AMONG the sewing machines, colourful balls of wool and handmade quilts and cushions that adorn Sarah Oatley’s Lingfield Point studio lie boxes of fabric, brimming with all manner of prints and patterns, from scraps of pretty gingham to Cath Kidstonesque floral swatches.

“This used to be a pair of pyjama bottoms,” she says, holding up a large piece of navy blue pinstripe material. “Most of my fabric is reused and recycled. It is about thinking about clothes and household items in a different way – an old jumper could become a cushion cover or shirt fabric a piece of quilt.”

Indeed, the majority of the material used in the studio by both Sarah and her patchworking and sewing students has come from charities and might otherwise have been consigned to the tip.

“If you cut it right, you can get quite big sheets of fabric from anything,”

she says. “You can buy something for £1 from a charity shop or cut up your old clothes and you can get two or three metres of fabric from it.

“As a textile artist and designer, recycling fabrics and textiles is so rewarding and, to be honest, thrilling.

When I rummage through a pile of old fabric and discover a sheet from the Sixties, I get a chill down my spine.”

After giving up her day job at a nursery in April 2012, the mother-oftwo launched her own business creating and selling her own handmade, sustainably-sourced crafts.

Almost two years on, the business – named Drawn Threads – has outgrown her Darlington home and she now hosts patchwork, quilting and sewing workshops at her studio in Lingfield Point.

She also sells her wares at the monthly Darlington Sunday People’s Market.

“I had been working at the nursery for three years and felt stifled – I had almost forgotten what I wanted to do. I loved the children, but I finished work on the Friday and simply couldn’t go back in on the Monday,” she recalls.

“I have sewn for years – I was given a sewing machine when I was five and have learnt from my mistakes, so it is really nice for me to be able to give some tips to other people.”

With her love for all things thrifty and a genuine passion for creative crafts, the 42-year-old hopes to bring back the make-do-and-mend approach to life anddo away with patchworking’s twee reputation.

As Sarah points out, making things from scratch from recycled fabric or old clothes not only leaves the bank balance looking a bit healthier and the house looking a bit trendier, but also leaves a feeling of pride against which no shop-bought throw from Laura Ashley can compete.

“There is a generation of people that do not do anything, or make anything from scratch,” she says. “A lot of people don’t realise what they can get out of patchworking and making something from scratch. As patchworking is done with scraps, you can make it quite personal and you can make it to your ability. It doesn’t have to look perfect; as long as you like it, that’s all that matters.

“I had a lady at my class once say if it looks good from a galloping horse, then it looks good enough for her.”

  • Sarah hosts sewing groups every Tuesday from 7pm to 9pm and patch-working every Wednesday 10am to noon at her Lingfield Point studio. For details see facebook.com/Drawnthreadsdesign