Living Without Fast Fashion: Why Do Brands Send You So Many Emails?

Jess1 Comment

It’s a grey, rainy morning in Surrey and I am sat at my desk deleting emails. I know, what a riveting start to a blog post. Since I gave up fast fashion I’ve got to find something to do with my time! The emails I’m deleting are the endless missives from desperate brands with eternal sales trying to make me buy their clothes. I hate to say it but in my weaker moments these emails work on me. I have to delete them without reading them because otherwise I will be knee deep in the French Connection sale before you can say ‘fast fashion’. The emails are a problem, particulary the frequency, but they are not the root, they are entirely symptomatic of the way we consume fashion.

I would argue that in a lot of ways purchasing has been reduced down to pure impulse. Very rarely do we consider what we already own or if we will even wear it, we just get tempting offers with bright ‘girl power’ slogans fired straight into our inbox telling us to treat ourselves. Due to advances in online shopping technology, its entirely possible to go from receiving an email to buying a garment within 5 minutes all on your phone. Of course you can unsubcribe, but often its not about not wanting to receive the emails, its more than most of us don’t even think about them.

What I’ve realised since making a concrete effort to renounce fast fashion is that, the email isn’t just an email. The email gives you permission to browse, it gives you the justification, ‘but there’s a sale on’ or ‘I’ll just look at the new collection’ and then before you know it you’re buying an entire winter wardrobe. It’s often not even about resisting the emails, its about becoming conscious of them and their purpose. It’s absolutely fine if you want to receive the emails and actually use them as a purchasing tool, you do you! But if you are trying not to consume then unsubscribing is the first step and as I do want to give up fast fashion and absolutely refused to be beset by fast fashion brands in my own home, unsubscribing is what I shall be doing.

As I’ve told people about my commitment to give up fast fashion, I’ve had some supportive reactions and some of genuine confusion. Let me get one thing straight, I love shopping and my friends know that. I actually find it relaxing although occasionally irritating when you can’t find jeans that would fit an average human female under 5’4″ with hip bones. Crucially though I like shopping in person, I don’t often buy clothes online and if I do I often regret it. My number one reason for online shopping pre-lockdown was for occasion wear. I’m definitely not an ASOS haul person. It feels dedicant and wasteful to buy that much online without even trying it on and to be honest it feels desperate. Shopping for me is an experience. It’s going out with my mum or my friends, it’s physically going into shops, touching clothes for quality, trying on new things and going out for lunch. Its an occasion. That’s most likely why I find these emails so jarring, they don’t fit with my experience of shopping. For me its not about convenience, if I go for a shopping trip the trip itself is an integral part of the experience. In a lot of ways it makes it easier, if I don’t go into shops, I wont shop, simple.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I am approaching giving up fast fashion as I would with a major life change, holistically. From figuring out my what my own style looks like to literally not budgeting in shopping money, I’m trying to find the ways that fast fashion has permeated my life and how I can make the shift. Removing myself from as many subscription lists are possible is my first prong of attack. As these emails do work on me, its vital that trigger to consume is removed. So here’s my first piece of advice if you’re trying to give up fashion as well, if you’re looking to start giving up fast fashion, start by unsubscribing from your favourite brands. It doesn’t matter if you love them, you can always visit the website of your own volition but remove the email trigger. It’s the same premise as stopping a snack habit by just not buying snacks.

Instead I am directing that urge towards buying fabric and then imposing a fabric limit. I bought a lot at once and now I have a couple of months worth of projects to work on. I am going to celebrate every make and ensure that come September I start making things appropriate to the season so I don’t have to go out and buy a winter wardrobe, another weak point of mine in the shopping calendar.

So after my marathon session of unsubscribing I’m going to make a cup of tea and start some sewing. I’ve got a massive project coming up and I can’t wait to get started. Build that excitement over every make the same way you do for a big purchase. The release is the same you’ve just got to train your brain and remember that no one, no one else will have what you’re wearing if its me-made. See I think that giving up buying fast fashion clothes is the easy part, disengaging with fast fashion culture? Now thats the hard bit.

Fabric Friday Reviews: Pound Fabrics

Jess1 Comment

Happy Friday everybody and you know what Friday means, it’s review day! Today we are talking about Pound Fabrics, a retailer absolutely renowned in their for their low prices and high fabric quality. I stumbled upon Pound Fabrics by accident on instagram and decided to explore their website, where I bought the beautiful red cotton shown above.

Pound Fabrics

  • Online Shop / Physical Shop / Both
  • Web Link: https://poundfabrics.co.uk/
  • Core Purpose: Dressmaking & Home Fabrics and Patterns
  • Units of Sale for Fabric: 1metre (N.B. minimum 3m order)

Initially I was unsure about Pound Fabrics as their prices are very low and I absolutely hate anywhere that makes me have a minimum order, that is a personal bias of mine, but its worth knowing as a consumer that Pound Fabrics will require a 3 metre minimum order for the vast majority of their fabrics. I’m always honest in these reviews and initially this put me off however then I looked into their about section to understand why. The original purpose of Pound Fabrics was to provide a cheap dressmaking fabric outlet, an online pound fabric shop, as they recognised that sewing and dressmaking has the power to be an exceptionally expensive hobby. Originally they sold all their fabric as £1 per metre with a 3 metre minimum so you could get 3 metres for less than one metre at most other shops. They have now widened their selection to include some higher priced ranges but the £1 section is still there and thriving.

