Sewing is the New Green!

Lovebirds created with Vintage fabric

The more that I sew, the more I realize the benefits of this traditional craft.  I see so many people trying to make a difference to help the environment.  People are recycling, reducing consumption and trying to make improvements to the way they live their lives.  

My history with eco sewing began in a very naive way.  When I started sewing in 1999, I had very little money to spend on fabrics.  I was also a hippie, (as much as one could be in the 90's).  I decided to source all my fabrics from thrift stores.  I bought used corduroy pants and jackets, and sometimes other items from the thrift shop and then worked them into bell bottoms, tops and art quilts.  My first queen size quilt was created primarily with thrifted corduroy.

I have to be honest, I am American through and through.  I love buying clothes and have yet to truly go green across the board in my life.  I also realize that a lot of the Global Warming is really a product of factories spewing out toxic fumes and chemicals, along with transportation and fumes from traveling.  Factory farms are also harming the environment in a devastating way.  So much of the changes to help the environment remain in the hands of governments who are more concerned with big business and domination and less concerned with the health of the planet.

So you might wonder why I claim that Sewing is the New Green?  When you sew you have so much power and sewing gives you a lot more choice.  When you become proficient in sewing, suddenly you have the ability to create items you need yourself instead of buying them at stores with less than ethical practices.  Suddenly you can mend your own clothing, source fabrics that are either used, vintage or environmentally friendly.  You can make most of the gifts you give at the holidays.  And especially if you get into sewing your own fashions, you can reduce the amount of goods you buy that are created in sweat shops.  Mending and altering your own clothing also keeps items out of the landfill.  And once you have a few essential sewing skills down the sky is the limit with what you can create!

This is a shout out to all the women (and men) who have the desire to go green, and the inclination to DIY.  Sewing is a great skill to add to your repertoire and can truly make an impact on the way you live.  When you are more self-sufficient at least you have a choice.  You can choose to sew an item instead of buying it at Walmart, which helps the environment and sends a message to big business that sweat shops should be a thing of the past.

This spring and summer I am going to share what I know about sewing.  I want to empower you to begin creating goods for yourself.  It feels good when you have finished an item, and can put it to use in your home.  It feels truly amazing to give a big middle finger to consumerism and know that you are taking your power back, to be surrounded by items that truly have meaning for you.  I will teach you what I know and hopefully this series of posts will be of benefit in some way.  

Sewing is the New Green!