A Conversation with Raewynn of Little Stitches

Raewynn of Little Stitches makes the sweetest felted hair accessories, dolls and faeries with beautiful colourways and attention to detail, here she shares more of her creative world....

Who is Little Stitches?

Raewynn White

What’s your “handmade groove ?”

I first fell in love with hand sewing when I joined a doll making group for my son’s school. We made dolls for their school fair and I also learnt a lot from the craft group that ran at the same time. I met some amazing and very talented women who taught me so much and of course loved the chats we used to have on all sorts of topics. I love working with felt and feel passionate about using natural materials and those that have been recycled.

What’s on your bedside table right now? (hey, no tidying up or censoring)

Two craft mags, a book I read recently and cannot part with called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society (highly recommend this read), a brooch and a fine collection of dust!

Who are your creative role models? What music, books, images, poetry spark your creative fire?

When I started making dolls Kathe Kruse was my guru. I really like Amanda Blake Soule, her books and blog about bringing creativity and rhythm into family life. At the moment Christmas with the Brat Pack is a constant on our stereo but I love all the old and modern crooners! I love old movies with Audrey Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart etc. One of my favourite artists would be Modigliani and poetry by Kalil Gabhran always touches my heart.

What could you talk late into the night about with like minded people?

Travel adventures, lifestyle, ideas and aspirations, food, gardening, good books/mags and craft!

If you could go to three free workshops/creative events this year which ones would they be? What are they about?

I haven’t sourced actual workshops but this year I am interested in learning more about hand dying fabric using natural dyes, embroidery and although this is not crafty I want to learn how to make really good ciabatta and French style breads (I have been bread making for a long time but just can’t achieve that crusty exterior)!!!

How do you balance your creative life with your family, life commitments?

Like a juggling act!! I always seem to have so much on the go. My children are 4 and 6 so my day is split between kindy and school. I have all my sewing projects stashed behind the couch which come out when I can but most times leading up to a market I will be found burning the midnight hours !

What is your favourite creative screw-up?

I recently made some owl key rings and wanted to appliqué some nice fabrics onto their bodies. I was told about this amazing stuff called vlesofix so I raced off and purchased some. The lovely lady in the shop had never used it and all the instructions were written in a foreign language so between us both we worked out how to do it and off I went. I ironed it on to the fabrics and traced my shapes and yes it was great as no more frayed edges! I then sewed the appliqué piece on and thought I was just the craft goddess of the day! But I noticed it was really crinkly and made a crunchy sound. I started to wonder whether I should not have left the paper backing on or if it broke down on washing. So my wee owl was washed very carefully not to damage my wool but no, he still crinkled and crunched. So eventually I went back to my cut outs and sure enough the backing peeled off and they sewed beautifully. My crunchy owl is now on my key ring and I actually adore him as the sound he makes always makes me laugh about this “screw-up”.

Kitchen table or studio?

Studio wins by a mile!

Do you have a wish list? Can you tell us what’s on it?

An overlocker and a space dedicated to sewing which I don’t have to pack up.

You can find Little Stitches products ... here