Eco-Friendly Fashion Solutions

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about the pollution caused by the fashion industry.

This issue can be frightening to anyone in the fashion industry and might even at one time been a reason for some industry professionals or even prospective fashion career enthusiasts to turn their back on the fashion industry in favor of the environment and our future but not now.

We've got hope now thanks to the growing number of caring industry professionals and their corresponding resources manufacturers and scientists dedicated to environmental sustainability.

There are many sustainable resources available for us fashion designers, in every area of clothing design and production. We've got organic natural fiber textiles, natural and eco-friendly fabric paints, dyes and dying techniques as well as a growing availability of organic and eco-friendly sewing notions and even fully bio-degradable polyester thanks to the fibers and textiles supplied by the Ichimura company in Japan (using DuPont's 'Apexa' polymer resin).

Over the next few weeks or so I'm going to develop a resource list of the websites, companies and online stores where fashion designers all over the world can have acess to affordable eco-friendly products and keep up to date and informed about chemicals and textile manufacturers that are serious about providing strictly environmentally friendly products.

As fashion designers and consumers alike, we've got the power to turn our industry into a sustainable practices only industry and we don't have to do it tomorrow, we've got the resources to do it today.

I've got to drop some names here for you to look out for but don't worry I'll be providing more info in my up coming eco friendly fashion lens.

Kitamura (bio degradable polyesters)

Summer Rayne Oakes (the world's first eco-friendly model)

Victor Innovatex launched Eco-Intelligent Polyester (perpetually recyclable, chemical free polyester)

Climatex® Lifecycle biodegradable fabrics made from organic wool and ramie and dyed with 16 different safe non-toxic dyes

Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources

My Lack Of Patternmaking Tools - I Can Cut It

Working on those patternblocks,  aiming to having everything (at least my slopers) complete by the end of December.  

I'm taking stock of which tools and rulers I use most often and I have to say that my curve square and L ruler are in biggest demand when I'm drafting my patterns.   If I had that flexicurve ruler though I think that may change depending on how well it keeps its shape.   For now I'm just stuck using my trusty old tape measure.   I'm going to get that curve square replaced though as the one I have has a few serious cracks in it.   If you don't know the tool I'm talking about here it is:

I consider this delicate thing indespensible and the only place I can find it online is at this UK store,  here's the link:
http://www.sewessential.co.uk/Category.asp?CategoryID=776&NumPerPage=5&Page=1
You'll find it at the bottom of the page and it's not called a "Sew Easy Curve Square".

The other thing I wish I had was that thing called an awl,  a little hole poking device for marking dart points and 'walking' sleeve blocks into armholes.   Instead I use a soap smoothed point on a safety pin to facilitate dart transfer like this (I usually have two fingers supporting the raised paper underneath while I'm making the hole):

I manage to 'walk' my sleeves by taking what ever bodice/torso block and 'walking' the sleeve onto it tiny pinch by tiny pinch.   This can be a distance of about a 1 cm to 1 inch depending on the curve area.  I'm making due alright.

Was doing a little 'window' shopping online for what I've got in store when I want to make patterns for my own collections.   As I'm not going to use non-eco fabrics for my designs (or their development)  it leaves me with a number of pricier options.   I'll probably get most of my fabric from Near Sea Naturals,  they've got dyed and plain organic cotton wovens for around $10 and up and organic cotton knits starting from $12 and up.   Not great,  but not too bad either.   If I want to get cruelty free wool,  they've also got that (not at all an easy thing to come by trust me) it'll be quite a bit more costly  with their most affordable options being their black and fawn solid color wool wovens for $55 per yard.   Now if I want to get some satin,  I'll have to go to GreenFibres and get their undyed cotton product for around $26 a yard (13 GBP that is).  

Well I've got an idea of the price range at least.  It'll be a while till I can get started to be sure,  but it will happen.   Just got to some patternmaking work and experience with clients.

