… even though there really wasn’t much sewing this last week. There was a lot of reading and exercising, but not much sewing. I did learn something though!
I participated in the “Makers for Fashion Revolution” daily themes organized by @inthefolds on Instagram. The daily themes made me think seriously about Fashion Revolution Week (April 23 – 29th). Some of the daily themes were easy to interpret and display on my Instagram @nicedressthanksimadeit, for example: “I made my clothes”. Other daily themes took a lot of thought, for example: “Natural Fibres”. As soon as I saw that one, I realized that, although I know the names of many fabrics, I do not know how most are made or which ones are really “sustainable”!
I researched and found a couple of interesting articles on “1 Million Women” and “The Guardian“.
The 1 Million Women’s article provided me with a list of over 40 sustainable fibres, including these I am familiar with, like Tencel, Wool, Bamboo, Cork, Hemp, Jute, Linen, Organic Cotton, Silk … the list is full of choices!
The Guardian’s article detailed the wonders of future fabrics made from banana stems, pineapple leaves and coconut husks!
Although I don’t think I am going to be making a Sewaholic Granville out of coconut husks in the near future, I have learned that “plastic microfibres” leave our clothes when they are washed and can contaminate our oceans and the life in them. After reading all the articles I could find on the subject, I do think I am going to read my fabric content labels more closely and hunt out some sustainable fibres to add to my fabric stash! I also found in my readings various products you can use in the washing machine to help collect those plastic microfibres, thereby preventing them from polluting our oceans.
As I said, I didn’t do much sewing this weekend. I did jog/walk a 10K Sunday morning and was pleasantly surprised by my performance, by no means a fast time, but definitely a comfortable pace and very rewarding!
Surprise, surprise, when I changed the calendar I remembered it is May, it is actually #MMMay2018 (Me-Made-May ’18)! A month where all sewists endeavour to wear a me-made item every day. The best part about Me-Made-May ’18 is that everyone can pledge something that suits them. (If you would like to find out more about this Challenge, you can read about it here.)
I thought carefully about my Me-Made-May ’18 pledge. Taking photos of my me-made garment every day is almost impossible, but I will wear a different me-made item every day. My pledge for Me-Made-May ’18 is:
I, Linda of “Nice dress! Thanks, I made it!!” and @nicedressthanksimadeit, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’18. I endeavour to wear a different me-made item every day. More importantly, it is time to go through my closet, try everything on (one a day), decide what to keep and what to give to charity, find out where the holes in my wardrobe are, and list what I need to sew in the future!
Another Challenge that caught my attention this month is the #magamsewalong on Instagram, organized by @sarahlizsewstyle. This month’s theme is “May Flower” and as I love floral fabric – you can see a couple here and here – I’m interested in this one too! I’m thinking of a shirt dress in this fabric, a 100% rayon twill print from my stash (not a “sustainable” fabric!). I have to run over there and sign up for this one yet though!
Have you signed up for Me-Made-May ’18? What have you pledged? Have you signed up for a different Challenge?
Happy Sewing!
STASH BUSTING WITH THIS PROJECT? None yet! (still 136.5 metres remaining!)
Fabric from nettles,now I’ve always got a supply of those!
Well get to work on that – you could be a new age inventor and make MILLIONS! 😉
I love the thought of fabric from pineapple and other waste foliage. It’s always good to see the conversations around synthetic fabrics, but something we forget is that polyester, etc, are deadly for us to wear as well as being bad for the environment. Those bits of plastic can be absorbed by the skin, especially when perspiring during exercising. A good article is https://www.cancerdefeated.com/newsletters/The-Clothes-that-Kill-You-Slowly-but-Surely.html, but there are lots of articles out that on this topic. Keep up the good work!
It’s no surprise that all this modern technology is making us ill. Thank you for the article link. I will have a look at that one too!
I have a sheet set made from bamboo fibers, it’s amazingly soft and comfortable. 🙂
Yes, I have touched bamboo fabric found in the stores. It is the best!
I like soft sheets and if bamboo is soft I will have to look into that. The elastic on my sheet corners is beginning to get loose so sooner better than later.
Yes, apparently bamboo is a lovely fabric!