Sewing to save the planet

The worrying environmental crisis paired with increased downtime over lockdown has seen many young people taking up needles and thread.

While doing her PhD in neurobiology, Lea Baecker had also taken to the sewing revival.

Lea Baecker: "My main motivation was not having to buy ready-to-wear clothes anymore because I didn't want to support fast fashion. And also just to fit it better to my body. Yeah, and from then on, I never looked back."

Lea posts her self-made creations on her Instagram page for her appreciative followers. Similarly, the New Craft Fabric shop's co-founder, Rosie Scott also uses the platform to promote her labour of love.

Rosie Scott: "Yeah, I think Instagram definitely helped make sewing look more cool. Like you saw a huge range of people on Instagram sewing. And, yeah, it was just like, more visible."

The shop utilises leftover fabric from designers, which would otherwise be discarded as waste material. This upcycling, in Rosie's eyes, has been a key factor in motivating younger people to take up sewing.

Rosie Scott: "The clients, well customers, have changed - they've become younger, definitely. More younger people are getting interested in sewing. And especially with the fabric, we find that, like, we get a lot of fashion students and young people who are really interested in learning how to make their own clothes and make them sustainably."

Paper theory is a pattern brand founded by designer Tara Viggo. It produces motifs to aid those newbies to hone and grow confident in their new hobby.

Tara Viggo: "It used to have quite a old-fashioned kind of point of view, but more people are realising how accessible it can be, actually. And it's, it's kind of fun, you know, and they're really getting into it."

The fast fashion mindset and the environmental issues aren't only being addressed by upcycling or patterning. Going through the sewing process calls into question the true costs of fast fashion.

Tara Viggo: "Letting people know how much involvement goes into making a garment is a really good way to make you aware. Once you know how to sew your own clothes, you can't fathom that a shirt should be £3 anymore."

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