Shaye Hardisty

I started to sew in 2011, before giving birth to my first daughter. I learnt by making baby clothes but quickly found that my joy was in sewing for myself! I love making my own clothes; being able to fit garments uniquely to my body, using fashion as art and gently rebelling against colour and trend rules. I feel more comfortable and confident in my brain and my body from being able to express myself through my handmade clothing.

I love to sew things that are quirky and fun, lots of bright colours and textures. I love juxtapose and pattern clashing, and the thrill of using the good fabrics! I love using beautiful indie patterns as well as drafting my own. Sewing is my happy place.

What influence does music have in your life as a creative?:

Music plays a huge part in my life. My husband is a musician, music is his world. Our home is always singing with sounds! There are instruments being practiced constantly; Guitar while our girls make breakfast, saxophone melodies in the hallway, a sopranino recorder in his pocket when we head out for groceries, a kalimba for a walk to the park. So often lately there is piano being played while I sew and it makes me feel so happy and at home.

Music and sewing collided for me when I began learning to play the banjo and started performing with my husband. I was inspired to make us clothes to perform in as a way of finding enough confidence to play music in public. Often if we have a show approaching, I will dedicate time to sewing a new dress rather than practicing my music… it’s as though the shows are always more about my dresses than the music.

We are always growing and changing and finding new music we love. Currently we are discovering dance music, my husband has created a new live show and we are pondering if we can turn our duo’s folky songs into disco. My sewing brain is excited to make some new disco-folk outfits!

Tell us about your playlist:

This playlist is really just a collection of my favourite songs. They are in no sensical order and they probably don’t ‘go’ together, but all the tracks make me feel a stirring inside. For most of them I have strong memories of where I first heard the song, or was introduced to the artist; The starts aligned when I saw Electric Fields play live at a festival, it was the most powerfully moving show I’ve ever seen and their music fills me with that power and energy. I discovered Mountain Man whilst heavily pregnant with daughter number 2, I ordered some music and it arrived when she was 3 weeks old… we listened to their album ‘made the harbour’ on repeat for SIX MONTHS of sleepless nights and it held us all. I was introduced to Gillian Welsh and Old Crow Medicine Show by my first adult boyfriend; it was a sad, tumultuous and violent relationship that totally changed the course of my life for the best; including a great new love for Americana and old-time music that I had never known about living in coastal Australia.
I watched my husband play music when I was 16, I never dreamed I would meet him and get married 6 years later, let alone have love songs with my name in them. (sing along when you get to my name in ‘With My Whole Heart’).

Also Dolly has to be a part of everything we do, she is a deity in our family.
I really loved putting this together and I hope you find some music you like in there.