A New Sewing Adventure: Sustainable & Handmade Home Decor

Today I have something to celebrate. Well… almost! In a few weeks, I will start working with a very special sewing machine: the Bernette 08 Straight Stitch. I am very excited about this, because I will be using this wonderful machine for my work and I will also be writing about my experiences for the BERNINA blog.

The Bernette 08 is a very interesting machine. It is a straight-stitch machine, but it is much more powerful than the ordinary sewing machine many of us have at home. You could say that it sits somewhere between a regular sewing machine and a leather sewing machine.

And that opens up many new possibilities for me.

A Machine for New Ideas

When I knew that I would be working with the Bernette 08, my head immediately started filling with ideas.

I love making clothes and historical costumes, but this time I want to explore something a little different.

I want to make beautiful things for the home.

I have already made myself a moodboard. It is full of fabrics, textures, colours, old materials and ideas. Looking at it makes me want to start immediately!

I can already imagine long evenings in my sewing room, with fabric on the table, my sewing machine ready to go and perhaps a cup of tea beside me.

And that is exactly what I am looking forward to when autumn and winter arrive.

But What Does This Have to Do With You?

Perhaps you are wondering why I am telling you all this.

Well, because many of the things I will make will eventually find their way to Handmade Luxury Home.

This new sewing adventure gives me the opportunity to concentrate even more on the things that I love: art, recycling, upcycling and sustainable creativity.

I don't want to make things that look exactly like everything else.

I want to take an interesting piece of fabric, an old textile or a material that might otherwise be forgotten and give it a completely new life.

Sometimes the material itself will be the starting point. Sometimes I will have an idea first and then search through my fabric collection to find the right materials.

That is one of the wonderful things about handmade work.

You never quite know where an idea will take you.

One of a Kind

There is something I can promise you.

The things I make for Handmade Luxury Home will be unique.

Many of them will be made from recycled or leftover materials, which means that I often simply cannot make the same item twice.

And honestly, I like that very much.

In a world where so many things are mass-produced and thousands of identical items can be found in shops, I think there is something special about owning something that was made by hand, with time, care and imagination.

Perhaps there is only one.

And when that one is sold, it is gone.

I cannot promise you that I will never fall in love with my own creations and decide to keep one for myself, of course. That has happened before!

Looking Forward to Autumn

Right now it is still summer.

But somewhere in the back of my mind, I am already looking forward to autumn.

The changing colours outside.

The cooler evenings.

The first cup of tea in the afternoon.

And those wonderfully long evenings when there is nowhere else to go and I can simply work on something creative.

I have always loved that part of the year.

For me, sewing is not only about making something useful. It is also a way of being creative, of experimenting and sometimes simply getting lost in an idea.

With the Bernette 08, I am hoping to discover many new possibilities.

And I would love to take you along on this new adventure.

So, keep an eye on Handmade Luxury Home.

There will be fabrics, sewing, art, recycling, upcycling, a little bit of organised chaos…

…and hopefully lots of beautiful things for your home.

I cannot wait to get started!

Marga van der Vet - Textil Artist and BERNINA Ambassador