Zoe Edwards joins us again! This time, we covered sustainable sewing and lots of things in between. I've asked Zoe to help me while I'm still quite new to sewing, to get a good foundation to a more sustainable sewing practice. From learning how to choose patterns to fit your body so you will get the most wear out of them -always the most sustainable option after not getting or making anything at all- and discussing different fabrics, you’ll learn a lot in this episode!
MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
- How to make clothing fit a) your style, b) your lifestyle, and c) your body
(the blueprint that Zoe often shares with her audience.)
- Your “size” – as far as shop-all sizing goes – means nothing in the sewing arena.
- Think of yourself as a collection of measurements instead of a size. And measure yourself often!
- Once you learn the few alterations techniques you’ll need you’ll master them in no time because you’ll always use the same ones.
- If you have really nice fabric you don’t want to ruin, make a sample garment, or toile, first! It can even be a scaled-back version to save you time (leave out the pockets, for example).
- Discussion about stretch fabrics and sustainability. Also: which fabrics are interchangeable with denim / how to substitute fabrics in patterns.
- There is no such thing as sustainable fabrics! And why.
- GOTS Certification - a strict certification that requires textile companies to produce purely organic fabric, have no chemical runoff, pay fair wages, and more.
LINKS
Sewing Patterns for Bigger Bodies, shared by Zoe:
Cashmerette - https://www.cashmerette.com/collections/cashmerette-patterns
Muna and Broad - https://www.munaandbroad.com/collections/patterns
GOTS Certification - stands for Global Organic Textile Standards, Learn More at https://global-standard.org/
QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE
“Every company has its own “sample size”-- its own set of proportions that they work to. Some of them.. they’re not gunna fit so well to your body and you’re gunna have to do a bit of work to make it fit. So always, always, always measure yourself before you start a new project.” They’re just numbers. They don’t mean anything.
CONNECT WITH ZOE
Her podcast: https://checkyourthread.com/
Her blog: https://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.com/
The first time she was on A Smaller Life: https://www.ja-wol.com/blogs/podcast/34-zoe-edwards-from-the-check-your-thread-podcast-on-me-made-may
About her annual 4-week challenge, Me Made May https://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.com/p/about-me-made-may.html
TRANSCRIPTS & CHAPTER MARKERS
Go HERE to find the podcast in text and scan through and the topics we discuss fast. Or download here. The transcript isn't edited so there might be a few weird words and sentences. When the podcast grows (Become a Patron!) I can pay someone to put some hours into that and make it even more accessible.
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