I did not initially make the decision to create and sew my own garments with my hand dyed or ecoprinted silk. The creation of the fabric designs alone is labor intensive but I enjoy the process and it is no problem to roll up my shirtsleeves and hand paint, dye, collect leaves and botanically print them onto my fabrics. But how many scarves do you need at a show? You have to offer more than one thing and clothing was perfect! My skills were adequate-I had sewn clothing off and on for years. But hiring sewers to do the construction work seemed to make sense while I concentrated on creating the fabric designs. What I had not considered was my deadlines. No one will ever work as hard as yourself and eventually I knew that in order to compete and have clothing ready for my shows, it was time for me to bite the bullet!
Thus was born my own clothing lines. No matter what it is called, my own Slow Fashion, Artisanal Clothing, Hand crafted….it fits with what I do now and what I create! Low impact dyes (both natural and synthetic)sustainable and organic designs and clothing created entirely by hand and by me 🙂
So what IS “the “Slow Fashion” movement?” In a nutshell:
“Slow Fashion (Clothing) is the antithesis of fast fashion. It considers the ethics and sustainability of garments, values provenance and artisan skills while focusing on timeless style, comfort and connection. It is about thoughtful, ethical, creative and sustainable ways to enjoy the garments we wear every day while minimizing our material footprint on the world”-from Textile Beat
My collection of artisanal designs in silk and leather
It does not get much slower than how I do it! I choose certain days to collect my leaves and ecoprint my fabric. (Weather plays a part in this) I choose other days to hand paint my fabric or create designs on the silk. Then I will choose yet another day to sew. In that way I slowly but steadily work on creating my fashions for the shows I attend or for the custom orders I receive.
So the logistics of sewing with silk are simple. It’s hard, it’s slippery and I discovered that no amount of YouTube videos was going to teach me like just doing it! I dusted off my Brother CS6000i. I should add that as a self employed artist I am rich in art and poor in cash. So this very cost effective sewing machine is under $200. For most of us, whether your machine has 16 or 600 stitches starts to become irrelevant in basic, good construction. Re-homing my old skills meant a lot of practice and learning new things in new machines.
Brother CS6000i with attached LED lights
But perhaps the best bang for my buck was the Brother
1034D serger I purchased a few years ago! I was determined to master it (my earlier sewing skills never included a serger!) and how quickly you learn anything depends on how badly you want to learn it! This Brother Serger was another “under $200” super investment and I have been able to double my output with some of my garments in the time it saves! I will add that there are some great YouTube videos on using both of these machines from threading to cleaning them. The best ones I found came from
Sewing Mastery. (that tip will save you getting lost for 8 hours on YouTube!)
Handcrafted, Hand dyed Silk Ruanas
silk habotai and silk noil garments
Serging is no longer the “to do before hemming” part of sewing. (ie: serge, fold up hem, sew again) A good tight, serged edge IS the hem!
But there are a few other workhorses now in my arsenal of machines. Nothing beats an older machine-all metal and sturdiness for additional, harder sewing. For instance, the Brother CS6999i cannot handle my leather. No problem.
Singer Featherweight
I bring our my 1954 Singer featherweight. These little workhorses have become expensive and the darling of the Quilting world :-). But you can find them reasonably priced if you look hard enough. With a leather needle, mine can handle basic leather trim and embellishment on my clothing. But when I move into heavier leather and my ecoprinted hides, I pull out the super workhorse! My 1908 Singer 29-4! These were built to last! A table makes it easier to work flat but with only foot power to run it, well, it can be used anywhere! This is for my heavier leather such as my shoes and handbags.
Singer Leather 29-4
I found that with patience and practice, the silk I most worked with could be easily managed. From 8mm Habotai to 12mm charmeuse to the much heavier silk noil, all require some machine adjustments and tweaking.
But the end results are beautiful garments designed to showcase not just talent but determination, perseverance and pure hard work in an ethical, slow clothing movement. And nothing feels better than to have accomplished it all by yourself!
Hand crafted artisanal clothing
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