Day 3: Me-Made-May '19

I knew the rain was coming, I could feel it in my aching bones and Voltaren rubbed skin.  With the excitement of a small child wanting to play in the rain, I planned my wardrobe choices around my Hunter boots.  

Eighty percent of today's clothes are me-made!  

This infinity scarf is a 100% silk. It was added into my wardrobe about a year and a half ago and it is one of my favourite accessories and I wear it more like jewelery.  It is all about the fabric for this item.  

But did you know that silk fabric has natural fire retardant and antibacterial properties?  I personally feel good about sewing with silk fabric because it's a natural fibre but not all share my enthusiasm for silk.  

British online fashion retailer ASOS has joined a growing number of companies that have ban several natural fibre fabrics, including silk, in their line of clothing.  Indian silk production has been noted by Human Rights Watch in 2003 for the abuse of child slaves.  And PETA has lead a campaign to end silk production citing the pain experienced by silk worms in the harvest of the luxurious fibres.  Am I wrong to admire this fabric as a wonderful gift from nature?  

I guess you can say that this top, OOP Vogue 1306, has been hanging around for years.  In an unfinished state, originally cut in 2012, this Rebecca Taylor design wasn't finished until six years later. 

It's a medium weight cotton knit and I feel good about this fabric even though I have to again admit I don't know anything about the supply chain management around the textile industry. I do know that I feel better about fabrics and garments that have a natural fibre content. It saddens me to hear marketing campaigns against them and I do realize that there is so much to learn about how are fabrics are made and where they come from.   

This Rachel Comey skirt, OOP Vogue 1247, is made in one of my favourite fabrics to sew, cotton sateen. It's about a year and a half old and it has seen a steady rotation in the wardrobe.  It actually replaces a navy version that I originally made in 2012.   

It's the smooth surface the satin weave produces that makes this one of my favourite fabrics to sew with and to wear.  

Only my remaining under-garments and jean jacket were ready-to-wear. But wait there's more...  

Sleepwear was also me-made!  I made a cotton pajama set back in 2017 when I combined Butterick 6296 for the pajama shirt and Vogue 9217 for the pajama bottoms. And of course the cotton robe that was shown earlier this week. The pajama bottoms have already made it to the mending pile to repair a ripped side leg seam. Although, I don't enjoy mending, I do like wearing this set of jammies. 

Researching and reading about human rights issues and the environmental impact of the textile industry really has changed my view on mending.  Repairing and caring for garments as more than an austerity measure, it's an act of kindness to the environment.  

Happy Sewing!