Sue Catt

Image: Photograph of Sue Catt.

Resourced from: Sue’s personal website, Sue Catt Creative. (https://www.suecattcreative.com.au/)

Image: Close-up of recent restock of tops and fancy pants to the Nautilus Arts Centre.

Resourced from: Sue’s Instagram (@suecattcreative)

Image: New stock from Sue Catt :)

How did you get into sewing?

Sewing has been a part of Sue Catt’s life “forever”. Sue is one of four sisters and her mum was always sewing clothes for them growing up. Throughout childhood, she dressed in rainbow socks and pinafores and spent her time making clothing for Barbie dolls… Sue has been surrounded by fabric, colours and patterns since birth. 

In terms of her love of colour, she comments, “colour is just me”. Sue is, “not a beige girl at all – if it’s beige, cream or white… it gets dyed! And don’t get me started on polyester, can’t stand the stuff, it’s so bad for the environment!”

Sue continued to explore sewing throughout her adolescence, taking home-economic classes in high school, and was known for spray painting bedsheets and making t-shirts for her friends and a local surf shop… “they would have been shocking pieces!”, she exclaims.

Sue undertook further study in fashion design with a focus in construction at Marleston TAFE, never questioning her love of sewing: this career path was almost predetermined by a fierce love for fashion, colour, self-expression and most notably, textiles, of which she is an avid collector.

Sue has enjoyed travel experiences that follow her curiosity and fascination with fashion, attending textile tours in Japan and Bali. Overseas, she has explored traditional dyeing, stitching and weaving methods, collecting beautiful vintage kimonos, silks, and other colourful, natural fibre fabrics along the way. You often see these fabrics incorporated into her pieces, paired with vintage tea towels, tablecloths, and bedsheets that she upcycles into one-of-a-kind clothing. The cultural legacy of her travels is interwoven into the wearable art.

Do you dabble in other art forms? Have you always been a multidisciplinary creative?

Sue Catt is a multidisciplinary creative. Aside from sewing, Sue has spent time acrylic painting on canvas, making scarves, cushions and jewellery, has dabbled in macrame and weaving, drawing in watercolour and ink, loves dyeing, printing and painting fabric, collaging, hosting workshops and classes, and is currently in the process of building a shed to “throw paint around!” … she does it all!

What is your dream project?

Sue’s dream life is to travel the world collecting fabrics, return home to seaside Port Lincoln and play with those fabrics, sell the resulting one-of-a-kind garments (telling the stories of their origins) and then set off travelling once more…and repeat! She comments that while the reality of this vision is down the track…it’s there, and very clear! Stay tuned.