How Sewing Teaches You to Want Less

Show Notes

• Making Time


• How to Use the Rule of Three Outfits.
  


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• Tell us your idea for the next icebreakers for makers!

Podcast Transcript

Sarai
I'm Sarai.

Haley
And I'm Haley.

Sarai
And this is Seamwork Radio. Welcome back to Seamwork Radio, where we share practical ideas for building a creative process so you can sew with intention and joy. Today, we're talking about how sewing teaches you to want less. So we're going to cover our own relationships with consumption, how that's changed throughout our sewing journeys, and then eight ways that you can lean on sewing to help you consume less. All right, our icebreaker for today, Haley, what's the last item of clothing or fabric that you bought?

Haley
I have answers for both. The last item of clothing that I bought was a brown, quilted coat from Everlane. And I had just been wanting something like that, like a liner coat style that I could layer underneath my rain jacket. Frankly, I didn't have the bandwidth to sew it for myself in this particular moment in my life. And I felt good buying it because, one, I really like Everlane. I think their business models really great, and they're more ethical than a lot of fashion companies out there. And two, it's outerwear, so I know that I'm going to have it for the next 10 plus years. I mean, realistically, even longer than that, unless I destroy somehow. So that's the last item of clothing I bought. I did buy it on a really good Black Friday sale. I think there was a discount on Black Friday, so that was quite a while ago. And then the last fabric that I bought was I bought a remnant, a rather large remnant at a local fabric store here in Portland called Bolt, which is one of my faves. And it's a lilac-colored sweatshirt fleece. I love lilac. I don't wear it very often.But the store staff is very lovely and was really hyping me up on it and telling me how great I was going to look in it. And I love being complimented.

Sarai
I bet lilac would look really good on you.

Haley
I think it will look good. I think it's just more of an accident that I don't have anything in it. And I just want to make a simple pullover sweater because I know that's what I'll wear all the time.

Sarai
For me, I think the last item of clothing I bought was a sports bra.

Haley
Exciting!

Sarai
Not very exciting. I realized that I didn't have enough to get me through to the next load of laundry most weeks. And I ended up wearing my B-list ones that I hate. I hate... I've gotten very I'm not really about sports bras. I like sports bras that have a clasp in the back, like a regular bra, so they're easy to put on. And I hate ones that you have to pull over your shoulders, which seems to be most of them. I just don't understand it. If regular bras aren't constructed that way, why do sports bras have to be that way?

Haley
They can be so much more supportive when they're not pull over because they can rely on more negative ease to really get you in there.

Sarai
And I have a large bust, so I need support. Although I don't do high impact activities like running or anything like that, but I like the support. Anyway, so I bought a sports bra. For fabric, the last fabric I bought, I think I bought some striped, double full-knit fabrics for my spring wardrobe for some of the sweaters I'm making for spring. I bought one in black and white, and I bought one in blue and white. And then I ended up... I bought these online, and I realized that I'm not sure that I'm crazy about the blue and white. It looks good, but I don't like the way it feels, really. So I don't know. I feel guilty about that, that I have it, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it because I just don't really like the feel of it. So that makes me feel a little meh. All right, so if you have an icebreaker for us for a future episode, if you're a Seamwork member, you can go to Seamwork.com/go/icebreakers and leave it for us there, and we will likely use it on a future episode. All right, so let's get into our topic for today.

Sarai
So sewing is, I think, this really powerful tool to help you slow down your consumption, and I think it does this in a few ways. It really, I think, helps you to think a lot more about sustainability. It helps you to make more conscious decisions. And then I think it just fosters a really much deeper connection with your clothing than you might otherwise have. And I think part of that is because sewing inherently relies less on instant gratification the way just purchasing clothing does. So you have a lot more invested in it. And the more time you invest in something, the more thoughtful you tend to be about it and about its place in your life. So Haley, overall, has learning how to sew, do you feel like it's made you buy less stuff over the years? And how has that changed for you over time?

