5 ways to Sew Sustainably

June 10, 2024

You may already be taking steps in your home to be eco friendly and reduce waste for a better future. Reducing plastic and recycling for example, but do your efforts extend into your craft room too?

Here are 5 ways to sew in a more sustainable and planet friendly way:

1. USE ECO FABRICS

It may seem complicated understanding all the different fabrics available out there, understanding they handle and juggling that with whether they are sustainable or not. But it's well worth doing a little bit of research to find fabrics that will last and don't harm the world we live on.

2. BUY LESS FABRIC (said no crafter ever!)

But what I mean by this is buy what you need to avoid waste. Look as old clothing and blankets as fabric potential and you could save a lot of money as well as the planet.

Often a garment might rip or fray at the seams or go out of fashion but the main fabric is reusable for a different project.

If you love an item for its colour or pattern consider cutting it up and keeping the pieces as fabric stash.

Upcycling is a wonderful way to repurchase fabrics into something new.

Word of warning always ask the owner of said items before cutting them up, otherwise you might get into a spot of trouble...

3. MEND STUFF

Mending doesn't always have to be making do. Visible mending has become very fashionable as embroidery and darning is making a resurgence.

Extending the life of your favourite clothes by altering and upcycling can be very satisfying, not to mention a money saving boon.

Try brushing up on alteration and mending techniques so that you can fix your favourite items with confidence.

4. SCRAP BUSTING

Use up all those annoying scraps with patchwork and scrap sewing projects.

Save all your scraps and thread ends in a bag as you sew and periodically sort through pulling out any special little pieces that might be useful.

Scraps and threads can turn into free stuffing for toys, poufs and cushions.

Read more about Scrap Busting HERE

5. REPAIR INSTEAD OF REPLACING

When your scissors get blunt, sharpen them rather than buying new. There are lots of ways to do this cheaply in your own home.

Service and clean your machine regularly to extend its life and when you must replace consider getting a reconditioned model instead of brand new one. Lots of machine showrooms have demo or reconditioned models available plus an on site technician to service your own machine.