By the way,  when I 'shop' for fabric,  I just go straight to my Eco Friendly Fashion Designer Resource Page.   One of the reasons I made it,  when I need materials to get started with my collections I'll have everything there in one place and in a great way that everyone else can use it too with it's selection of eco fabric sources,  dying informatios,  eco-friendly fabric paint,  notions and more.  Here's the link if you're also interested:
The Eco-Friendly Fashion Designer's Resource Page

If you'd like to read more about fashion, information on the industry and online schools check out my site at:

Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources

Using Delays As A Time For Planning Ahead

Okay,  it's time to work on the knit wear pattern blocks.   Actually,  I'd skipped those chapters during my studies on account of just not being able to do them before.   (The whole selection is strictly drafted using a dressform.)  I'd actually forgotte about these,  that's okay though,   I'll read through them over the next few days and get this area of patternmaking tackled too.   Can't wait to discover what's different about drafting for knit designs.

When I have the time I like to read,  but when I don't have time,  reading can be a painful chore even if it's to learn about something I'm really interested in like these instructions for drafting knit wear patterns.  I've always loved learning how to do things.   The way I take on the task though,  is simply to read the material aloud,  preferably into a recorder,  but if I don't have one,  without works okay too.   The recorder just helps me remember better even if I don't actually listen to the recording after.  

Now the other day I was talking about organic and eco-friendly fabric resources I would use when I start drafting my own patterns.   I forgot something though,  a buddy of mine and myself had been working on a quilt and fabric project site a while ago (the site has to undergo some repairs before we start working on it again mind you) but he'd introduced me to a great online fabric store a while back,  called Fabric.com and I thought I'd go see what their new organic and eco friendly fabric section had to offer.   (I thought I might have seen some better prices but I'm wasn't sure)  Turns out if I order my fabric from them I can get atleast a dollar or more off per yard of material than I can any where else online.   So their eco friendly inventory is every bit a part of their hallmark trait of great fabric deals,  real nice.

Now I just have to be sure to add Fabric.com to my squidoo pages sometime so my readers there can use that great resource as well.   For anyone who might be curious about our above mentioned quilt and fabric project website though here's the link  (mind you it's meant for home sewers and crafters) and we've got our affiliate links to Fabric.com there as well:

http://www.buyfabriconlinehq.com/

As for my patternmaking endeavors,  turns out I won't be able to buy my poster boards to transfer my master blocks until the end of this month,  no problem though,  I am going to make the best use of my time and start typing up my ads I'm going to put up at the Fashion Industry Network,  my blog here and the Sewing Mamas forum.   I just wish I could put up an ad on The Fashion Spot too,  for newbies or something,  that would be cool.   I'm planning to offer a discount patternmaking service as a novice patternmaker.   I'm so excited about it,  I'm shooting for the end of December/beginning of January to launch my ads.   I just have to get my master blocks/basic slopers completed and ready to work with for when I get my client's projects.   I'll try like heck not to let anything get in the way.   I better get done too because my brother is talking about moving out in a while so I've got financial needs to prepare for as well.  

 If you'd like to read more about fashion, information on the industry and online schools check out my site at:
Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources

If you're a designer or home sewer and you'd like to find some cool eco-friendly fabrics and more check out my resource page at:
The Eco-Friendly Fashion Designer's Resource Page



 

I dedicate everything to my mom

This morning as I was laying out my pattern pieces and the fabric pieces I cut from them,  I recieved a call from Manitoba that my mom had suffered a massive heart attack around 8:15 am.   She never made it to the hospital.  

My parents had a sudden divorce several years ago after being together around 31 years, in the end it didn't work out and my mom left to live out on the prairies again.  I was always very close to my mom but this situation seemingly evaporated our active closeness to the point where months would go by,  even a year and she never called.   I had to find her number through a bit of investigation.   The guy she was living with couldn't even keep the phone lines open.

