Tag Archives: eco-conscious

The Eco-Redemption of My Husband’s Pants

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One day my husband strolled in the house after work, and turned his back to me to put something in the sink.

Me: Did you wear those pants all day at work?

Him: (slowly turning) Why?

Me: (coming up behind him and wiggling my cold fingers through the giant tear in his rear end.) Just wondering.

Him: (turning in circles, and reaching around) Oh man. Can you fix it?

He stripped right there in the kitchen and I made the obvious assessment.

Me: No. That tear is shredded, the fibers throughout are worn, and those pants should be thrown out.

Him: I really like these. Can’t you…(waves hands) make something else out of them?

Of course I can. And now I’m looking at my whole closet differently.

The pic above is the original tear. And you can plainly see that the seven inch tear down his backside was not going to be an easy fix. And look at those beltloops…worn past recognition.

He brings a bag to work every day for his lunch, so he needs a few of them. That’s where I started. A simple bag made from his pants.

I used the pant leg hems for the finish at the top. Some simple coordinating straps and I handed him a new bag the next day.

A few days later he was helping me hang a mirror in our son’s room and he strolled past a pillow and stopped in his tracks.

Him: Is that made from my pants?

Of course it was. I ran out of fabric for the back, so I used some coordinating fabric from my stash. A little serged trim and voila! New pillow. That button was salvaged years ago from the flea market where I am inclined to purchase containers of old buttons.

This is all that remains, but I’m saving it. Sometime when I’m watching TV, I’m going to harvest that zipper, and possibly those hooks. All that will be left will be a few shreds.

I’m starting to think about all our old clothes the same way. Fast fashion, as you know, is one of the hugest polluters on the planet. We purchase clothes for a season and off they go to the donation box or just the trash. They’re not constructed to last.

Now, I can’t really say that about my husband’s pants. He’s been known to wear his clothes until they literally turn to dust.

He’s way ahead of his time.

But now I’m re-examining everything in our closets. Doesn’t fit? Hmmm. It matches this thing over here. Polyester? Oooh, that will last 200 years before it breaks down. What can I do with that? Scarlet O’Hara and her drape-y dress have nothing on me. I’ve been giving my old drapes the side eye. (And of course, all I can think of is Carol Burnett coming down those stairs…)

You might be surprised at the inspiration you get from things already in your home. Have a little fun with it.

The Biggest Trend 2020 and Beyond

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If you know me, you know I love to follow the big trends. What’s happening in the world that can affect our daily lives and the sewing world? What’s changing? What’s new?

It’s always a good question to ask at the beginning of a year, but even a better one at the beginning of a decade.

I pay attention to the research all the time, but it’s grown louder and the number one trend of the future is simple:

Sustainability

This is a BIG category. And it can mean anything from recycling to eating less meat to driving a hybrid or an electric car to purchasing organic to turning down the heat in your home.

One of the trend-watching groups I monitor says that we have moved from eco-aware to eco-shaming. I thought this was significant. They did not break this down by age groups and I suspect that’s pretty important. I do not hear as many Boomers worked up about their SUV’s as I see young people who don’t really want to even learn to drive. The kids do, but only because it’s a necessity. And they almost certainly don’t want to have the burden of owning cars.

Like everything, that’s a generalization.

But, like it or not, it is reality. Humans need to be sustainable in everything. And we’re not. Not by a long shot.

If you understand anything about Climate Change, it’s this: Fossil fuels need to stay in the ground. You’ve seen the folks out there protesting – #KeepItInTheGround . That’s the biggest impact possible and the reason the Earth is warming. This is not my opinion. It’s backed up by research from every possible sector of science. Except, of course, the fossil fuel industry. (Even they are making changes. When Tom Skilling asked the CEO of Shell Oil “What is the future of Shell Oil?” he responded, “Not oil.” They are busy doing R and D on longer-lasting, more efficient batteries.) Just know that it took thousands of years for those fossil fuels to form in the Earth and burning so much of it in a matter of decades simply does not give the planet the chance to self-correct. And I assure you, the planet is self-correcting. But we’ve over-burdened it. And we have the technology to change, but not necessarily the political or financial will to fix things.

Tangential to that is the rest of the idea of sustainablity which might affect sewists in a more direct way. I wrote a blog about organic cotton right here.

Every aspect of our modern way of living is up for improvement.

What’s that ancient Chinese curse?

May you live in interesting times.

We certainly do. We can and must do better than we are doing now. I have made a pledge to myself to purchase only organic cotton in the future. But, you may argue, the cotton is only half the story. What about the processing? What about the dyes? To that I answer: GOTS certified organic cotton (Global Organic Textile Standard). They are doing the work of research for all of us.

We can no longer deny our place on the planet and our impact on it. Individual activity will almost certainly NOT solve the whole problem. We must work together within and across nations for the benefit of ourselves and others.

That is a challenge sewists can understand.