Sarah Dickens has been constructing garments since she was thirteen years old. She began learning to sew at her mother’s quilting group at the age of six, where she started off learning to crochet and then quilt. Now as an adult she has developed those skills and uses what she has, rather than buying materials, when creating. As a student she has highlighted that in her work by focusing on heritage craftsmanship, and using reclaimed textiles. Taking these two elements into consideration adds time to her planning and construction process, but to her this extra time is a mark of her intention while designing. Throughout her time at college, she made an effort to use materials that she pulled from the textile waste bins. Moving forward she wants to continue seeking out and exploring ways to transform textiles that others may have previously seen as useless. She places a lot of emphasis in her work on handcraft and the time, skill, and human touch required to accomplish such designs.

 

The hands of the past can touch the present through handcraft.