Behind the scenes at our Screen Print & Sew Retreat
If you told me five years ago we would be able to run a retreat where folks could come and screen print there own totally unique fabric, wander through ancient trees and swim in a private pool, then spend two days sewing that fabric into a fully custom garment, I’m not sure I would have believed you. But by the sheer magic of collaboration, this has become one of our most popular offerings. Bristol & Somerset-based screen printer Jessie De Salis first approached me back in 2023 about doing a possible collaboration. As soon as I saw her incredible screen printed fabrics, I couldn’t wait to sew something with them.
We started by collaborating on a simple swap. I would give her some plain fabric, she would screen print onto it, then I would sew that fabric into some clothes for the two of us. This was one of those artists’ swaps where no money changes hands, it’s just done out of mutual respect for each other’s art form and a desire to push creative perspectives forward. My favourite way to work! It was the first time I had worked with screen-printed cloth and the first time Jessie had seen her cloth sewn into garments - previously she had mainly worked in interiors.
The clothes we made instantly became some of our most worn items. I was in love with this process and I wanted to try and work out a way of making it possible for others to give it a go too - we could see how unique the creative outcomes would be. Then I visited Jessie’s barn in Somerset, nestled on her grandparents’ land, Jessie’s screen printing barn is surrounded by fruit trees, a walled garden full of veg, and a secret private pool that feels like it’s from decades gone by.
We knew it was going to be ambitious to get students through the whole process of screen printing and sewing a garment from scratch (in three days!). But we never shy away from big projects on workshops, because we always want to make sure our students are getting the most they can out of the time that they are with us.
There’s something deeply satisfying about making your own clothes. Not just sewing them - but creating the fabric itself, choosing the colours, placing the motifs, and watching the whole thing come to life piece by piece. We have now run this Screen Print & Sew Retreat six times together, and as teachers it never gets old because the clothes that students make are like original art pieces.
Some examples of previous students’ work
To give you a sense of how this retreat runs… We begin with a full day of screen printing led by Jessie at her barn in Somerset. Inside, you’ll find a mottled 10-metre-long print table, buckets of inks, screens and tools ready to go. Throughout the day Jessie guides us through the entire screen printing process, from preparing the screen to pulling your first prints.
Students have the option to:
Print using Jessie’s collection of motifs and designs
Or create your own shapes and patterns entirely
There is plenty of time in the morning to experiment, play with colour, and build confidence. Then by the end of the day we each have a 1.5m length of completely unique hand-printed fabric, ready to be turned into a garment the following day. We always have at least 12 different plain base fabrics to choose from, most of which are sourced from Organic Textile Co. just down the road.
Jessie and I make a fresh lunch using home-grown ingredients for us to share on the first day and, if the sun is shining, we all go for a refreshing dip in the pool at the end of the day.
If you want to stay on the land, Jessie has converted a beautiful yurt using her screen printing techniques, available to book via Canopy & Stars. You may even want to arrive a night early to make the most of it and settle in.
After a day of printing, we’ll move to the Made My Wardrobe sewing studio in Bristol for two days of sewing.
Here, Lydia and the Made My Wardrobe team will help you transform your printed fabric into a beautifully fitted garment.
You’ll start by choosing from a wide selection of sewing patterns: these can either be from the Made My Wardrobe collection or from any other pattern company that is happy to let us teach their patterns.
Then we’ll guide you through:
Selecting the right size and making any pattern adaptations
Laying out pattern pieces on your printed fabric, spending extra time to get the pattern placement just right
Clean cutting and construction methods
Learning key sewing techniques along the way
Whether you’re building confidence with garment-making or refining your skills, there will be plenty of one-to-one support, fitting help, and troubleshooting throughout the retreat.
At the end of teaching these retreats I’m always struck by how important it is for people to take time to make using their hands. There are so many ways to do that, but I think we have found a very compatible combination in screen printing and sewing.The final result is a garment that is bespoke to you from the colours to construction. We’ve had students come to make garments that honour particular rights of passage that feel really special. Some have used their mothers’ artworks or local landscapes as inspiration.
I can’t wait to be running this retreat again this year. Tap below to find out more!