Haley
That's an interesting question. I think that when I first started sewing for myself, I treated it much in the same way that I treated shopping. I was honestly never a really huge ready to wear shopper. But when I first started sewing for myself, I shopped at the thrift store like every weekend, a lot. Didn't walk away empty-handed. And it became a replacement for that in a lot of ways. I just was obsessively making the next thing just because... I mean, I thought it was cute and I thought it was fun, but I just wanted something new all the time. And I think that after a couple of years of that, I ended up with a closet full of things that were great as individual things, but the whole of it I didn't really identify with. And honestly, it didn't make me feel good. It just felt overwhelming when I looked in my closet. And I would say that probably around the time that I moved from LA to Portland, there was a big shift because making such a big move, I got rid of a lot of my stuff, more than 50% of my belongings.

Haley
After that point, I didn't really have a strong desire to consume in quite the same way. And that affected how I wanted to shop, but also how I wanted to sew clothing for myself. I stopped feeling the need to constantly have a sewing project on my sewing machine. I felt like I could just sew when I was really excited to make something. And I feel like that's been the place that I've been in for probably, very comfortably, for the last five years. Because I really just don't... I don't make things just to make them anymore. I make things because I legitimately want them and have a plan for them. That doesn't mean that I don't like dopamine sew. But it's in a much more intentional way than it was before, not just because I found some weird fabric and I had like a random idea.

Sarai
Yeah. I think it's interesting what you were saying about getting rid of half of your positions and how that changed your mindset, because I've noticed the same thing as whenever I do a big closet clean out or I start getting rid of a lot of stuff. It really changes my mindset about how much I want in my life and makes me less inclined to want to acquire a bunch of new stuff to replace all this work I've just done getting rid of things. So I think that's really interesting. And I think it shows what a great practice it is just to occasionally go through your things and do a little bit of a Marie Kondo on it, just to reset your brain, if nothing else. if not your house and your closet.

Haley
Yeah, I agree.

Sarai
It really helps. I've probably mentioned it before, but I read a book a few years ago about hoarding called “The Hoarder in You.” That's about how like everybody has these kinds of... There are some people who have mental disorders around hoarding, obviously. But it's on a spectrum in that a lot of us have the same tendencies. It's just not as extreme to want things way beyond what we actually need or can enjoy even in our lives. And it really made me think a lot about what I have in my life and what is just a psychological human tendency to acquire and hoard and keep things, even if they don't really have a place for you. So I think that's really interesting. I think my journey is probably pretty similar in a lot of ways, and just as I've progressed and as I've gotten older, which I think it's hard to pick apart what is just getting older and what is related to sewing, per se. But I think over time, because when I started to sew, I was quite young. I was a teenager. And at that time in your life, you're often very experimental, and you want to do a lot of different things and create a lot of things and wear a lot of different things and try things out.

Sarai
And then as you get older, you start to refine a lot more of what appeals to you and have more defined taste and really have a better idea of what works for you and what doesn't. So there's some of that in there as well for me. One thing I feel like sewing has done for me is it's allowed me to create clothing that really, really feels like me and feels like my style. And so when When I open my closet, I see a lot of stuff that I have an emotional attachment to that I really like. I like to wear, and not only that, but I feel proud of and have memories associated with making it. So a lot of just positive feelings about. And because of that, I feel like it's decreased my desire to have a lot more because I already enjoy what I already have. I have this closet that's full of all this great stuff that I've made myself. And so I don't feel like I need to rush out and get the latest thing or replace something just to have something new because I already feel good about what I have.

Sarai
So I feel like that's the biggest thing that sewing has done for me in terms of consumption.

Haley
It really raises the bar.

Sarai
Yeah, it does. We'll probably touch on this, I'm sure, but also gives me a way to... If I do see something I like in ready to wear, it gives me a way to think a little bit more strategically or a little bit more critically and think, I like that. I could make something like it myself. Do I want to invest that time in making it? And if I don't, how much do I really like it? How much do I really want it? That's just a nice lens to have. It forces you to question something that you might not otherwise question.

Haley
So, Sarai, I know that you're doing a low buy experiment right now. Can you tell me about how that's going? I want an update.

