40 Coutts Street
Kilbirnie
Wellington, 6022

(04) 387 4505
jo@sewingdirect.co.nz

Welcome Back!

We’ve survived lockdown and level 3 and are now open for customers who scan or sign in, are masked and keep 2 metres apart - which isn’t easy in a small shop but we all try our best!

Our website - sewingdirect.co.nz

If you’re not going out so much because of level 2, remember that we have lots (but not all) of our stock on our website for you to look at - or buy! You don’t have to buy online but if you do, you can choose to have your goods couriered to you or kept at the shop for you to collect. And if you don’t see what you want on the website, you can email or phone us for more information.

We use Facebook and Instagram

Our recent customer survey highlighted that not everyone uses social media but, for those who do, please remember that we use Instagram and Facebook to publicise new stock and classes and specials and other news. For us, social media are quick and economical ways of getting information and photos out there - to whoever is looking! Our website carries some news (and blogs), but it is primarily a selling-space - where you can purchase a place in any of our classes and/or buy any of the hundreds of items of stock that are available there.

If you’re not ideologically opposed to social media, and are interested in what’s new in the shop, please follow us on Instagram and/or Facebook!

New classes

We’ve just posted the October school holiday programme on our website and will have the next round of adult classes up within a few days. We were very disappointed to have to cancel classes during lockdown and level 3 but we’re doing all we can to reschedule and offer places (or a refund) to those customers whose classes didn’t happen.

Dressmaking patterns - including StyleArc multi-size hard copy

On the website are many of our dress making and knitting patterns. It seems that not everyone knows that we have a great selection of hard copy, multi size, Style Arc patterns from Australia. And we have the NZ Papercut patterns, Drapers patterns, plussome Sewoverit (UK) and Little Kiwis Closet patterns.

Knitting patterns

We have literally hundreds of knitting patterns - to go with our literally thousands of balls of wool. Unfortunately some pattern prices have increased lately. ( If you make a pattern more than once it’s not so bad - right?)

Luxury yarns

We have good stocks of all these lovely yarns - Rowan Felted Tweed, Malabrigo Rios, 14 ply Baby Brushed Alpaca, Touch Mohair Merino 12 ply, Chaska Muhu 8 ply alpaca, and Zauberball.

New things!

Knit fabrics - we have some lovely new Japanese 100% cotton, marle effect, loop-back, knits.

Linens - and beautiful Belgian linens, perfect for summer shirts, in soft pinks and blues.

Huge (900 gm) “balls” of natural chunky wool from Wild Earth Yarns. My latest fave, these great big sausages of chunky wool in 4 natural colours have 330 metres on them - enough to make a decent sized blanket/throw on big needles. (I made a 95cm square throw on 15 mm needles from one ball.)

Broadway merino - Once Auckland moves to level 3 we’ll be receiving a very large shipment of Broadway DK merino plus 2 new lines of New Zealand merino - an 8 ply and a 4 ply. (Where will we put it?? Where there’s a wool there’s a way!)

Kids’ activity kits from The Sheep’s Back - science experiments, learn to knit and natural dyeing kits - wonderful presents for Christmas and birthdays for curious and creative kids.

Cross stitch kits - in the next few days we’ll be receiving some lovely black and white cross stitch cushion kits featuring bees, moths and dragonflies!

Singer SC220 - we have Singer’s brand new digital machine in stock and it’s a great deal at $699. Among it’s many features are 7mm stitch width, 6 presser feet, 200 built-in stitches, an alphabet, and 9 automatic buttonholes.

Red Hut yarn - a new shipment of this ever-popular plump and economical wool is due in the shop in the next few days.

Stock shortages

Quite a lot of our stock comes from suppliers based in Auckland who can’t send out goods in level 4. As a result we are getting a bit short of some basics - eg certain knitting needles, zips, some yarns and sewing machine parts and accessories. And Jo’s latest dress fabric buying trip to Auckland has had to be cancelled - though we still have plenty of lovely winter- and summer-weight fabrics.

If we don’t have a stock item that you need, you can be sure that we’ll have ordered it and that it will arrive when Auckland’s Covid levels allow, so give us your contact details and we will let you know the moment it arrives!

That’s it for now! For some light reading, check out the latest blogs on our website, including one by new staff person Jess Robbie and one by frequent customer and sock knitter extraordinaire Vincent Konrad.