They also have a bundles section where you can buy mystery 15 metre fabric bundles in lots of different types of fabrics, e.g. stretch bundle, viscose bundle etc. This is something I really want to try in the future, I would do it now but I’m in a self-imposed fabric embargo period as I’ve bought too much fabric and I need to get through it first! It may end up being something I do as a birthday present to myself in the Winter.

The website is simple and the branding may not be very elegant but it gets the job done and the interface is very user friendly. I have to say a word about the mobile shopping interface which is quite frankly fantastic. There are no fussy membership requests, you can choose your fabric and buy it within minutes. I do always try and test mobile and desktop interfaces and I would argue that their payment system is better on the phone but actually viewing fabric is a lot easier on a computer. The delivery from Pound Fabrics was extremely slow however as I’ve said on other reviews, don’t pay too much attention to that as we are very much still in the grip of a coronavirus pandemic and therefore post is obviously goig to be slower and they do warn you of that on the website clearly.

One thing that is genuinely really impressive is their range of fabrics, you can get almost any type of fabric at a mostly reasonable cost. My one quibble would be that the red cotton I bought wasn’t fantastic quality and the photograph of the fabric gave a false impression of the size of the pattern however as I only bought one type of fabric from them I can’t pass judgement over all of their stock. This was my experience and I will definitely try them again in future but maybe for different fabric types such as stretch and jersey. From my own experience, I would advise to shop with caution when it comes to photography of the fabrics to make sure you are getting what you ordered.

Rating

  • Range of Fabrics – 10/10
  • Cost – 9/10
  • Delivery (Speed / Cost) – 6/10
  • Ease of Use – 7/10
  • Ease of Payment – 7/10

Overall Score: 7.8 / 10

The thing is that I believe in the Pound Fabrics dream, I do. I want to believe in the low cost/high quality idea but the evience so far to me is that the quality doesn’t quite match that ratio. Don’t get me wrong its still good fabric and it is very affordable so it is fulfilling the mission statement but I would rather pay slightly more for better quality cotton. After all, one of the joys of making your own clothes is revelling in the luxury of choosing the perfect fabric for the perfect pattern and making it fit you. However I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and I will buy from them in future because I want to explore their range of fabrics for quality and cost. So the fat lady has not yet truly sung in this review, I will review again in the future and I will buy some wools, jerseys and winter fabrics and do another quality test.

Thanks for joining me for another Friday review! Next week we will be talking about beautiful viscose from Sew Sew Sew and gorgeous personalised delivery.

Sewing Machine Review: John Lewis JL110SE

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Last Thursday my beautiful shiny new sewing machine arrived and I had to confront reality. While I had been looking forward to the new garments I would explore with a more advanced machine, I did have a pang of nostalgia when I looked over at my little red sewing machine. Sat next to the almost Sci-Fi sequence frontage of my new machine, it was like looking at a horse and cart next to the Starship Enterprise. Now I wouldn’t say that I regret buying my new machine for one second. No the feeling is more like leaving junior school and starting senior school. It’s not a bad change, its a natural advance but there is still a sense of saying goodbye and it has to be said that I got a little weepy when I boxed up my old red John Lewis model. When I considered how best to process these feelings I hit upon the idea of reviewing the machine I’ve spent so long getting to know. My aim is to provide an honest and hopefully even-handed review highlighting both the positive aspects but also the little irritating things I noticed as a long time user and why I am looking to upgrade.

The first time I saw the red John Lewis JL110SE was in Buchanan Galleries, a huge shopping centre in central Glasgow. My mum had been teaching me to sew at home and I was really starting to enjoy it, to love and be intrigued by sewing. I saw that little red machine and fell totally in love. Next to all the big grown up white machines it looked fun and quirky and friendly. Sewing can be an extremely intimidating world as a beginner, to start with there is a whole language barrier of terms and techniques plus fabrics, patterns and notions the facts that all seem achingly complicated. You look at your ready to wear clothes baffled as to how a person could have actually constructed the grment from scratch. I think that’s why I have such a sense of nostalgia with this machine, I received it for Christmas in 2016 and I basically taught myself to sew with it. It was my friend, albeit one I shouted at a lot and swore at occasionally when my bobbin had run out and I hadn’t noticed. Above all it the was a fantastic machine to learn on as a beginner and that really is where I have to start this review. The JL110SE is the perfect machine for beginners because you can pick it up and start sewing straight away with minimal experience. My machine didn’t even come with a manual and I could still set it up fairly easily. Now that’s not to say that this machine is without its flaws but simple, affordable and easy to use, this machine is the perfect companion for your first forays into sewing.

