So I'll start by saying I've been asked a lot of questions in the past few days "why baby clothes", "why thrift stores", "have you made clothes before", "why don't you want to make adult clothes", "what sort of clothing", and the list seems to go on. I'm going to address those issues and also show ya'll what awesome things I found today at my local thrift store!
So why baby clothes? The answer is sort of two-fold, because I LOVE babies styled in adult looking clothing! This idea isn't for every type of child, I know my nephew hates wearing jeans and any pants with a button, at as his tender age of 2. But for the kids who will go for it, I think they bring an awesome new level to the fashion industry. Check out the hashtag #igkidsfashion on Instagram-
heres a snip of some of the cute kids clothing you can see on a daily basis:
While you're on Instagram, follow me:
The second part of the reasoning is because fabric is so expensive, and children's clothes are obviously 'cheaper' to make. By making children's clothing, I can reuse fabric from Adult sized clothing.
You may be unaware, but after thrift stores like, goodwill, have merchandise at their store for a set period of time, it has to be removed, to make room for new things. Therefore, one of two things happen to those clothes: 1) They are discarded in a landfill, the Huffington Post claims that in 2013, 12.8 millon tons of goodwill clothing, ended up in a landfill. 2) they are "donated" (as they would like you to believe) aka:sold in bulk, to developing countries. Although the goodwill clothing sold to developing countries, provides clothing for those in need and with means, it also hinders the development of textiles and therefore jobs, for those local people. CNN says " The long-term effect is that countries such as Malawi or Mozambique or Zambia can't really establish or protect their own clothing industries if they are importing second-hand goods" In addition, a lot of those garments are of poor quality (think: no one else wanted them) and they are also landfilled, just not on American soil.
Here is a snip bit of what I found and what similar fabric would retail for at my local craft store:
 |
| Polyester blend Retail: $14.99/yd Paid: $0.99 for a Women's Large Shirt |
 |
| Stretch Velvet: Retail -$14.99/yd Paid: $0.99 for Women's Extra Large Pants |
 |
Satin Printed fabric Retail:$9.99
Paid: $0.99 For 1x top
(i'm making this into a cape- please hold)
|
When I was little, my grandma would babysit me and my brother and all of my cousins. I can't remember a summer that I didn't spend at my grandma goo's house. We were allowed to do only a few things: 1) play outside 2) play in the "playroom" or 3) sew. During the "sewing" part of the summer, we would, on most occasions, be allowed to make baby blankets, from scrap fabric only. I think I've made about 10882 of those scrap-fabric-baby-blankets in my 27 years of life. She would always tell me I was "impatient" and needed to "slow down on the pedal"..but I figure, I've been sewing "baby blankets" since I was about 6 years old, and if I can sew a straight line, create a pattern, and be creative, I have it in the bag. (we will see)
I even taught some Malawians how to sew during my adventures there!
But--- I have NEVER made baby clothes before, but I have sewn and sewn and torn out the seams and sewn and sewn some more...and that's what I will be doing here, publicly. So sit back and relax and I'll share all of my tips, tricks, and even mistakes. Here's to giving it a shot!
