Quick guide to clothes and textile recycling

There is a lot of talk about recycling lately, and it’s been touted like the answer to all our sustainability problems, not least of all plastics in the ocean, clothes to landfills and incineration. However, there is no magic bullet of transforming an ols garment into a new one just through the magic of textile recycling. And it is absolutely not even the most sustainable thing to do with our unwanted textiles. That is because there are limitations in the technology of recycling for different material, as well as difficulties in the actual collections.

Want to know more about how each type of fabric can be recycled and what are the pros and cons? Read on for a deep-dive into the recycling processes by fibre type and their challenges.

How sustainable is wool?

Wool is a natural material and we could easily assume that’s enough to be sustainable. Wool used to be one of the most common materials, but with the advent of synthetic fibres and the omnipresence of cotton, both the worldwide production and consumption (at least for apparel) has decreased. However, we still like a lovely warm woollen jumper or a merino coat, and sewing with wool fabrics is great, isn’t it? Although in general wool is considered a more sustainable fibre or fabric, there are a few things you need to know so you can make informed decisions.

DIY OBI CIRCLE SKIRT

If you are waiting for all the scoop on the GBSB, sorry to disappoint, this post is actually about an item I made this year (my first finished garment of the year, yey!!). It does relate a little bit to the Bee, but only just. Managing expectations here, ok? I’m the kind of girl that is somewhat of a perfectionist and has no patience and wants most thing ‘her way’. And also very stubborn. So far, not much going for me, right? Well, it turns out that all those traits that could make my fiance really think twice about tying the…

WRAP ME UP | DIY FAUX FUR SCARF

While the excitement is building up for the start of the Great British Sewing Bee, series 3 (I’m a Bee, I’m a Bee), I have to find an outlet for my excitement/ nail biting nervousness. Geez, I get sweaty palms even writing this sentence right now… So let me entertain you with a furry post, a make that I love but didn’t get to keep :(. January was a good month for my social life, but not very good for churning out me-made projects. I had some really great incentives however because of two friends’ birthdays, to whom I wanted…

Mum, look! Alex is sewing on the telly!

Let’s see which of you eagle eyes can spot me! Clue: I could not compete with Claudia on the fringe front, so I waited until after the show to have it cut.

[Sustainable Tuesdays] Three unusual sustainable fabrics

Welcome to my newly created (as in just now) ‘Sustainable Tuesdays’ posts (only because the first one happened to be posted on a Tuesday, so I thought I keep with this day of the week). The aim of the series is to share my discoveries in the space of sustainable fashion and to inform and inspire other sewers to join me on this journey. In today’s post, I’m showcasing three sustainable fabrics that I for one never imagined could be actually made into garments. Unfortunately, some of them are not readily available in the UK, but if you’re travelling through…

How to make a DIY dress form part 2 | Filling the mould

Welcome to part two of the custom dress form making. In part one, I talked about how to make the plaster cast mould.  In part two, we’re getting down to foamy business and talk about how to prepare the mould and fill it, resulting in a mannequin in your exact shape, that will become your best buddy for fitting your own projects. A word of caution: this is not a proper tutorial, as I didn’t take enough pictures in the making process, but it will give you a fairly accurate idea of what it entails. And it’s very wordy, as I…

DIY COWL WINTER DRESS | BURDA 10-2012 #118A

As 2014 was on its last legs, there was still one project on my to do list. It was a lovely woollen winter day dress that would be the perfect addition to my wardrobe. I really wanted to wear it to the NYE party, a dinner with friends, nothing fancy really, so true to myself, I had to rush and finish everything in one day.

HOW TO MAKE A DIY PLASTER CAST CUSTOM DRESS FORM | PART 1: CASTING THE MOULD

As you might have found out in one of my previous posts, I have gone through what I can only call a period of insanity and DIY-ed my own custom dress form. It came out so great, better than I could have ever hoped, so I thought I would share my experience with the world. I have seen a few attempts here and there, so very curious to swap notes and anecdotes (there must some, you can’t do this without adventures!!).

Favourite makes of 2014

As it is customary in this time of the year, a nice little review of the year is in the cards for me as well. Obviously, the blog is only about 3 days old at this point in time, so you will have to be content with some nice pics and a quick summary.