Sustainable clothing without fast fashion

Dear users, dear authors,
How do you define sustainable clothing? In the shop, the keyword “sustainable” mostly brings up bags and dishcloths. 

For me, sustainable clothes are timeless in style and design—that’s how I sew most of my clothes, because that way I can wear them longer than many trendy pieces that, at best, last just one fashion season—and often not even that. It’s also important to me that the clothes are made from natural fibers, because plastic clothes start to smell after 30 minutes at the latest, and they aren’t biodegradable either. Passing clothes on is also a good idea—thrift shopping is great—but unfortunately, that doesn’t work for me since I have to use irregular patterns, at least for tops. Okay, so I repurpose a lot of the clothes I no longer wear and sew children’s clothes out of them—which is sustainable in its own way.

Love, Inge

Dear Josefa, sustainability is a broad topic. Everyone has to look within themselves to see how much they take sustainability into account. You have to ask yourself what you consume, what you buy, what you throw away, whether you can reuse it, and so on. You can live sustainably in every area of life.

Many products that you can recreate here using the patterns are sustainable—not just bags and dishcloths. We authors are also sending out small messages through them: You can make this yourself!

For example: When I look at my doll clothes, I’m always happy that they aren’t made of plastic and “Made in China” (though “China” here is just a synonym for a low-wage country). I think it’s more sustainable to make doll clothes myself out of leftover yarn. The doll moms then see that you can make these yourself and don’t have to buy them. The joy of DIY, of reusing raw materials, and of creative work is thus passed on to the next generation. In the end, that plastic doll dress becomes hazardous waste that has to be disposed of at great expense because, unlike organic materials, it doesn’t decompose.

I believe that we DIYers have always been very progressive when it comes to sustainability. We naturally think about alternatives, and that’s how new ideas keep emerging.

Best regards, Ina

Oh, something else just came to mind on this topic… My daughter-in-law recently gave me back a whole bag full of scarves, neck warmers, and hats because their styles no longer suited her. Now I’ve unraveled everything and am knitting something new out of it—something that might be a bit more modern. You can reuse wool—that’s great, isn’t it? An outdated garment made of synthetic fibers can only be thrown away, and even disposal costs money and harms the environment.

Best regards, Ina

For me, that’s also one of the main characteristics of sustainable clothing—it’s not made of plastic, because you can’t do anything else with that.
From secondhand stores with well-preserved items to cleaning rags made from old bedding, everything should have at least two lives—preferably more—to be considered sustainable.
My mom used to sew children’s clothes for me out of her old clothes, and I was so proud to be able to wear a dress like the grown-ups—those were different fabrics, after all.
I like to make bags out of jeans; blouses have been turned into pillowcases; and really faded and holey T-shirts are still good for stuffing.
I’ve never gone along with those extreme fashion fads that were only good for one season. It’s fine for clothes to be colorful and even eye-catching, but then I’ll still wear them for years. I only wear what I like—luckily, I don’t have to chase after any trends.

Knitted or crocheted clothing can be sustainable if it can be altered relatively easily—if necessary—
or is easy to mend.
I also think it’s just as important that it’s easy to clean.
The material should at least be washable by hand and not require dry cleaning.

And if you no longer like it, ideally you can repurpose it into something else.

This is another way to use fabrics sustainably :-)
From top to bottom
     Image 1: a quilt made from old curtains for one of my daughters; she brought me the fabrics and asked me to sew them into a blanket
Image 2: a quilt made from old bed linens for one of my nephews
Image 3: these used to be my old summer dresses and blouses; they became my summer bedspread, and I definitely don’t sweat under it
Images 4 and 5 are shirt quilts for my oldest daughter’s sons; they both love them very much

Best regards, Inge

I think we were raised to be frugal in the former GDR. There wasn’t much, but what we had was cherished—and it actually lasted longer than things do today.
I’ve always liked sheer fabrics, lace, and ruffles.
There were those nylon scarves my mom used to have. She’d wear them as a bow in her hair. Today, you could use them for a Barbie doll (blouse, dress).

We used to make a net out of old nylon stockings and wire for our little aquarium back then, to scoop out the fish when cleaning it.

A few years ago, I sewed a cute blouse for myself from an old cotton nightgown—sleeveless, even with buttonholes, and tied at the front—and embroidered a heart out of beads on it. I’ll dig it out (picture coming soon)

Then I plan to sew fabric bags out of my old tunics (workwear for the nursing profession)—in gorgeous colors like pink, light blue, and rose. Unfortunately, they don’t fit me anymore, and the fabric is washable at 60 degrees. It’s far too good to throw away.

If I do have to get rid of clothes, I remove the zippers and buttons—they’re expensive, after all. I use these zippers for my beaded pouches (wallets)

I’ve also sewn panel curtains for myself from old, long curtains.
So, as you can see, I sew every now and then, too.

For example, I collect old, holey jeans and absolutely love sewing bags out of them. I also collect belts and old bags and take them apart for straps and buckles ;). Some details can even be reused entirely.

“Upcycling”—that is, repurposing old or used items into new ones—is woven throughout our entire lives. With every item we want to part with, we ask ourselves what else we can make out of it. For example, my husband once turned a car rim into a fire pit.

When sewing, you can easily transform old bedding and sheets into new items. In my e-books, I also highlight eco-friendly materials.

Old, worn-out T-shirts can still be turned into pillowcases—especially those band T-shirts you bought at a concert.

And when shopping for materials and supplies, there are now many sustainably produced products available in the crafting world: yarns, fabrics… Here, too, you can make sure the items were produced fairly.

What I’ve noticed as a positive trend is that awareness of sustainability has increased enormously in recent years, and more and more people are consuming more consciously and sustainably, as well as reusing and upcycling.

Best regards,
Sonja

Hello, everyone.

Here are the promised pictures of the doll sewn from leotard fabric and the blouse made from an old nightgown.

WOW!! Great job, Andrea :-)

Best regards, Inge

Thank you, Inge.

But of course, I can’t compete with the things you sew. For me, it’s more of a side project because I have so many other hobbies.

I still wonder today how I managed to make that blouse—even with a buttonhole—I have no idea. There are just so many talents in each of us.

Best regards