From Landfill to Wearable Art

At Guild Lane, we love working with makers who bring creativity and sustainability together. Kim of Sew Much to Say is one such artist, rescuing textiles destined for landfill and turning them into wearable art.

I always use textiles that are destined for landfill. I seem to be the go-to before they reach that point. – Kim

For her latest project, Kim crafted a sculptural bucket dress using a hotel duvet cover, intercepted from surplus waste by Surplus to Supper. The pattern she used was the #Sculptural Bucket Coat by Stitchless TV, a designer whose work she admires.

I love her patterns; she also shares some great tutorials on YouTube. - Kim

Experimenting with BLEO

When Kim discovered Guild Lane’s new fabric paint, BLEO, she was excited to give it a try.

When I heard about Guild Lane's new paint 'Bleo,' I knew they would be good as all their paints are good. – Kim

She explored colour mixing, creating an almost-black spot and stripe effect on the front of the dress by blending blue and red.

The paint is the best fabric paint I have ever seen. It glides on so well, unlike others I have tried that give a high texture or clog. - Kim

To set the paint, Kim used a high-heat iron with a fabric covering to prevent scorching. She also incorporated handwritten text, adding lyrics from Morcheeba’s song: "Fear can stop your love, love can stop your fear," and the phrase "to me let it go" on the shoulder.

She also used a brayer roller for the stripes, a handheld tool with a smooth or textured rubber surface traditionally used in printmaking, to create a fluid, watercolour-like effect. The broken, organic lines add depth and movement to the design, enhancing the hand-painted quality of the piece.

 I used a brayer roller for the freehand technique at the back and the front. It gives a lovely textured look and is very quick and effective. – Kim

This project showed just how well BLEO performs on fabric—blending effortlessly while keeping the material soft and wearable. But Kim wasn’t done experimenting yet.

A Brush with BLEO: Creating a Hand-Painted Dress

Kim’s creativity with BLEO extended beyond structured patterns—she also explored a more fluid, painterly effect on a second dress, blending colours directly onto the fabric into a striking ombré gradient.

The dress itself was a true upcycling masterpiece, crafted from four excess shirts sourced from Surplus to Supper.. For the final tier, she repurposed thrifted silk organza—once part of a well-known brand’s window display. She first soaked the fabric in diluted BLEO to create a soft wash of colour, then layered richer tones on top once dry, using undiluted paint for added depth and intensity.

I needed more depth, so I mixed BLEO’s red and blue to create a darker blue. The paint worked beautifully on the fabric, allowing me to achieve rich tones and seamless transitions. – Kim

The result? A one-of-a-kind upcycled garment that transforms textile waste into wearable art. Styled effortlessly, the dress highlights how BLEO can be used to reimagine both fashion and interiors with colour, creativity, and sustainability at its core.

Sustainability and Teaching

Kim’s BLEO experiments aren’t just about transforming fabric—they’re about rethinking waste and inspiring others to do the same. 

Textiles are one of the greatest perpetrators to landfill. A great amount of them will never decompose, or are harmful to the planet, so I advocate to use what we have around us. It is much more fun! – Kim

As a freelance tutor, Kim teaches upcycling, garment reworking, and mending, working in schools, community projects, corporate team-building events, and even pubs and charity shops. She also collaborates with small businesses on commissions and pattern testing, with plans to launch her own collection soon.

For commissions, workshops, or creative collaborations, Kim can be contacted via Instagram @sewmuchtosay.