John Lewis JL110SE

  • Open Front Machine
  • Machine Top / Bobbin Wind
  • Stitch Selector
  • Bobbin Mechanism
  • Stitch Options
  • Power and Needle Lower
  • Weight 6kg
  • 14 Stitch Options
  • Twin Needle can be used but it doesn’t come with one.
  • Special Edition comes in lots of different colours
  • Comes With: standard and buttonhole foot, seam ripper, spare bobbins and spare needles.

Top 4 Things About This Machine

1. Price

In terms of beginner sewing machines, you really can’t beat this model for price. When I first got mine in 2016, the standard white JL110 was £89 and the special edition was slightly more ( I think £99?) now in 2020 the price has risen to £120 but that is standard across JL110 and JL110SE. A price rise of only £31 in four years is not bad. John Lewis are actively trying to keep this machine accessible for beginners which is to their credit.

2. Reliability

Honestly in 4 years I’ve not encountered a single fault in the machine or encountered any problems that weren’t actually my fault to begin with. I think of mine as old faithful because it just keeps going. If sewing machines were animals this one would be a cart horse. Just plodding along and doing its job for as long as you need it. I would recommend this machine based on its reliability if nothing else.

3. Very Simple & Easy To Use

There are so few options on this machine that it is almost impossible to set it up wrong. The set-up arrows are numbered, there are two dials, one to select your stitch and one to alter stitch length, there is a tab to backstitch and a stitch tension dial with the standard tension settings ringed in a box. Thats it. The bobbin mechanism is simple; to fill you place the bobbin on the winder on top and slide it to the left and use the pedal as standard. Then you place the bobbin in the metal case underneath, pull the thread through and away you go. One of the joys of this machine is that it is so simple and has nothing extra that very little can go wrong.

4. Stitch Selection Is Surprisingly Good

There aren’t too many stitch options, only 14, which is nice because 60+ stitch options can be very intimidating as a beginner and honestly you don’t need them. Even as an advanced sewist you don’t need most of those stitches but as a beginner it can be absolutely baffling. One of the functions I like about this machine is the sliding scale for zig zag stitches and the variety of basic embroidery stitches. So if you want to start experimenting with decorative stitching you have that option but equally the main range of stitches are solid and simple to understand.

Overall this machine is simple to set up, easy to use, affordable and as there’s very little extra functionality there’s very little to go wrong, it really is the perfect beginner machine.

Why Am I Upgrading?

The machine can’t handle heavy fabrics

This isn’t the fault of the machine, it clearly states on the website that this machine is designed for light to medium weight fabric and now I need to be able to do thicker fabrics like denims, tweeds, wool and coating for the autumn so I need a machine that can handle it. This machine just doesn’t have the weight or the power in the motor to get through thicker fabrics but thats okay because its not meant to! It is however one of the top reasons that I have chosen to upgrade.

The 3 Step Buttonhole is genuinely infuriating

Cards on the table, I’m not a fan of buttonholes and this machine doesn’t do anything to help. Put it this way, one of my big priorities with a new machine was a 1-step buttonhole. On the JL110SE Option 1 is meant to be the left hand side of your buttonhole, its a straight forward stitch that you can reverse, Options 2&4 are bar tacks for the top and bottom of the buttonhole, all good so far, its Option 3 that is my greatest bug bear. Option 3 is a backward stitch for the right hand side of your buttonhole. Here’s the thing though, IT ONLY GOES BACKWARDS. If you try to reverse it with the backstitch tab it still only goes backwards and that is honestly infuriating. There is no world in which you dont need to go over your stitches a few times for a buttonhole so why oh why does this function exist? Can you tell this has been on my mind for a while…!

Bobbin thread catch is really unreliable

The bobbin thread sometimes catches absolutely fine but sometimes it takes over 5 minutes to get the bobbin thread to catch when I replace the thread in the bobbin that has started to irritate me somewhat. This is a little thing but it has started to frustrate me alot because I have to spend a long time staring into my machine and it stops me sewing.

You can’t get into the machine if you do need to make repairs or defluff

I didn’t need to do this until recently but it is a valid point. Its extremely difficult to get into this machine to make repairs or clean it. You would need to pay to get it properly surfaced when all you really need is to get into the workings with an old toothbrush and your machine will be good as new. Although of course it is a beginners machine i do feel that this is a little short-sighted and the cynic in me says its because John Lewis want you to pay them to service it for you.

Pedal and power cable connect on the same lead which makes it hard to set up the machine unless you are the perfect distance from power.

This is a moan for me because I live in a house where the power points were located by a complete idiot. We have loads of plug sockets but they are all in moronic places so this was a problem for me. The fact that the pedal and plug come out of the same lead means that I’ve had a few issues on finding somewhere that my machine can actually get power and I can use the pedal.

Overall I need the ability to do heavier weight fabrics and to move on with my sewing. This is at the end of the day a beginner’s machine and I think when you start to notice flaws like this and start to have a preference on mechanism and functionality then you need to upgrade because you’re not a learner anymore. You might still have green P plates on but you’ve passed into intermediate and need a machine that can keep up.

Does It Stand The Test Of Time?

