Saving the planet... one garment at a time!

... and one upcycle at a time... Welcome to my blog: A place to have an "over the fence conversation" about sewing, altered couture, upcycling, and all kinds of crafts using found objects, beads, ephemera and other vintage finds!


Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Sewing a Basic Sustainability Skill?


I've been sewing since I was in junior high school.  At that time, one could pretty consistently sew a garment for less than the cost of ready made.  My first creation was a peasant styled purple maxi dress (that fairly accurately places the time period as the very late sixties/early seventies).  I remember feeling so stylish in it.

With that first garment, I was hooked.  I made skirts and blouses for school, and lovely dresses for parties and proms.  As a young wife I made curtains and small appliance covers for my first home.  And, as my daughter grew and became a dance soloist, I made her many costumes.

Since the time of that first maxi dress, sewing has become more of a boutique hobby.  As I've already posted on this blog, sewing can be quite expensive if one uses all new materials and  full-price patterns.  So why do I call sewing a sustainability skill?

We can pretty much agree that, unless you live in a nudist colony, clothing is an everyday essential.  I'm not talking about high fashion, or the latest fad clothing, but instead about the clothes we need to go about our everyday activities.  The clothing that protects us from the elements.  And that clothing
need not be unattractive.  Adornment is as old as humanity.

Here are just a few of the ways I feel sewing qualifies as an essential sustainability skill:
  • Making garments out of other garments, fabric remnants and discarded softgoods.
  • Altering existing garments to fit a wearer.
  • Repairing garments that are torn, worn, or otherwise compromised.
  • Making totes and sacs for carrying things.

The "Make Do and Mend" mentality is essential to a sustainable way of life.  Sewing is one means of keeping your garments functional for many years, and for extending their life into something new when their usefulness has seemingly come to an end.
Linked to Frugally Sustainable and The Thrifty Home.

11 comments:

  1. I completely agree with this. I've always repaired or altered my clothes but now that I have actually been making them, I cant see how I did without it before. I feel like you can definitely save money if you are careful while also reusing and repourposing old clothes and stuff that others wouldn't use anymore.

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    1. Yes, especially if you're willing to recycle notions and try some non-traditional fabric sources.

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  2. I agree with you except I am not a good seamstress and I am not creative at looking at something and knowing what to make with it.

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    1. For inspiration check your library for Little Green Dresses by Tina Sparkles.

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  3. Amen! Found you on the Frugally Sustainable hop. I've been sewing for 18 years. I can't tell you the times I've seen people toss a nearly-new shirt because a button popped off...or a pair of pants becuse the bottoms are a little frayed.

    It's insane that some folks would opt to pay $30 for a new shirt instead of taking two minutes to sew a button back on.

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    1. Insane, isn't it? And $30 is a cheap shirt these days! I sound like my grandmother, but she was the queen of frugal so that isn't a bad thing.

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  4. i am not the greatest seamstress in the world, but my sons all get to wear their pants for a very very extended season. Usually we buy them pants around their Birthday with elastic bands, and then come summer 6 month later, i take scissors, cut of the legs, sew once around,and my sons have shorts...of course i keep the cut off legs to make patches, you need a lot of those with 2 little guys

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    1. You go! Great way to get more mileage from your clothing dollar!

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  5. Just found you through sew many way's link party today. I blog at http://westernwarmth.blogspot.com
    Seems like we have a lot in common! I once made the cutest denim dress for my daughter out of a couch slipcover. It was so cute I never really told people where it came from, but it is SO satisfying to reuse something in a beautiful way! Cool blog you have!

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  7. All good points. But, the really only "sustainable" sewing is either by hand or on an old-fashioned treadle machine that doesn't require power. There are so many of us who think we are self-sufficient with our abilities to sew our own clothes or put in a new zipper on the machine. If you lost all power (seriously and for an extended time) what would you do? I am going to relearn my hand sewing skills. Books, like those by Alabama Chanin, prove that you can make a fashionable wardrobe without using a sewing machine. So cool.

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