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Couture & eco-responsible fabrics: 6 detailed tips to practice slow couture
You like sewing and you would like more responsible sewing ?
The sewing, for you, is a bit like making a foot-brief at Fast Fashion?
You dream of a more reasoned, well thought out and In accordance with your values ?
By sewing our own clothes, we often become more and more concerned and concerned about the materials we choose, of The sustainability of our wardrobe.
But it is not always easy to navigate or find The eco-responsible fabric that really makes us want.
I am Sarah From the Couture & Positivity Blog to do very soft And if you are interested in slow couture, here is a new article for the blog of My Little Coupon which should be useful to you😊
From several experiments and research on the subject of which I speak in more detail in the section Slow Couture & Slow Fashion From my blog, I share with you here 6 detailed tips to accompany you in this slow couture approach : )
By slow couture, I hear a more sustainable, more environmentally friendly and more thoughtful seam.
But there are many definitions of this notion which echoes Slow Fashion.
The reflections on the subject obviously remain open.
Do not hesitate to share your opinion and your ideas on the subject in comment to advance the debate. 😊
TIP 1: How to choose responsible fabrics?
To sew, it's undeniable, we need fabric!
An absolutely essential material for practicing this completely addictive leisure😊, we will all be okay!😊
But, faced with the large mass of proposed fabrics, how to find your way around?
There are more eco-responsible materials than others.
When we are trying to do more committed sewing, this parameter can help us choose the fabric adapted to our values.
In general, The most responsible materials are those that use the least water and chemicals and also the least transport to be produced.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of eco-responsible fabrics:
An eco -responsible fabric: linen
Linen is one of the most respectful materials for the environment, especially because it requires little water and no pesticides.
To be quite sure that it is indeed an ecological linen, without pesticide and manufactured either in France or in Europe, there is a label: "Master of Linen".
And did you know that linen is also offered in jersey?
We often think that linen is a material exclusively worked in chain and frame but there is also linen jersey to make ecological t-shirts for example😊
Among the ecological fabrics, do you know the hemp canvas?
Hemp is certainly the most ecological material to make fabrics.
Knowing that France is one of the first European hemp producers.
To produce hemp fabric, it takes little water and pesticides and it is a very resistant, therefore durable material.
Sustainability is a key factor when looking for sewing committed for the planet.
On the other hand, hemp fabrics are quite difficult to find on the market for individuals and are quite expensive (but it is an investment on quality). It takes an average of sixty euros per meter for a hemp canvas.
Organic fabrics and the name GOTS
We started reading the GOTS appellation in ready-to-wear clothes.
In recent years, we have also seen her appear in organic fabric offers.
But what does it mean?
When This GOTS label is associated with a fabric (whether in cotton or linen for example), We are guaranteed that the fiber and the fabric manufacturing process, until its weaving, are organic.
In fact, GOTS certified organic fabrics are generally more expensive for the end consumer but they are the guarantee of a cleaner fabric for the environment and our organization and also often more qualitative.
For cotton fabrics in particular, this label can make the difference: it is often believed that cotton is more ecological because it comes from a natural fiber.
However, this is not necessarily the case since cotton is very greedy in water in its production. It therefore has a very strong environmental impact, especially that you use pesticides and chemicals to whiten fibers.
To be sure to choose an eco-responsible cotton fabric, it is better to choose a biological cotton.
We could also talk about the Oeko-Tex label found in the description of many fabrics. These are not biological tissues but tissues that do not have carcinogenic or allergen substances. These are also materials that were more economical in water during their manufacture.
Ecological viscoses
I do not know if you read my previous article on the viscose on the blog of My Little Coupon, but I detail different alternatives to traditional viscose which is more polluting.
I invite you to read it if the subject interests you.
There are therefore ecological viscoses that use a Lyocell process To transform wood fiber into fabric with little or no chemicals.
You can thus find Tencel, Modal or Eco Vero viscose which will allow you to opt for fluid and ecological tissues for your achievements.
Organic silk
For silk, one can think that it is ecological since produced thanks to a filament that secretes the silkworm. But the manufacture and dyeing of silk require the use of pesticides.
There are organic and certified bristles that control this use of chemicals. They are more expensive and more difficult to find.
But, You can also opt for silks from end of seam houses collections And who are in dormant stocks. I'm talking about this solution proposed by My Little Coupon a little lower.
You can already watch their silks offer right here if it interests you :)
TIP 2: The concept of sewing recovery: Upcycling & Incurclage
One of the main problems when you want to choose eco -responsible fabrics, This is the price.
You can't always put around 30 euros for 1 meter of fabric.
However, we must not feel guilty: the whole thing is to do his best And to agree as much as possible with its ideals Depending on its possibilities 😊.
It exists an alternative old as the world to do responsible sewing: textile recycling or more precisely theupcycling (over-cycling in French).
The principle is more and more popular and so much the better: because this concept makes it possible to reuse what exists without producing new materials.
Make new with old people in short!
Thus, you will be able to use an old curtain to make a new jacket, reuse damaged jeans to make a new pouf for your living room ...