Yes it does. This little machine is a great companion for your first forays into sewing because so little can go wrong and its just so simple and easy. It will allow you to learn about sewing and crucially to learn how you sew and what you need. When I first started to work on projects that my machine struggled with, I told myself that I wasn’t allowed to upgrade until I actually understood what I needed from a machine. This machine allows you to learn, you can’t become reliant on automatic functions because it doesn’t have any and it makes you a better sewist as a result. The JL110SE may be thoroughly out classed by my new machine but it will always have a special place in my heart as my first sewing machine.

Fabric Friday Reviews: Rainbow Fabrics Kilburn

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Welcome to this week’s online fabric shop review and it had to be Rainbow Fabrics Kilburn. If I’m honest I’d never heard of Rainbow Fabrics until a fellow maker posted about the sale in their Instagram story. Her selection of fabrics piqued my interest so I went to have a nose about the website. 20 minutes later and I had bought nearly 12 metres of fabric and had zero regrets. I love Rainbow Fabrics Kilburn, I won’t make any bones about it, what I will still try to do is maintain an air of detachment to give you a balanced review. So, on to the specs!

Rainbow Fabrics Kilburn

  • Online Shop / Physical Shop / Both
  • Web Link: https://www.rainbowfabrics.co.uk
  • Core Purpose: Dressmaking Fabrics and Haberdashery
  • Units of Sale for Fabric: 1 metre

Rainbow Fabrics have a bricks and mortar shop in Kilburn as well as an excellent online outlet. The choice of fabrics is superb, not only do they carry a wide range of fabrics but they also carry designer deadstock and their sale is second to none. I bought a beautiful selection of fabrics from here in the sale as a tester order and I was incredibly really impressed by the fabric quality. They sell their fabrics by the metre which I prefer because I find it easier to work out the cost of my projects.

The delivery is a standard fee of £3-£4 depending on speed with free shipping over £40. The delivery was quite slow for both of my orders however I can’t say if that is standard due to the current Covid-19 situation so I will have to do an order when things have got back to normal to compare. The cost of fabric and the range more than make up for the speed. The payment interface is easy and there are no fussy steps to create an account, just straight into buying fabric. Honestly the only downside to Rainbow Fabrics is that the website is super clunky on a computer. So much so that I have actually placed all my orders so far on my phone/tablet because the mobile version works much more smoothly. That being said they have a great instagram presence and a really friendly team.

Rating

  • Range of Fabrics – 9/10
  • Cost – 9/10
  • Delivery (Speed / Cost) – 8/10
  • Ease of Use – 6/10
  • Ease of Payment – 8/10

Overall Score: 8/10

Rainbow fabrics is by far the most affordable fabric shop I use and I would throughly recommend it to beginners who don’t have much to spend on fabric or who are concerned about spending alot on a project they may mess up the first time. It may not sound great but it seriously is something to consider as a beginner. You will have to unpick things, you will mess up and that is fine, its all part of the process but it definitely feels worse if you’ve spent upwards of £50 on fabric. I used the rainbow fabrics sale to buy fabrics I’d never used before like chiffon that was £1 per metre or viscose crepe that was around £3 a metre. These are fabrics I’ve always wanted to sew couldn’t afford to mess up with and Rainbow gives you the options. Yes there are some stunning expensive fabrics on there but there are also some great quality and beautiful looking cheaper fabrics that make it the perfect one-stop shop for beginner dressmakers.

Box Pleat Skirts – What I’ve Learnt In A Year

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Back in April 2019, after four years of living in the south, I found my self missing my sewing machine more than I can explain. With a stressful job and a long commute I felt I was lacking my own mental space. I needed a calming outlet for my stress and something constructive I could do at home. After long discussions with my partner about my stress levels and how we could manage them, we decided it was time to get my sewing machine sent down from Scotland. I had previously thought that this would be impractical and expensive but my mum, presumably glad to get some more space in the new house, happily complied and sent me not only my machine but the rest of my equipment and my sewing books as well.

As to why I didn’t do this much earlier, up to the summer of 2018 my partner and I had lived in shared houses and as we all know, sewing machines are not exactly quiet and I didn’t think it would be fair on my housemates. Fast forward then to April 2019, I had 10 days of leave booked, my sewing machine was ready to go, all I had to do was pick a pattern. And I picked this! A box-pleat skirt from one of the Sewing Bee pattern books. It took me a few weeks because I really wanted to take my time and get it right but on the 19th May 2019 I finally finished my first entirely me-made garment. There are definitely a few things I could have done better but it’s precious to me and despite its flaws I wear it all the time. It’s a work-appropriate length and incredibly light plus the shape given by the box-pleats means the skirt doesn’t flip up in the wind – what’s not to love?

I feel like my sewing has improved a lot since that first make, well I hope it has, but I wanted to do an experiment to measure the difference. To see just how much I have learnt in the last year and a bit. Initially I wondered about aiming for a really complex make to show how far I’ve come but I wanted a direct comparison and I didn’t think just making a more advanced garment would provide that. Instead I decided the best way would be to make the same skirt again and observe the differences. I dug out the pattern again and I chose to make the skirt out of a lightweight navy blue gingham from Rainbow Fabrics Kilburn. The fabric has a good amount of structure to it and it’s opaque while still letting some light through. The big thing I’ve learnt about gingham is that it frays incredibly easily so I used my pinking shears quite a bit and tried to use lots of enclosed seams.