She never even got the chance to see her little grand daughter,  my daughter Salma and her grandson all grown up into a big almost 5 year old boy.   Before she let me know that she was leaving my father,  I had a dream that I had lost her,  she was beside me one minute and was gone the next after telling me she'd meet up with me outside the building to go home.  When I looked for her she wasn't there...in the dream I had the unmistakable feeling that I'd just completely lost her.

And here I was, this morning,  looking over the work I'd started,  after this terrible phone call.   I wouldn't have been into this work,  atleast it wouldn't have been as ingrained in me if it hadn't been for my mom.   She'd take me to the fabric and pattern department in Woodwards department store downtown back in the 80s and we'd be there for hours looking through pattern books and searching for just the right fabric.

She would get a pattern, cut it out,  lay it out on the living room floor and I'd watch her put everything together into a beautiful garment.   I was always facinated by this and wanted to learn the secrets of why the pattern pieces where shaped the way they were.   She'd sew them on her shiny black and gold enameled Singer sewing machine.   As she turned the wheel,  it would sound like a tiny train.   She put me on the path I'm on today.  

She always talked about making the world a better place,  helping both people and animals in whatever way was needed and protecting the environment out of the sincere love for everything that God created.   She talked about these things as long as I can remember.   I loved that about my mom.   I loved that about my mom.  I always wanted to be like her,  but go a step up and be able to make her dreams a reality.   To make an impact,  a growing one, throughout my life so that I leave the world as a better place than when I came into it.  So the world's children and other innocent creatures will be able to face a safer,  brighter future than the one I thought I was facing.

Everything I do in my life,  every success and difference that I am able to make,  I dedicate to my mom.   The beautiful spirit that nourished and cared for the best in me.  I'm setting out to fulfill your dreams mom and try to raise my children to be the way you wanted me to be.  I love you with all my heart.   And I'm sorry for the misunderstanding between us that happened after you left.  

Patternmaking And Pattern Alteration On My Design

I sewed the scalloped neckline facing onto the bodice yesterday.  To all us sewing moms out there, who haven't done this sort of thing yet,  don't do it with a wiggly baby in your lap, it's not going to turn out the way you want it.  Big No No.  However,  here are a few "to do" notes, sew sharp curves very slowly,  think of machine stitching as taking one stitch at a time,  one stitch at a time,  stop and go,  stop and go.

The result will be a smoother stitching line,  greater symmetry.  I also lightly marked my stitching line this time to 'see' better what I was doing (See Below).  I also loosened up the pressure foot tension on my Singer sewing machine,  just wish it could have been lightened up even more,  as the fabric still wasn't as free to move as I would have liked (my make of machine only goes so far though).

I was thinking though,  this type of sewing is why it would be great to actually have a manual sewing machine still.

Once I did the fitting,  I realized it had too much ease,  here a few pictures to show it...

eeek!  too much ease in the pattern

I would need to distribute the ease take up evenly between the side seams,  front and back darts as well as between the bustline and midriff level so as not to through the pattern off balance.  So I took

3/8" from the side seams and 1/8" from each dart which is actually a total of 1" and 3/4" ease take up.  I'll have to take the changes to the midriff band as well.

Here are the results after I made the necessary pattern alterations...

pattern alterations made,  much better fit

Will have to adjust the armscye curves too... what to do about the bias cut sleeve pattern?   I didn't want to have a seam,  but I'll create 3/8" underarm seam without cutting it open.  I'll just clip it at the soft foldline and turn it inside out (as the  bias cut tulip sleeve was cut on a fold to prevent it from having a completely sewn sleeve hem).

If I had the money,  I would have made a muslin out of some organic cotton or something,  like I was supposed to,  totally you know?  But,  I didn't,  and I would also buy some additional fabric to make a new version because this light weight yellow damask fabric is so delicate.

I need proper pressing equipment too!

