Everything is handmade

How making my own clothes helps me shop better

A side effect of being bedridden with Long Covid is that my days meld into one bleak expanse of time. I have craved purpose, creativity and a sense of forward momentum to mark time and progress through this fog. Picking up my knitting needles has helped.

My mother taught me how to knit, and she learned from her grandmother. I use my great-grandmother's needles, which have been passed down through my mum and now onto my daughters who are learning the skill as well.

I am an average knitter who has plodded through the learning curve during bursts of interest over decades. I have cultivated patience through the process and can now “read” my knitting so I can troubleshoot inevitable mistakes more effectively. I get immense satisfaction from finishing a piece, though rarely love the product more than the process (which speaks to my skill level).

My current project is a simple jumper, perfect for mindless knitting while listening to podcasts or half-watching reality TV. Even though it’s simple, it will take me a few months to knit.

My inspiration:

The pattern:

Outline Sweater Knitting Pattern from ROWS, which I’m knitting in navy. Should I go with sky blue or hot pink for the trim?

As each stitch passes from one needle to the other, I am reminded of how much human effort goes into making clothes, even the fast fashion ones.

Before I started the Misplaced Style project I had a vague sense of cheap clothes coming from cheap labour, but I could neatly file that information away as I walked into Zara. My desire to “get the look for less” and feel the rush of a new purchase overrode my values, pretty easily if I’m honest. The distance between me, standing in a hot changing room with an event looming that needed a new outfit, and a person working 17 hours a day and being paid by the piece to produce those choices, felt vast.

Fashion supply chains are some of the most complex in the world, with little accountability and even less regulation. The glossy veneer of fashion does a great job of obfuscating the reality of clothing manufacturing, even to the brands themselves. Weird loopholes, like factories paying for their own audits to prove they’re compliant with working conditions set by the brand, create murkiness. Sustainable fashion experts have been lobbying for supply chain transparency for years, as you can’t change what you can’t see.

When we scroll Shein or flip through the racks at H&M it seems almost impossible that the volume of clothes we’re looking at could be made by human hands, so it’s easy, and convenient, to believe that they’re not.

According to non-profit Remake, 75 million people are making our clothes today, and 80 percent of apparel is made by young women between the ages of 18 and 24. It’s estimated that around 24 people’s hands are involved in making a single garment. From growing and weaving the fabric and thread to pattern design and cutting, sewing, finishing, quality checking and packing.

When fashion is appreciated as an art form, this handmade element is revered and celebrated.

For example, Kid Super’s chaotic video about the process of making a single sweater celebrates the craft of machine knitting (which is actually extremely hands-on).

Vera Wang and her couturiers discuss the craft, creativity, passion, skill and hard work of couture wedding gowns.

This guy just whips up hand-crafted Loewe shoes. Insane skill.

@loeweHandcrafted from start to finish with twenty two metres of high gloss nappa leather tubes. #LOEWE #LOEWEshoes #CraftTok #ShoeMaking #ShoeASMR

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It is still skilled work when paid by the piece in a fast fashion factory, but the corners cut for speed and profit reduce skilled human hands to production machines.

@momentsgangClothing factory

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@allthinkfactoryClothing factory.#clothes #makeclothes #factorywork #clothesfactory #sewingclothes #sewing #factorylife #allthinkfactory #makingclothes #sewingtutorial #fypage #foryou

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@jasonkpargin#duet with @kienknywaze #fy #fypシ #fypシ゚viral

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If we appreciate that everything is made or at least assembled by hand, how does that change our relationship with our clothes?

My current knitting project certainly makes me appreciate the fibre as I handle it and become familiar with its character. It's somewhat magical that two basic stitches, knit and purl, can create a wearable garment when stitched thousands of times. It’s taken me decades to master those stitches and to learn to follow a pattern, just like skilled garment factory workers have honed their skills.

Supply chain transparency and fair pay and working conditions for garment workers are systemic problems that cannot be solely influenced by consumers. They require regulation and greater accountability. Rapid consumption of apparel and the need to deliver on short fashion cycles stresses production resources, often resulting in supply chains that put profits ahead of human welfare.

By appreciating the skill involved in making garments, I have learned to appreciate quality and seek out items that will last, whether they come from Country Road, Prada, or a thrift store. This approach leads to less turnover in my wardrobe and ultimately reduces the rate of consumption.

As Dame Vivienne Westwood has advised:

Buy less. Choose well. Make it last.

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Links

• Follow Andrea Cheong for advice on assessing an item’s quality no matter which stores you’re in. (And if you’re in the UK you can pre-order her book)

• I aim to be this elegant

• Obsessed with the girl who’s DIYing one of Beyonce’s tour looks for when she goes to the concert

• Add to your watch list:

  • Still, the Michael J Fox documentary uses old footage in such a clever way.

  • Alone Australia ended exactly how I wanted it to. Read this if you already know the winner.

  • Northern Exposure holds up so well 30 years on, available on 7Plus in Australia. At least listen to the soundtrack.