A second year of sewing my own clothes

It's time I documented my second year of making my own clothes. This year there was no outright self-imposed ban on buying new or second hand clothes, so I have been lucky to acquire a few more beautiful Gudrun Sjödén pieces, as well as purchasing some needed socks and knickers.

The original year-long-experiment which began in May 2013 has remained habit changing and sewing my own is a regular part of my weekly routine. Between 17th May 2014 and 31st May 2015 I sewed a lot of dresses, a few tops, had a summertime flurry of trouser making, and made three beautiful coats.

The Wiksten Tova was my 'discovery' staple sewing pattern this year, and the one I've made most of (current Tova count is six). My second favourite repeatedly sewn pattern is the Lisette Portfolio dress Kerry Green most generously sent me in January (I made three). I must also mention its sister-pattern the lovely Liesl & Co Cappuccino dress (four more of these now hanging in my wardrobe). The 'outsider lovely surprise pattern' was Scarlet et Marguerite's Baba Yaga dress.

Garment Of The Sewing Year: Burda 7072 Quilted Coat

My favourite garment of the year is the one that took the most work, a quilted Burda 7072 coat. Worth every frustrating second of fiddling to get the under-arm seams right!

The round-up photo above doesn't include everything I made, and not all of it was blogged – there are at least three more holiday dresses and six pairs of baggy trousers not included here. I may try to slow down production in the coming year, but can't see myself stopping as I love the act of sewing and the self expression of wearing handmade clothes. I wear something I've made myself every day of the year.

I am however, a little less keen to continue photographing and blogging my makes (and my gurning face) so am not sure if there'll be a third year with a round-up like this. In part I think joining Instagram has removed some of the urge to blog. So much social media, so little time.

For now though, it is a pleasure to present the line up of clothes sewn in my second sew-my-own year.

Trouserathon, July 2014

The year I stopped buying clothes and sewed myself a new wardrobe

A year ago I publicly pledged to give up buying clothes for a year, a move prompted by finding this article in a newspaper left on a train and by the Rana Plaza clothing factory disaster. My rule was no new clothes, shoes, underwear, hosiery and no 'new' second hand or vintage purchases. Basically to STOP buying! If I wanted new stuff then I had to make it myself.

The clothes I made between 16th May 2013 and 16th May 2014

The first few weeks were strange. Like most people if I'm told I can't do something I want to do it even more so I positively craved the smell of clothing shops and the thrill and discovery of trying on new (or second hand/new) clothes.

When passing clothes shops in town I felt a pang of longing. So much so that I started completely avoiding them and this included going to cafés near clothing shops. Saturdays had often been my day for a bike ride to a destination where I could browse shops and drink coffee. To adjust to not-clothes-buying I changed my routine so that I was just doing the bike ride part with the destination being a museum or gallery, or a remote spot outdoors. Then the dressmaking bug really set in and Saturday mornings are now set aside solely for sewing for myself and my daughter while listening to Sounds of The Sixties - afternoons we're currently rehearsing for Worthing Community Play.

Five months into the challenge Gudrun Sjödén invited me to become an ambassador for the brand, a role which would involve no obligation on my part but would give me the opportunity to sometimes try out their products. I mulled this over and consulted friends for their opinion as I wasn't sure if it was a conflict of interest with my 'no buying new clothes' declaration. As a long-time Gudrun Sjödén fan and an erstwhile customer with several of her designs in my wardrobe already, I found it impossible to say no. However, when I have been lucky enough to chose one of Gudrun's garments to write about and wear I've picked things I couldn't make myself (due to lack of skills and equipment) like this raincoat.

I can happily report that the experiment has been thoroughly habit-changing for me. A year on, the smell of clothes shops repels me and now that I'm free to spend my birthday money have found that nothing fits as well or looks as good as handmade. I can't see myself ever going back to buying dresses from the high street and pledge to try to only buy new clothing when my own clothes (knickers, socks) are beyond repair, and then only if I can't make it myself. The days of scooping up three cheap tops from Primark for an instant fashion fix are over.

An unexpected development in my year of giving up clothes shopping is that my wardrobe has GROWN! It's now full of beautiful, bright handmade clothes in fabrics I've chosen in combinations of my own design. I wear at least one garment I've sewn myself every single day and feel this is the ultimate form of self expression.

Worthing's William Blake Mini Protest Banner

This afternoon I committed a small act of craftivism. I embroidered and hung a #minifashionprotest banner in Worthing town centre as part of Craftivist Collective's project for War On Want's Love Fashion Hate Sweatshops campaign. 

The Collective has asked people to stitch small banners with messages related to the exploitation of sweatshop workers in Bangladesh and hang them in a location that links to their embroidered message. Regular readers will know that I decided to stop buying clothes following the Rana Plaza clothing factory disaster, so taking part in Craftivist Collective's initiative was something I was keen to do and has strengthened my resolve to say 'no' to fast fashion. 

This week BBC Panorama's investigation into the working lives of factory workers in Bangladesh provided further food for thought and inspired me to make my mini banner in response to the allegations the programme broadcast concerning my mum's favourite clothes shop. A William Blake quote seemed apt. 

Here is my banner in situ! I hung it in the middle of a bench as Worthing has an abundance of poignant memorial plaques on its benches all the way along the seafront. 

I like the idea that someone may sit on this bench and contemplate the meaning of my embroidered message.

Yarn Bombed Trees in Worthing

It's been an unseasonably chilly month of June so far and even the trees in Worthing are wearing woolly jumpers, it seems.

   I cycled past this technicoloured tree cosy in the rain yesterday so had to return under blue skies to take a closer look. There are in fact three knit-adorned trees on the corner of Union Place and the A259, a spot that boasts a fine view of the ring road in front of Waitrose's car park and is next to a big boarded up space by yet another car park. The town's Conservative club HQ is opposite. It's a location that really benefits from some colour and cheer!

   I suspect this outdoor art installation is the work of Worthing's guerrilla knitters, though the piece is unsigned. The decorated trees surprised and delighted passers by.

Guerilla knitting on the streets of Worthing

I went out on my bike to photograph the early setting sun and stumbled upon a monumental piece of knitted graffiti on the seafront corner of The Steyne. The Steyne’s old red phone box is now wearing a huge woolly patchwork cosy, complete with a large pom pom on the top. Inside it’s filled with intricate crocheted flowers and leaves, handmade insects, cute rodents and even a knitted bird.
     This multicoloured knitted telephone booth celebrates the radical eccentric guerilla knitting of Magda Sayeg and the phone box cosies of London's Knit The City movement - it's a splendid sight and well worth taking a seafront detour for.
     Worthing's piece of kooky craft is signed Blueprint 22 and The Wool Bar. A bit of Googling tells me it could be the start of a big outdoor knitting exhibition in Worthing. I look forward to seeing more knitted graffiti on our streets!