Slow Fashion Movement & New Patterns

[luvswool and dyestuff]

As promised in an earlier post, here is a list of “new” pattern makers for home machine sewing.  I’ve personally used Grainline and Alabama Chanin, of course.  I found the patterns I made to be quite simple compared to the Vogue patterns I used 30 years ago.

static1.squarespace.com/static/514b723be4b0ed12481a65fd/t/54932098e4b05af7c1d4bcb7/1418928280172/Indie+Pattern+designers+12-14.pdf

[koffipot]

Thanks, some nice patterns there. I prefer simple, basic patterns which can easily be adapted and occasionally draft my own. Being slightly on the wrong side of 5' 0" , I am drowned in frills, flounces and fancy stuff, so clean simple lines are best for me.

[luvswool and dyestuff]

I’m a shorty, too, so plain and simple is always better! There are so many versions of AC garments which can be made from one pattern…love that!

[koffipot]

A previous contributor to this forum got into AC and produced some really nice garments.

[luvswool and dyestuff]

On the subject of slow fashion, thought you all might enjoy this fascinating documentary, which delves into the “true cost of high fashion."

truecostmovie.com

[koffipot]

A very interesting film, I wonder how many folks realise, or indeed care about the conditions these people work in.

My d-i-l used to work for a high end, i.e. high priced, "designer" clothing company catering for girls up to about 10. The garments were all made on the Indian subcontinent, of poor quality fabric, which more often than not faded in the first wash.

Frankly, you'd get as good, and sometimes better, in a cut price store such as Primark, but it wasn't the workers in the sweat shop who were taking home the extra cash.

[zed]

That looks like it'd be incredibly hard to watch. I'm sure I contribute to the horrible conditions of many sweat shop workers. I pretty much used to buy all my clothes from charity shops, but they're too expensive. They resell Primark clothes at higher than original prices. I don't go out much, so don't need many clothes or wear them out often and don't believe that stuff about getting rid if you haven't worn it in years, I've got stuff from the mid 90's I still wear.

Kind of related too, the second hand clothes 'market', all those 'charities' who leave bags for you to fill so they can sell clothes in the 3rd world, or even the charity shops here who send stuff over, it's killed the clothing industry in many African countries.

[luvswool and dyestuff]

A couple of years ago, a huge fire in a clothing factory in Bangladesh killed more than a thousand workers, and since then, the awareness of sweat shops has grown.
But it’s a problem with no easy answers, as Judith and Zed point out.

I simply made a pledge to myself not to buy new clothes for a year, and I may extend that for another year in January. I got sick and tired of the cheap designer clothing, most of which bears a “Made in China” label. This is throwaway fashion, meant to be discarded next year when the new fashions arrive at your local shop.

When googling the slow fashion movement, I came across a blogger who is inviting folks to sign up for her special blog at $75 apiece to follow her for a year of “no clothes buying.” Gosh, wish I’d though of that...

[MTRuth]

Well I hardly buy new clothes either and I think I have some clothes from before the 90's. I am sure it will all come back into fashion again anyway.

Hmmm... You can join my blog for $75 to watch me cogitate about my navel.

[luvswool and dyestuff]

Ruth, what a bargain!

[koffipot]

I really object to all those charity bags; we seem to get several every week even though I have a notice saying "Addressed mail only please". At least it's stopped the free newspaper deliveries, which used to go straight into the recycling box as they are all advertising and old news. Trouble is sometimes you just NEED an old newspaper for those messy jobs.

Grumpy old woman.