What a month over at the Sewcialists for sustainable sewing! We ran this theme month as it had top votes in the survey in terms of areas of interest and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. We wanted to say a great big thank you to everyone who wrote a post, commented, used our hashtags, or even read something and decided to think about the topic.
Sustainability is becoming more mainstream and its been great to see the momentum building within the sewing community. With so much chat about what sustainability means to each of us plus the efforts we try to make in our (sewing and non sewing) lives, I hope that over the last month or two you’ve found ideas and tips to incorporate in your own life. Here’s a roundup of the posts we had which showcases some of the ways that the Sewcialists community tries to be sustainable – I’ve divided it into different themes for easy reference.
Scrapbusting to make kid’s stuff
Cindy’s plush toys
Laura’s kids soft book
Other scrapbusting and leftover efforts
The people’s sewing army – sewing for charity*
Shauni’s leftovers sewing challenge
Andie made pillows and blankets for her hygge space
Megan’s zipper pouches
Refashioning
Becky’s dress turned pattern hacked top
Jewelene’s dress turned two piece
Kiera’s amazing ocean trash embellishments*
Sewing patterns and fabric choices
Gem’s use of pattern choices
Almost zero waste patterns with Silvia
Emma’s Wiksten kimono using fabric from a creative reuse outlet
Sarah’s coat from stash fabrics
A sustainable life
Alex’s meaningful wardrobe
Gillian’s confessions of an unsustainable sewist*
*If I had to choose my favourites it would have to be Kiera’s ocean trash which is just so creative, and also Gillian’s self confessed love of polyester – I think that resonated with a lot of us. Also sewing for charity I think is one of the greatest reasons for me to sew, so I’d really encourage you to look at the People’s Sewing Army if you have some spare time and fabric.
Finally, if you are still interested in sustainability and sewing, I wrote a little list of resources here. Till next time, happy sewing!
Kate is one of the Sewcialists editors. An import to the UK from Australia, she shares her love for sustainable fashion and sewing over at Time to Sew.
Thanks so much for selecting this theme and keeping this thread going. I confess, I was not excited about this theme, but I learned so much and found that there were many people like me–nervous and a bit anxious about learning how horribly we are contributing to planetary disaster and fearing being shamed or bullied into sewing ridiculous things in nonsensical ways to be what some person we don’t even know believes is the “best way” to be sustainable. But that was NOT it at all! I have so many takeaways and easy ways to improve not just my sustainability but my sewing game as a result of this month’s theme with no shame or fear or anxiety over the process or the outcome. Thank you so so much! I encourage everyone to read every post. They are well worth the quick read and the inspo you’ll get!
Thank you SO much for saying this! Kate did a great job on this one, and the whole team tries really hard on every theme to promote an idea, but veer away from negative “Judgy McJudgerson” attitudes. We try so hard to make sure we represent multiple perspectives on every theme. We really appreciate the feedback. Cheers!
Hi Erica, I’m really relieved to read your comment! Sustainability and eco stuff can be dry and depressing but that’s not the way to get people interested is it?! Also as the Sewcialists is all about diversity and inclusion we always want everyone to be able to feel like they can contribute to the topic, whether online, in your sewing, or in your own thoughts. Really happy to hear you had some useful takeaways from the theme month. Thanks again for your comment. Kate x
I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s contributions on this topic. I think it’s big enough to be revisted in the future!
Very happy to hear that! Thank you for contributing to The Sewcialists – I remember reading your petite sewing posts 🙂
Kate, thank you so much for being the “resident guru” on this topic…I know there’s so much more to your talents and interests than this topic, so your work is much appreciated. I really loved that you popped in on multiple posts and commented. Thank you!!!
Always welcome Becky, its a topic that should be accessible to everybody!
[…] It’s been great to see the conversation around sustainability gaining interest and traction. The sustainable sewing theme month was chosen last month due to popular demand (nothing to do with me!), and there were so many great stories, projects and inspiration. […]