Today’s blog is not going to be a ‘how-to’, instead I want to reflect on the changes in the garment and how I felt making it. I’m going to start with material changes in the garment and move on to the overal changes in how I felt making it.

Material / Physical Changes

I’m so much quicker at cutting and stitching.

This is a big one for me. I remember just pinning the pattern took me about half an hour the first time and cutting it out took even longer. That was because I was so scared to make a single wrong incision, terrfiyed it would ruin the garment from the outset. This time I had this ironed, pinned, cut out and ready to go within 30 minutes. It has to be said I also have much better scissors than I did a year ago but also I’m used to cutting fabric now and in particular I’m used to cutting on carpet which was a challenge for me when I started sewing in this house. The next big step for me will be a cutting mat and a rotary cutter to help me use my slippier fabrics to better effect as I refuse to use my scissors on chiffon.

My pleats are so much neater now.

I mean come on look at those, those box pleats are beautiful if I do say so myself! My first ones are fine, there’s nothing particularly wrong with them but these are gorgeously sharp. Honestly after I had stitched them I just sat and stared at them for a bit because I was so proud.

The lapped zip is actually a lapped zip this time!

Right so it’s still not perfect but its a sight better than last time. The zip is actually covered this time. I wanted to use a shorter zip because I felt the last one was too long but sadly I went too short this time and it requires a bit of a wiggle to put it on. Maybe I’ll make another one in a years time and I’ll finally get the zip completely perfect.

General Changes

I care much less about pattern instructions.

This sounds awful but its true. I promise I do read the pattern instructions but I definitely read them less or perhaps a better way to say this is that I am less worried by the instructions. If it’s a new pattern then of course I will sit down and properly read the instructions before I start just to get the shape of pattern journey in my head. However when I first started I was almost terrified of making micro mistakes or missing anything in the pattern but its because I really didn’t know what I was doing when I started. Now I have a better understanding of sewing techniques and of garment construction, I don’t worry as much about the instructions. Making this skirt is incredibly simple anyway and I didn’t look at the book until it got to the lapped zip stage and then I gave the book a very close reading! Otherwise the next steps of the pattern just seem clear and make sense now and you know what? It feels good. I feel like I have matured into someone who osn’t just following instructions but actually understands what I am doing and that feels like an achievement.

The whole process is much more fun.

The first time I made this skirt, it was pretty much dead silence in my living room, I was really scared that I would make a mistake and wanted my full concentration. Honestly, it was tense! Now I’ve loosened up and that comes down to experience. I know what I’m doing, I can trust my judgement and relax into the rhythm of sewing. I put netflix on or a good radio crime drama and I’ll happily sit and sew for the rest of the day. Making this skirt a second time I was able to revel in the process a lot more. To congratulate myself for little successes like my zip or my frankly knife sharp box pleats. I was able to identify, celebrate and own my successes as micro sewing achievements while recognising that of course I still have a long way to go. I was also able to trust my judgement which enables me to relax and go with the process. Observing what I do, correcting errors before they become mistakes and laughing at any mistakes I make.

What the second make of this skirt taught me is that not only am I technically a better dressmaker than I was 15 months ago but that I am more mature as a person. I am able to laugh at myself, trust my judgement and grow through every garment I make measuring against no one’s standards but my own.

Fabric Friday Reviews: Fabrics Galore

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Good afternoon everybody and welcome to a new, and hopefully useful, series for the blog. I know what it’s like when you start sewing from home, you’re desperate to get going but you have no idea where to get your fabric from. If you are very lucky you may live somewhere with a haberdashery or proper fabric shop that you can visit in person but the reality is that the vast majority of us need to use online retailers. The good news is that the supply has increased to match demand and now there are hundreds of fantastic fabric shops and pattern companies of all shapes and sizes online waiting for you to visit them and buy the fabric of your dreams. This is excellent news for experienced sewists and those who know what they are looking for, however, for beginners this can make it even more daunting.

Thats where this series comes in. I’ve been making myself a list for the past few weeks of fabric shops I use and ones I want to try. I’m trying to diversify the fabrics I buy and where I buy them from and I’m inviting you to come on this journey with me. I will be waiting all shops on the same criteria and trying to provide fair and balanced reviews to give you a maker’s perspective.

Fabrics Galore

  • Online Shop / Physical Shop / Both
  • Web Link: https://www.fabricsgalore.co.uk
  • Core Purpose: Dress Making & Home Furnishing Fabrics
  • Units of Sale for Fabric: 1/2 metre

First up we have a long time favourite of mine, Fabrics Galore. Their bricks and mortar shop is in Lavender Hill in South London but they have a very good website with a fairly wide choice of fabrics. A particular strength of Fabrics Galore is that they have a wide range of fabric types even if there aren’t that many in some categories. I have found them particularly good for high-quality cotton with a good range of brushed cottons. I made some awesome pyjamas from their brushed cotton last year, I’m going to make some more for Christmas this year so I’ll make sure to do a blog post on it. They don’t sell notions or zips or buttons, they are only for fabric but I have found their fabric selection does compensate for this.

