I remember when I started back sewing a little over 4 years ago. I was so excited to find all this fabric and patterns in places that I had no idea they existed. And then I started testing. I felt like I was a cool kid in one of the coolest clubs ever. But now? Now I’m committed to sewing with intention. Why?
Because textile waste is a big thing courtesy of fast fashion.
I want to make sure that I’m doing my part in not contributing to the growing waste that seems to be taking over our planet. And I got tired of making things and feeling like I never had anything to wear.
Sewing Just To Be Sewing
Sewing is one of the most fun and useful hobbies in the world. One minute you have just a piece of fabric and the next minute, you have.a garment or more. And then the sewing community is such a cool one to be part of too,
When I first joined and I was chosen to be a tester in some really amazing pattern brands, I just sewed all the patterns—it didn’t matter if it was my style or not. Same thing with fabric. I racked up more than a thousand dollars on a PayPal line of credit for fabrics that were, in a word, trash.
Between the quality of fabric and the style, it was a waste for me. Luckily, living where I do, donating fabrics to schools is very much so a thing but I wish I knew then what I know now about sewing with intention. The amount of clothes that I made that were just not for me, whew. Mind blowing.
What Does It Mean To Be Sewing With Intention?
This isn’t something that is complicated. I really mean to be intentional about what it is you’re sewing and the fabrics that you’re using. I do think that going through frivolous sewing gets you to being able to do it with intention but the faster you can get to being intentional, the better.
Fabric Colors
Deciding on colors is something that is super helpful in creating a cohesive and intentional wardrobe. One of the things that I learned was that just because I loved a fabric doesn’t mean that I had to have it because I likely wasn’t going to sew it. Last year, I made the decision to stick with earth tones. I love the mustard, rust, navy, teal colors and how they look on my skin.
When I look to purchase fabrics, I intentionally search for fabrics that are in this color scheme. Pretty much all online fabric shops have the ability to search for the colors of the fabrics that will fit with your wardrobe. This doesn’t mean that you can’t branch out and grab like fuschia but when you do, it’s a statement piece because it’s outside your norm.
Pattern Types
This is something that I had to learn. Just because there are new releases all the time doesn’t mean that you have to get every pattern. This is said as someone who owns some obscene amount of patterns—I mean, how many raglan patterns does one really need? But when building out your pattern repository, really pay attention to the clothes you actually wear.
Do you like oversized sweaters? Fitted turtlenecks? Loose sweats? Joggers? There’s a pattern for each of these! Build your pattern database like you would your closet.
So yeah, that’s my advice on that.