Sarai
Yeah. So I started this in beginning of the year, in January, and I wrote about it on my personal Substack, which is called Making Time. We can link to it in the show notes if anybody's interested in reading more about this, because I did a little recap post about the first month of it at the end of January. I am planning to do a different little experiment each month. This was my one for January, but I knew going into it would last beyond January because I have done a no buy year in the past and I really enjoyed it. So this year I'm doing, calling it a low buy, because I'm still buying things like I mentioned, the sports bra. I'm still buying underwear, socks, tights if I need them, things like that. And then I also was doing a low buy on cosmetic type things. No, it's more like skincare, like lotions and things like that. I really enjoyed the process of doing it throughout the month of January, and I'm continuing to do it. What I like about it is that it has really just forced me to think a lot more about what I actually want and what I actually need, just question things a lot more.

Sarai
And I think that's always a good thing, especially when it comes to consumption and material things, because we have so much pressure from outside to buy more and acquire more. And then we just talked about this internal, I think, very human drive to have more and to buy more. Those are really powerful forces. And I think it really helps if you want to curb that, to have some structure that helps you to ask more questions and to be a little bit more critical of those forces. So it's been really nice for me, and I feel like the biggest benefit has just been that it's freed up a lot of time for me in not thinking about buying new stuff. And if I see a fancy new lotion, I don't really think about it or whatever it is. That's been really nice. I think the thing that's been a little bit tough about it is there are certain things that I know would be pretty practical to have. We were talking right before we started recording. The one thing that I really do want to buy clothing-wise right now is I want a Moreno base layer shirt, like a long sleeve shirt, and that's hard to make yourself because it's so hard to find exactly the right Moreno fabric for something like that.

It's a little bit more technical. So I'm just figuring out if that's something I really want or if it's something that I really need, if it is possible to make it myself. But I just think just the process of asking yourself those questions is really helpful.

Haley
Yeah. And if you weren't in this low buy experiment, it would have been really easy to just on your lunch break, do a little googling and find something and, I don't know, Apple Pay. It feels so instant, where now, if that is something that you choose to buy, it feels so much more intentional and so much more exciting.

Sarai
I will say This is one thing I wrote about it in that post that I mentioned, but one thing that on the negative side, so I started this at the beginning of January, so we'd just gone through the holidays, and I'd been getting so many packages in the mail every day for gifts. Once I started this, I stopped getting packages. Every day I would go to the mailbox and it would just be junk mail and bills. And I was like, This is disappointing. It was fun to get packages. It's embarrassing how that injects so much joy into my day, just getting a little present in the mail. But there are other ways to have fun without getting presents for yourself. But that's just something I noticed, especially after the holidays.

Haley
It makes it feel a little easier when you make that decision. You're like, I'm going to do this low buy thing. It's going to be great. The holiday stuff.

You're bringing up the Moreno sweater dilemma, I will call it. It makes me wonder, do you ever have the desire to sew everything that's in your closet?

Sarai
Yeah. I mean, I wish I could, and I could if I wanted to. So yeah, part of me does. I think it would be fun. But I don't know that I value that enough to just not buy anything, especially things that are more like the Moreno shirt, things that are a little bit more technical or that require specific fabrics or specific findings or things like that. I just don't know if it's worth it to me, considering everything else in my life and all the other creative ways I could be spending my time. So as far as the payoff, I'm not sure that it's totally worth it to me, but it's a fun idea. And I think it's something fun to aspire to.

Haley
I used to think it was something that I aspired to, and I really respect it and admire it when other people work towards that as their goal. I think that's so cool. I feel like for me in my life, in order for me to be the best me and also hold all of my interests that I do have, it's just something I've given up on right now. And to be totally honest, I do love to shop sometimes. I'm not a shopping spree kind of a girl, but sometimes it is just really fun to buy yourself something shiny and new or support a designer that you love or save up for something really special. I value all of those things in different ways, but they just hold different places for me in my life. And I definitely do try to consider, and I don't try to. I think this is something I'm pretty good at is just if I can make it myself and I think that I can make it in a better quality that I could buy, a better fit, a better fabric, I will always go with that route. At this moment in my life, it's not something I put the pressure on myself to aspire towards.