The delivery costs are fairly standard, £3.50 per order, and delivery times outside of Covid are fairly quick. There is no minimum fabric order which is good. Fabric is bought by the half metre. I find the prices a little high but not bad compared to some other retailers, there are a few affordable options as well as some more expensive options, the average price is £7 per half metre. The website interface is clear and easy to use with a standard payment system.

Their only weakness? Sometimes the photo colouring isn’t entirely accurate and I’ve definitely had a few fabrics arrive looking a bit different to the photo but not enough to matter drastically except on one occasion. The only way I would improve their site is that I would like a small description of the fabric including colourways.

Rating

  • Range of Fabrics – 7/10
  • Cost – 6/10
  • Delivery (Speed / Cost) – 8/10
  • Ease of Use – 7/10
  • Ease of Payment – 7/10

Overall Score: 7/10

Fabrics Galore are a good solid choice. They will provide the majority of what you need as a beginner sewist in a timely manner with a consistently high quality of fabric.

Sewing Project: Shell Top / My First Forays Into Viscose

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Hello lovely people, I hope you have had a wonderful weekend so far. Yesterday I hit 300 followers on my Instagram in just under four weeks! If you follow me on Instagram then, thank you! If you don’t then look me up @sowhatifisew . Anyway, on to this weekend’s challenge. As I had hit a little milestone and it was a miserable rainy day, we put a new series on Netflix and I decided to do a one-day sew. After my six month long dress project I needed a little palette cleanser so this project was ideal.

Last week I received a fabric haul from one of my favourite suppliers. They had a massive sale on so I went on a small fabric buying binge and I bought some beautiful fabrics. Not only that but I bought fabrics I was either nervous about using or had never used before. One of those was Viscose. As per usual when I work with a new fabric I spoke to my mum to check if there was a thing special I needed to do and she said that I didn’t need to use anything special but to mind out as the fabric can be slippery. I definitely found this to be the case. Once I got it into the sewing machine it sewed absolutely beautiful but oh my goodness I think I used about a million pins when I was attached the facing as it slips and stretches so easily. I will explain more as we go along but viscose definitely isn’t as scary as I thought it would be.

For this challenge I chose a simple shell top from the British Sewing Bee and used my gorgeous yellow floral viscose from Rainbow Fabrics Kilburn. This fabric has the most stunning drape and although it wasn’t a recommended fabric for this pattern I found that it worked very well. I’m glad that I chose a simple-ish pattern because as I have mentioned above, viscose is tricky to work with and I needed the simplicity to allow me to truly get to grips with the fabric. Also I realised recently that my wardrobe is pretty woeful in terms of tops and this pattern fits me really well so you may see a few more of these creeping into my DIY wardrobe.

Working with viscose is different from step one. Viscose is a little easier to work with if you iron it first so that’s what I did. Easier in comparison to what I shudder to think. When laying it out to be cut I had to enlist my partner, we took an end each, arched them up and laid the fabric down incredibly carefully. It was so slippery that I couldn’t actually manage to do it on my own and I wanted an even cut. Next time I use viscose I will cut with a rotary cutter because you get too much stretch in the fabric with scissors.

First Steps

The first step of this pattern was stay stitching the necklines. Now generally I’m not great at remembering to staystitch but I always do necklines and I’m extremely glad I did in this case. There was a fair amount of stretch in the fabric so I was very careful working with it and used a lot of pins. On that note, I was so impressed with my darts on this top. They are the best darts I’ve ever done and sit really well on my bust when I wear the top. Then it’s a simple stitch together at the shoulder seams.

Facings & Interfacing

I had a problem here as I thought I had lightweight interfacing but I only had medium weight so instead I cut double of the facings from the fabric and stitched them together to stiffen the structure without having to use interfacing. This has worked very well in terms of structure but is a touch bulky. If I was doing it again, I would snip the seams down a little bit more.

The step that confused me the most was pulling the top through the facings once they were stitched. It was incredibly simple in actual fact but it looked impossible. The trick is to feed the back pieces through to the front and then voila! Remember to give it a good press.

Then it’s a case of side and back seams and a hem! I used a hook and eye for the back fastening rather than a rouleau loop and button because I find them easier to use and I couldn’t find a button in the house that felt right for the garment. Then you’re done! It was a full day sew, 10am – 5pm, because viscose takes care and patience and the way I did the facings takes a little more time.

Here is the finished garment! This is a firm favourite and I’m going to make a few of them I think as they are perfect for work and home. I love the pattern so I will definitely make a few more and as they don’t take much fabric I might even be able to get a few more out of my fabric remnants box. Today we are having a friend over for a socially distanced lunch and then Adam and I will watch TV and I’ll do some more mask sewing for my grandparents.