I was looking at a Calvin Klein collection afterwards though from back in 1991,  that was a good year,  miss those days, Check it out here from Fashion Channel on YouTube:

  

...and it had me thinking.   I may choose a simpler,  clean,  fitted cut for my next portfolio garment design.   After all is said and done, if a 'promotional' project is to ambitious before it has the proper backing (in either knowledge,  skill or finances) it can do more damage in a way, then the good. it will do.  But only in a way.

I've learned a lot though,  still on,  and it felt good to finally produce something from a pattern I drafted on the computer.  In the end,  it wasn't actually my computer drafting that was even the problem.  Everything was fine there,  I just didn't know how to draft that kind of pattern correctly (cropped midriff lingerie style garment)  and which finishing elements would work best for that kind of design.  That's why I'm going to be buying that lingerie book though, "Pattern Cutting for Lingerie, Beachwear and Leisurewear" by Ann Haggar.  I can't wait.

I really should have used a fine hand rolled hem along that scalloped edge,  I was just hoping to get a crisp clean edge with the faced hem,  next time I'll clip the hem allowance and roll it in place along a pre-sewn guideline.  That should work much better.  However,  I think I'd still like to use the facing approach with the neckline because I really like how it "stands" on the neckline,  see below...  I just love that.

So today,  I'm going to hopefully continue work on the skirt portion of this outfit,  that is if I'm able to get a little time.  I've got to take my kids out again to the park,  can't miss that,  especially not on a day like this.


If you'd like to read more about fashion, information on the industry and online schools check out my site at:

Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources

If you're a designer or home sewer and you'd like to find some cool eco-friendly fabrics and more check out my resource page at:

The Eco-Friendly Fashion Designer's Resource Page

What Buttons To Use On My Lemon Tulip Skirt And Other Considerations

Okay,  I'm faced with the decision of which buttons to use on my design.  I don't have that many and don't want to buy anything that isn't eco friendly.  So here are the following options I've got to choose from coming out of my old button can...

I love these buttons,  and there wouldn't actually be a decision to make if I had two more  smaller versions of these buttons,  but I only have two and one large crystal flower button.

I like these marble,  crystal buttons but they're a bit heavy for the fabric and don't quite suite the design or the fabric color.

These metal ball buttons are a little quirky for the design,  but there's something about the combination I like a lot,  can't quite put my finger on it

These buttons match and all,  but they don't add any character to the design and all though they're the right size and weight,  I don't care for them too much.

After all is said and done,  I think I'm going to actually finish the bodice portion of the lemon tulip look before I decide which buttons to use.

I've got to decide how I'm going to go about trimming down the ease for the bodice bands,  however,  and then transfer the changes to the digital pattern.  I'm going to make the digital changes later,  as for the actual fabric pieces with the interfacing sewn in and things,  hmm.  I don't actually want to cut into that.  If I sew a seam down the center I guess that could fix the problem but there'd be a bulk issue and a new seam.  Or,  I could figure the amount to take off the sides,  cut off the necessary amount,  while making sure to include seam allowance. That way I could preserve the center notch.  This means I'll be taking off 5/8" off each side seam of the bodice bands.

After that I'll have to stay stitch the double sided tulip sleeves after taking in 6/8" from the under arm seam I'll have to create.  If I sew this pattern up again,  it won't have that seam though.  I'll be putting in the gathering stitches too and prepare to sew the sleeves into a french seam.   Can't wait to see how the french seam is going to work with the double sided tulip sleeve.  I hope the shape and curve of the sleeve will turn out the way I wanted too.

As for the interior closures for the design,  I'm going to leave it to a couple pairs of hooks and eyes since they'll be out of sight.

Any comments and suggestions about the buttons I should use are welcome,  thanks.

If you'd like to read more about fashion, information on the industry and online schools check out my site at:

Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources

If you're a designer or home sewer and you'd like to find some cool eco-friendly fabrics and more check out my resource page at:

The Eco-Friendly Fashion Designer's Resource Page