Sarai
Yeah. I think it can sort of be a lofty goal that you can move towards without ever really achieving. And I think that's okay, too. I like having a fairly large percentage of my clothing that I wear every day to be something that I've made. That's fun. That seems more achievable to me than to be that strict about it. I also have tendencies towards perfectionism and holding my feet to the fire more than maybe is necessary. So I try to avoid anything too extreme for myself because I can go overboard and start chastising myself for not being perfect. And that's not healthy for me. So I've just learned over the years that moderation is important in all things in my life.

Haley
Here, here.

Sarai
All right. Well, if you feel like you're in a buy, buy, buy mentality, or you just want to slow down your shopping habits, whether it's fabric or clothing, we're going to talk about some of the ways that you can do that. And some of the ways that you can lean into sewing to give yourself more of those questions that we were just talking about and just think a little bit more critically about what you buy versus what you make.

So the first one is to repair your clothes. That's something that you can do, and that sewing affords you. If you have an issue with your clothing, you can actually fix it, you can mend it. So if you know how to fix your clothes, you're a lot less likely to throw them away, which I think is a huge deal because it's very easy to not just... We're just talking about the waste of throwing something away and then replacing it with something new. I think it's very easy to be like, Oh, this has a hole in it. I'm going to toss it and get a new one, versus taking the time to actually fix it.

It just extends the lifespan of your existing garments and gives you a reason not to buy something new if you don't need to.

Haley
Yeah, along the same lines as upcycling and repurposing what you have. So just because it was a T-shirt in its prior life, a T-shirt with maybe a big hole in it or stain, doesn't mean that you need to just do a big patch over it or embroidery. You can turn it into something totally new. Something that I like about this is that it's just reducing the need to buy more materials. You can get some sewing time, some creative time in behind the sewing machine while not creating more waste that's out there. Of course, overall, minimizing the environmental impact of your own consumption.

Sarai
I think another thing, and this is related to that, is just the ability to add custom touches to your garment to add those really special things to your garments and to customize them in a way that makes you feel more connected to the garment, makes you respect it more, makes you really cherish its place in your closet. And that could be something that you make yourself, or it could be related to the upcycling. It could be something you add to what you already own to make it feel special to you, which I think sometimes we overlook as sewists, that you can do things like that with what you already own not just to repair them, but to make them feel more special to you. And I think that's really cool. I was just looking at a ready-to-wear cardigan this morning that had little flowers embroidered all over it, and I thought that was such a cute idea and something I would like to add. If I have a piece of clothing that's just plain and I'm not wearing it very much, that's something I could do to it to make it feel special again and make it feel more like me and more like something that I feel connected to.

Haley
And related to custom floral touches, I have a denim jacket that I always was like, this is a really great jacket. I wish I had a pocket. So I added a patch pocket to the inside, and I used a vintage floral fabric that I just had I think I got it at a yard sale or something, just a small piece that I couldn't do much else with. Oh, that's so cool. It makes it so cute. And it's just like, whatever. It's not a whatever denim jacket. It's pretty classic, pretty standard, but that just makes me feel a little bit more special in it. I feel like it makes me less likely to get rid of it or mistreat it in any way.

Sarai
Another thing I was looking at this morning was a barber coat. It was like a rain jacket, but it was done in all... It was a patchwork look, and it had a gingham collar and it had different... And that would just be something that would be really easy to recreate if you were sewing it from scratch. And it just made me think about all the different ways that you can play with fabric and make something that really feels different and special from what's out there.

Haley
Yeah, I love this tip adding, just customizing things that you already have and your future projects, I think is major. Kind of along those same lines is learning to upgrade your garment construction. I think that, obviously, learning how to sew provides a lot of insight into the effort and the skill that's required to produce clothing. So that just brings a lot of respect to the way we treat our clothing when we understand the human hands and this human skill that's behind it. But also it makes your garments more long lasting. And just from a practical standpoint, they're going to really stand the test of time. And I think that when we appreciate well-made garments and create well-made garments that we're less likely to make really impulsive choices when it comes to fast fashion, because like I was saying earlier in the episode, it raises the bar.