Why I’m Giving Up Fast Fashion

Jess2 Comments

After an incredibly nervous start and a desperate brainstorming session for a name, the So What If I Sew blog came into being on 28th June 2020. After one month of blogging and instagram-ing I can safely say that I’ve never made a better decision. I had no idea how big and friendly the sewing community is online, everyday I’ve been met with nothing but kindness and enthusiasm. Whats more this community is inspiring, I have seen so many new pattern companies and fabric shops, I have connected with so many makers who, just like me, are sat stitching away in a corner of their living room. I have found a world of perfectly imperfect sewing and I love it. I no longer feel stupid for not getting a technique right or understanding a pattern step because I know there are hundreds of people like me out there who are doing the same. All I need to do is post a story asking how to do something and I will get a hundred replies with advice or expressing similar frsutrations. I truly feel like I have found my online tribe and for that I am truly grateful.

There is something else about the online community that has really inspired me and thats how many eco-conscious makers there are out there aiming for an entirely self-made wardrobe. I love watching tutorials on how to make basic things from comfy t-shirts, to upcycling, all the way up to making technical clothing like raincoats. Furthermore its inspired me to make a decision, a pretty significant decision for, I’m going to give up fast fashion completely.

When I first told my family I expected some disbelief as I am a champion shopper. I love shopping and find it really relaxing however I am serious about this. Its the single biggest contribution I can make to the climate. The fashion industry produces 92 million tonnes of waste a year* and makes up for 10% of humanities carbon emissions**. Equally I want to make my contribution to saving the planet. Due to various medical conditions and allergies I am unable to become vegetarian or vegan (plus I really don’t want to be) so the best contribution I can make is to give up fast fashion.

What’s more the fashion industry is literally complicit in modern slavery. The rates of pay are lower than any human being could reasonably live on and the working conditions are appalling with no regard for staff safety or welfare. Famously, back in 2013 the Dhaka garment factory collapsed exposing just how bad conditions were for staff. The structural failure left 1,134 dead and is regarded as the deadliest garment disaster in history. Despite the protestations of major brands, recent scandals such as Boohoo’s garment workers in Leiceister being forced to go to work even with Covid-19 and working for less than half of minimum wage illustrate that this is still going on in the industry. Although I adore shopping, I can no longer standby and be complicit in a system that I find so abhorrent.

So, how am I going to do it? I want to make this change in the same way as one would approach a successful diet, it needs to be a lasting lifestyle shift rather than just forbidding shopping. It needs to be a manageable change. I’m aiming first of all for a six month trial period, so I will buy no clothing whatsoever for the rest of this year. (If anyone has any good underwear patterns, let me know!) The only things I am allowed to buy if necessary as socks, shoes, things I can’t physically make. Then in the new year I am going to make the shift to finding more sustainable fabrics and using more deadstock, currently I cant afford to make this shift but hopefully with lots of savings from working at home and not commuting I will be able to make the change in the new year to truly move to sustainable fashion.

I’m excited to see what I will make over the next six months and I can’t wait to sew with winter fabrics. I have never made anything winter appropriate or cosy so this will be a great test of my skills. To celebrate the blog, the instagram and this fairly momentous decision I though I might need a little something extra to help me on my way. After six months of saving and waiting and doing my research I finally bought a new sewing machine. Its the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought and I saved for it myself. I was so proud that I even got slightly teary when entering my payment details on the website. I have pre-ordered my machine for August and I will do a proper post about it when it arrives. For the moment I can reveal that I will shortly own the brand new 2020 model of the Singer Starlet 6680! I can’t wait to go on this journey towards sustainable fashion with my new machine.

All that remains to say is thank you. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on my sewing journey, who has followed the blog, who has liked a post or followed me on Instagram. Thank you to everyone who comments, who passes on their knowledge and who makes the online sewing community such a joyful place. You have all been wonderful and I can’t wait to see where this blog, my sewing and my me made wardrobe are in a year’s time.

*2018 Pulse of Fashion Report, Global Fashion Agenda

** https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-2019-10?r=US&IR=T#a-lot-of-this-clothing-ends-up-in-the-dump-the-equivalent-of-one-garbage-truck-full-of-clothes-is-burned-or-dumped-in-a-landfill-every-second-5

Sewing Project: Shirt Dress Pt. 3 – It’s finally done!

Jess3 Comments

Its finally finished! I am beyond proud of this dress, its the most complex thing I’ve ever made. It contains my first collar, my first buttonholes, my first self-adapted/self-drafted bodice pattern. I actually finished this dress exactly a week ago but I’ve held back on writing this post because I wanted to reflect on this make properly. I’m not going to tell you how I did the buttonholes because honestly I’m not sure how I did them and they didn’t go as well as I would have liked however i started at the bottom of the dress and worked up so the ones at the top which are the most visible are also the neatest. Plus its black thread on a black dress so its okay, not super noticeable, and I just straight hemmed the sleeves, nothing tough about that really. No this post is definitely not a how-to or a sew along, this post I want to reflect on this garment and what I’ve learnt from doing it.

