Tips for making your own clothes in a sustainable way

A good alternative to buying fast-fashion items is to make your own clothes. Having a unique piece of clothing that you have designed and made yourself, how much fun is that? You can also customise your clothes, making them fit perfectly. Making your own clothes is not as difficult as it sounds. It is very feasible for beginners. With a few tips we will help you on your way!

Requirements

We’ll start with the supplies you need to make your own clothes. These you can often get second hand and / or borrow from others. That is cheap and sustainable.

• A good fabric in the desired colour or print.
• Patterns, to be found on the internet and/or in books.
• Pattern paper, for sale at lifestyle shops and craft shops.
• Sewing machine, don’t forget! 
• Sewing thread for your sewing machine.
• iron and ironing board, for smoothing your fabric.
• Goods, for example buttons and zips. 
• Pins to fix your fabric with.
• Shears for your fabric and patterns.
• Centimeter, for measuring yourself and the patterns.
• A seam ripper to take out your wrong stitches.

Our tips

Tip 1 – The first tip is to start simple and get the basics right. For example, start with a T-shirt or a skirt. When you have a rough idea of what you would like to make, it’s time to look for matching patterns. This can be done via the internet or magazines. 

Tip 2 – Once you have found the patterns there is one more important thing not to forget. Take the measurements of yourself or the person you are making the garment for! This is a very important step because you want your garment to fit perfectly. If necessary, ask someone to help you measure. For male garments you measure the neck, chest, sleeves, waist, hips and inseam. For female garments, measure the chest, bra, waist, hips and inseam. Stand relaxed and upright to get a good idea of your measurements.

Tip 3 – For a beginner it is advisable to choose a light to medium thick cotton fabric, it is relatively inexpensive and works easily with your sewing machine. It is also better to start with a woven fabric. This is easier to sew than a knitted fabric. At SusainableFabricx.shop we sell very suitable sustainable cotton fabrics. Take a look in the webshop or at the bottom of this page.

Tip 4 – Watch online tutorials on YouTube and/or take sewing lessons from a teacher. That way you can be guided step-by-step and get a better result than doing it yourself!