off where we stayed up all night sewing for charity. Emma designs bag patterns for her company Studio7t7 and also put together bag making supplies in a handy monthly subscription box. We had a great chat about her stash of bag making supplies – watch below!

When asked what her favourite ever project was, it was tough for Emma to choose! She said perhaps something from her days of working in film costume, maybe Chewbacca from Star Wars or Iggle Piggle from In The Night Garden. I asked Emma what attracted her to bag making – she said she loves how bags are three-dimensional and have interesting details. It’s a good way to use her skills she learnt creating 3D costumes using unusual materials.

We had questions from the live audience about getting into bag making – as it can seem like an intimidating step up from dressmaking. Emma reassured us that it isn’t as hard as it seems. Her number one tool recommendation is the Green Machine hand press, which makes it much easier to add rivets (no hammering required!). Another question asked about the best places to buy bag making supplies. Of course Emma had to plug her own Bag Makers Box subscription but she also recommended:

• Country Cow Designs – Zippers and hardware
• Little Stitcher Sews – Clear vinyls and thread
• Sew Hot – Cork and faux leathers
• Me Made Makes – Interfacing and hardware

Emma is lucky enough to have a dedicated sewing studio. Originally quoted £20,000 for the work, Emma and her dad managed to renovate her garage with only £1000! During the Stash Chat, Emma treated us to a little tour of her sewing space. She has lots of organised storage solutions, including labelled drawers, peg boards and special holders for Cricut vinyl. Emma has a successful YouTube channel and often appears on Sewing Street, and said that having a dedicated space set up makes it so much easier for regular filming. Below is a video from Emma’s Studio7t7 YouTube channel showing her craft room transformation and storage ideas for all her bag making and sewing supplies.

The next Stash Chats guest will be Joy (@joy.margot on Instagram). I have invited Joy on because I want Stash Chats to showcase different approaches to fabric stashing. There is no ‘correct’ way to have a sewing collection, different things work for different people. Joy has a really small stash – yep it is possible! I’m looking forward to asking Joy about how she curates her compact collection. Join live at 8pm Thursday 12th October on Instagram.

Follow us on Instagram to watch future episode of Stash Chats live and ask our guests questions. Each week, I will be chatting to a different member of the sewing community and getting the inside scoop on their personal sewing stash and fabric buying habits. The aim is to open up conversations about our sewing collections in a judgemement-free space. We want to help everyone fall back in love with their stashes.

In previous episodes I chatted to Sandeep (Sister Minataka), Zoe (Check Your Thread) and Jess (So What If I Sew).