Pattern Fit

Firstly I have A LOT to learn about fit but actually, for the first pattern I’ve ever adapted the fit is fairly good. I think my main mistake was that I forgot just how much I had had to enlarge the darts on the bust and waist and forgot to adapt the arm holes accordingly so the arms are a little snug. However, I can still move my arms properly and the buttons don’t pull open when I do which is a pretty massive improvement on my current relationship with fitted shirts. Equally I could have done with shortening the back piece a little aas the waist on the front hits perfectly because I put aloot of work into personalising the measurements however I did not do the same with the back piece. I now realise that what I should have done was to enlarge the back darts to ensure the waist fit was more snug and potentially I should have shortened the pattern piece as I have quite a neat back.

However, the main aim was to make create a shirt dress that fitted my bust, waist and hips correctly. To hit all three points seemed almost impossible to start with but I did it and I am honestly so impressed with the result. The shirt not only closes but closes comfortably and the buttons don’t pull threatening when I move around like a normal human. The skirt sits well on my hips and has enough structure to maintain the sillouhette I was looking for from this garment.

Buttons & Buttonholes

Firstly I learnt is that I love attaching buttons. It’s super relaxing. I was actually sat attaching them while on the phone to my sister. I was also very pleased that when I laid my buttons out on the dress by eye and then went back to measure the distances I had laid them all exactly 3 inches apart without any assistance. I then just made sure the white markings were in the same palce on each side. Simple.

What was less simple were the buttonholes themselves. Two things here. Firstly I completely forgot that my stitch length would influence what these looked like. I did twig this after my first two however I probably should have checked beforehand. Secondly… HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN TO STOP SEWING?? Seriously, I did everything I could think of. I marked my buttonholes with an I shape so there was a line at the top and bottom however I then realised while sewing that I couldn’t see those lines at all. Also which side are you meant to sew buttonholes on. Is it from the right side or the wrong side? I also found the distancing of the stitching extremely challenging. However. I did do them and they actually look fine, only and anyone else who actually knows how to sew will notice how messy they are and as I mentioned earlier, thankfully they are black on black fabric. In restrospect I was suffering from sewing hubris, the ‘I’ll figure it out” attitude. While this works for a lot of things, buttonhole sewing is not one of them and I will be watching many a youtube video before I attempt this again. Anyone with buttonhole advice, hit me up I’m genuinely interested in tips and tricks.

So how do i feel about this project now? Honestly I still can’t quite believe I’ve made it and I don’t think I will believe it until I wear it outside. Whether thats to work or out for dinner or to see friends. It has been a fantastic experience, forcing myself to think. I sort of made the pattern up, the skirt is from something I made ages ago, the bust is from the book pattern but hacked to anything so that it fits me, the sleeves are from another pattern; so you see that this was a complex project on every level and I’m proud that I managed to do the ‘dressmaking thinking’ to achieve it.

Whats next for me? Well I’ve FINALLY managed to get hold of some elastic, its taken two weeks, so I need to run up some face masks for my lovely grandparents in Scotland. I’m going to do the body of the masks tomorrow so the second I get the elastic I can get them posted off straight away. Then its on to my lovely fabric hoard from the Rainbow Fabrics Kilburn sale to make some beautiful things.

Envelope Pillow: A How To Guide For My First Home Make

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Today’s project is a little different to my usual sewing projects and its actually my first ever home make! I have officially welcomed the envelope pillow into my repertoire. My partner’s mum bought us some towels and a beautiful throw so I wanted to make something nice for her and I decided on a throw pillow. She actually gave me some beautiful homefurnishing fabric that she bought when she was redoing their house. She loved the fabric but wasn’t sure what to use it for so I thought I would make her an envelope pillow.

Envelope pillows are a really simple make, it took me an hour maybe an hour and a half at most. The longest part was waiting for the pad to arrive! I didn’t use a pattern, I just took measurements and went with it. Its honestly the easiest make and I would encourage anyone, particularly beginners to have a go.

Step 1 – Measure Up

Select the size of pillow you want to make. Either choose a pillow pad or measure an existing one if you looking to refresh an existing cushion. Take the measurement of the length and width of the pillow with a cloth measuring tape and ensure to measure including the curve of the pillow. Then add an inch at both ends of each measurement and mark out your square or rectangle on your fabric with tailors chalk.

Step 2 – Cut Your Three Pieces

When cutting upholstery or home-furnishing fabric I tend to use pinking shears as they have a bit more bite and stop fraying. To make the pillow you need three pieces.

  • 1 x square (or rectangle) to the measurements from above.
  • 2 x rectangular pieces the same width and approximately two thirds the length of the main square with at least a 4cm overlap.

To ensure the pieces fit lay them carefully on top of each other as you will sew them and make sure the outside edges match.

Step 3 – Finish the Envelope Edges

In order to create a nice finish on your pillow you are going to want to finish the two overlapping edges on the back. To finish the edges fold it over by 1/8inch and stitch and then do the same again.

Step 4 – Pin Together and Sew

Pin the pieces right side together and stitch along the outside edge with 1/2 inch seam allowance. Stitch continuously around the square and then press.

Step 5 – Clip Corners and Turn Out

Finally clip the corners and turn right side out. I turned my corners out using a biro with its lid on but a knitting needle, chopstick or anything else with a blunt point will do. Press once more and then voila, you’re done!