Every sewist worth their stitches will no doubt be familiar with TFS friend and creative entrepreneur Kylie Brule. Her brand of cute and quirky sew-in labels quickly became must-haves for home sewing folk around the world, after launching in 2017. The Kylie and the Machine range now includes an array of handy tools, magnetic pin dishes (made by Kylie's husband, Coady), denim hardware sets and labels to finish off your me-made garments. We love Kylie's positive and playful approach to design, and caught up with her recently to chat about all things sewing, past and present. Read on for more!
Hi I'm Kylie, I live in Brisbane, Australia - I'm the founder of Kylie and The Machine and I love to make things with my hands and wear them out in the world. I love wearing things that I know no-one else is going to have. My brain is always full of new ideas that I don't always follow through on, because of the next idea!
I started sewing when I was pregnant with my first son for something to pass the time but I also wanted to make a quilt for him. I progressed from there to sewing baby clothes and to eventually being brave enough to sew my own clothes. Then I was hooked. Eleven years I have been sewing now...
I really like the more basic pieces that I've made because I get more wear out of them, even though they're not so exciting to sew. I do really like my black dungarees that I wear so often. They're the Harlene Dungarees by Merchant and Mills in a random denim. They're super comfy and practical for going about my day and they also go with most of the tops in my wardrobe.
What are you sewing at the moment?
I have learned that it's always better to unpick and fix something than to leave it. Even if it's going to become a massive unpicking session. Because if I don't, then every time I put it on I'm going to be looking at that 'thing'!
I try to avoid sewing flops hehe! I can't think of anything recently but I've made a lot of mistakes in the past; the things you learn from a massive flop, like when you mess up a neckline, is taking extra care and time to make sure that the necklines are always well finished. I personally feel like that's the telltale sign... Also, not matching thread colour ~ sometimes I will make it work with a close-enough colour and usually regret it!
For me it's batch planning and cutting and having projects ready to go, so that when I have a window of time I can get straight into it.
Sharp scissors, rotary cutter, labels (obviously), sewing glue pen (for labels and collars), really good marking chalk and several different types of pins for different projects (that's six!)
I really love Japanese sewing books because of the style, and they're actually some of the few patterns that fit me without alterations, being a petite sewist. I love listening to the Science Versus podcast! I'm always listening to a podcast when sewing...and just quietly, we are getting ready to launch the Sewing Club Podcast in October!
Touching fabric inspires me. The tactile inspires me more than looking at pictures! Going through my stash and feeling all the fabric at The Fabric Store always gives me ideas!
Lot's of things; a summer playsuit in a cotton camo print from The Fabric Store (Brisbane store) and more Clo Bias Skirts from Soften Studio. They're so comfortable and I'm going to whip up a couple more!
ALL of the ZQ Premium Merino. Each winter I make a couple of t-shirts, or long sleeve/turtleneck shirts to add to my collection, and they just keep coming out with new colours every year which is brilliant! I wish Brisbane was cold more often so I could just live in this fabric.
The colour of this sweatshirting fleece is something from a dream, I would make a cosy pullover sweatshirt. This Liberty Print Poplin, my husband would love a button up shirt made from this fabric. This fabric is gorgeous and I want to make a KATM Maxi Mule Tote out of it because it would wear really nicely. Love this and especially the colours, I would make a blouse-y button up shirt with a collar.
A very warm thank you to Kylie for chatting with us this week, we're so exited to listen to the new Sewing Club Podcast!
We hope you've enjoyed this Friends of TFS interview, head over and follow Kylie via Instagram, and don't forget to check out her website for labels, tools and more!