Back to the fabric stash

3/5/14

So, I’ve been writing recently about mindful consumption and buying handmade shoes. A few years ago I wrote about Value versus Cost, and sneaked inside a post on vintage sewing patterns, I wrote a mini essay about ethically-produced jeans.

I’m trying very hard to be as responsible in my own shopping as I possibly can. My trousers are ethically produced. My yoga pants are organic cotton. My shoes are handmade. I try, as much as possible, not to support mass production in terms of clothing.

But, like everyone, sometimes I fail. I got very, very excited about these Yellow Submarine Vans, so I “treated myself” and bought them. (Ten months later, they’re sitting on my shoe rack having been worn only about half a dozen times because they don’t fit right and they’re not comfortable, so there’s a lesson for me!)

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Shortly after I’d bought them I got very excited about some almost-matching fabric, so I “treated myself” to that too. It’s cotton, but it’s not organic, and I had it sent over from America. I’m currently sewing it into a shirt that I can wear with the Vans. (Hopefully the shirt will actually fit, at least!)

I’m always a sucker for a novelty print, and in fact I’m currently waiting for the arrival of a parcel containing a shirt’s worth of this Lorax-print fabric. It’s coming all the way from America again, and at least it’s organic cotton this time. But while I was shopping I popped in a couple of other half-yards “for Milly”, and “to make the shipping costs worthwhile”.

That’s when I realised that I was basically making excuses to myself, to justify the purchase of cute things that I liked the look of, rather than thinking about what I actually needed, or how it was made.

Bishopston fabrics - straight out of the box

Given that I still have metres and metres of this lovely handwoven organic cotton sitting in my sewing room (bought all the way back in 2008, before Bishopston Trading closed down), I really have absolutely no excuse for buying any more fabric right now. Okay, so plain colours of cotton are not as fun and exciting as hilarious novelty prints. (And you know I do like a certain amount of my wardrobe to be hilarious!) But I can make up for that by printing simple designs myself… over-dyeing the fabrics… adding embroidery or lace… wearing lots of jewellery or knitted accessories… or just enjoying the nature of the hand-woven, hand-dyed material.

After that it’s time to go on a different kind of shopping spree I think – doing some research into what lovely new ethically-produced fabrics have become available since the last time I looked. Now that does sound exciting!