You can transform clothes that you no longer wear, household linen, hunting old materials in flea markets, or even buy second -hand fabrics And make your creativity work.
You will get totally unique, economical and ultra ecological pieces!😊
Tip 3: Textile upcycling & the solution offered by My Little Coupon
Among the possible choices to sew eco-responsible fabrics, you also have fabric upcycling.
It is to slightly dissociate from the upcycling which I spoke above; Even if the concept, in substance, is the same.
It will not be a question of transforming old clothes or linens into new hand -sewn rooms but to opt for fabrics from end of fashion house collections.
In the past, these rollers of fabrics of the ready-to-wear collection were destroyed, cremated; This is doubly polluting: both for the production of these materials and for their destruction.
Fortunately, These subjects today have the chance to be revalued, reused by hands of amateur or pro seamstresses, launching small collections or producing offers them homemade wardrobe😊.
To allow us to have access to these ends of fashion house collections, and in fact to very good quality fabrics, some companies, such as My Little Coupon, put them back on the market.
Therefore, when you order a fabric at My Little Coupon, you revaluize fabric stocks already produced.
It is therefore A more responsible way to sew And to create rooms with fashion house fabrics in UTLTRA limited edition! :)
If you do not yet know the concept of My Little Coupon, I invite you to read this section.
To discover the offer of upcycler fabrics, appointment on the My Little Coupon shop.
Tip 4: Choose the right sewing patterns
To make slow couture, that is to say more thoughtful, more responsible seam, you have to take the time and not rush.
Couture is such an addictive practice that you would like to sew everything that comes out or almost.
However, not all the models to be sewn proposed are not necessarily adapted to what we like to wear or to what is going well.
I had written a detailed article on this subject on my blog. These are 5 tips for practicing slow couture.
I invite you in particular in this article to open your wardrobe and analyze each piece.
You will be able to determine the clothes that you often put and those that have been in the cabinet for months.
You will be able to question the why? Why do I wear this skirt and why I don't wear this one often?
You will quickly see that this is a cutting problem: I don't feel good in this skirt model. Either of a fabric problem: this fabric crumbles too much, it is not suitable for my daily life.
You have to get to know each other through the cuts and fabrics that we like to wear and we really wear to better make our choices of sewing and material patterns; Which will help you practice slow couture more easily.
Tip 5: Optimizing the footage of your fabric coupons
Then, which can also be interesting and I tell you more in a detail in an article written on the blog of My Little Coupon, is to optimize your fabric coupons and films.
I wrote this article with 24 ideas of sewing patterns with a 3 -meter fabric coupon.
The idea is to choose fabric films and patterns that are adapted in terms of quantity so as not to waste.
It frequently happens that we have falls of fabric and the fact of choosing the pattern and the footage avoids having too many tissue falls.
But if you have, of course, there are many possibilities to use your fabric falls and suddenly to waste your material as little as possible.
For example, you can use your falls to make the pocket bottoms of your clothes, head accessories, cushion pad, jewelry, jewelry Zero waste textile objects... you will find lots of ideas on Pinterest especially😊.
And there is also Creators who recover fabric falls to upcycler them in their creations.
The whole thing is to think about its long-term material: Have I ordered too much fabric? How will I use this fabric to use it as much as possible? What are I going to do with falls?
All these questions can help you in your responsible sewing process.
On the other hand, I advise you not to impose too much constraints or to feel guilty when it is not possible: Couture remains a pleasure and sewing your own clothes is already a step towards more responsible textile consumption 😊.
Tip 6: Read books and articles on responsible sewing
This tip is worth for all subjects!
If you are particularly interested in responsible sewing, it is better to read books and articles to find out, to compare points of views too and To enrich you from the research and opinions of others.
It will help you to advance in your approach and at Do not feel alone in the face of your issues and your environmental questions.
I myself read a lot of articles and books on the eco-responsible seam.
It allowed me to know more about the different possibilities of ecological materials, on false ideas too: such as bamboo tissues which are ultimately not so ecological as one might think.
The book also tears you to do vegetable dye (we know that the textile dye is also polluting) and there are several patterns inside, which allow you to compose a whole multi-season wardrobe.
Another book that marked me and is rather turned towards the more responsible seam in terms of choice of sewing models, This is the book of Deer and Doe; Who helps us to have a more personal and appropriate vision of our sewing projects, with sewing patterns to compose according to our needs.
Do not hesitate to share your own inspirations and readings on the subject of responsible sewing.
I only quote 2 but there are so many others!
Make responsible sewing, the word at the end😊
Through this article, I wanted to sweep away some issues and questions that I am asked myself in the face of this slow couture process.
How to better choose my fabrics? What do labels mean such as Gots or Oeko-Tex?
How to choose sewing patterns better suited to my needs and thus enter a more thoughtful seam?
I hope this article will be useful to you in this process😊
And don't forget not to put yourself pressure or not feel guilty when you can't make the most ecological choice.
We do the best, as we can. The whole thing is to make yourself aware of the question.
If you want to see the offer of upcycler fabrics at My Little Coupon, it's here😊
See you soon on the networks!
Sarah @todotoutdoux
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