Sarai
Yeah, it really does. And I think related to that is just the idea of embracing a slow fashion mindset. I think sewing just really encourages this and really encourages you to think about quality over quantity. And that goes back to what we were talking about earlier about the fact that you don't get that instant gratification with sewing. It is a little bit of a slow process. It's not the slowest process. It's not knitting. Knitting is much slower than sewing, but it does slow you naturally. And so that, I think, can really help you to think about the quality of what you're making over how much you're acquiring. And I think just that mentality, that mental shift, really helps you to think differently about fast fashion and about shopping and about just having more and more and more.

Haley
Yeah. I think that the mindfulness that sewing brings is super huge. And one place that I definitely try to bring a lot of mindfulness to or make mindful choices is when it comes to the materials and fabrics I use. I think a lot of times when people think of making mindful or sustainable fabric choices, they think about a wardrobe of all hemp and linen and organic cotton. All of those things are lovely and great, and I appreciate all of those things. But also some other things that you can consider when you're making fabric choices are how the fabric was manufactured, buying it from a small business rather than a big chain, if that's available to you, or simply just making a fabric choice that's going to have a lot of longevity. So that can mean that the fabric itself is physically resilient, it's going to really stand up to a lot of wear and tear. You'll have it for a long time. It can also mean that it's something that you're going to like for a long time. So you're reducing that turnover in your closet.

Sarai
Yeah, absolutely. I think it gets you thinking differently about the longevity of the materials, even when it comes to shopping, thinking a lot more critically about those questions. I was just looking this morning at I saw a link to a pair of just cute Capto ballerina flats, and I clicked on it, and it took me to H and M. They were like, PU, polyurethane and fabric, and they were like $25 or something. Like that. I immediately close the tab because it's going to be garbage within a month of wearing that, and it's going to go to the landfill. I think sewing really has honed my ability to immediately think that rather than it being more of a secondary or tertiary consideration. That's the first thing I think about is the longevity of it.

Haley
Yeah, it really provides an education in those things.

Sarai
Yeah, Absolutely. Another thing that I think sewing really helps with or a way you can use sewing to help you think a lot more strategically about what you have in your life is just this idea of capsule wardrobes. I think sewing your own capsule wardrobe really helps to give you the pieces that you need that can be mixed and matched together to really be creative with less so that you don't feel the need as much to buy a lot of different things because you know what will work together and what you enjoy wearing, whether that's a very formalized capsule wardrobe or whether that's just going through the design your wardrobe process each season and creating some things that will go together and fit within what you already have, however you like to do it. I think just the idea of planning out these mini wardrobes from time to time is super, super helpful to thinking a little bit more strategically about what you have in your wardrobe.

Haley
Yeah. Another tool that I like to use that's in the same vein as the Rule of Three, and we have an episode on that, which we can link in the show notes. But it's basically the idea of before you make something, I suppose you could apply this to buying things, too, then you need to be able to think of three outfits that you would wear this particular garment in. Like, realistic outfits, things you would actually wear, not just things that are hypothetical. Which is the real secret sauce to the trick. So even if you don't do, or you don't always do a really formal planning process or are someone who does the capsule wardrobe thing, it helps you to create some through lines in your wardrobe. And finally, our last tip is to share your skills for the greater good. This is very close to my heart because this is really one of my professional missions in my life is to share what I know about sewing and what I know about fashion and bring that to more people. Tell them about it. Share the good word, if you will, and also show them how to do it so that they feel empowered to do it themselves.

Haley
I think that if you, and everyone can participate in this in their own way, you can join a sewing community. So you can teach, you can learn from each other, you can share resources, and collectively work towards reducing the overall demands for fashion and related products. And also just the benefit of being surrounded by other people who value the same things that you do. It helps you to not get sucked in to overconsumption because there's so many, as you said, Sarai, so many forces around us that are guiding us towards that every single day that it does need to be... It is a conscious choice that you make.

Sarai
Yeah. It's very easy to look around you and start believing, especially if you're on social media a lot, or even just looking at Pinterest or whatever, to believe that everybody is always buying things all the time and has new outfits all the time. I think not only is traditional advertising and marketing, but then there's influencers. You start to... You're immersed in this world in which shopping is very normalized. If you can immerse yourself in a new world where that isn't necessarily the case, that people have a more creative mindset and are thinking a little bit more about what they want in their lives and what they don't want in their lives, then that can help you to, through osmosis, almost change your own mindset, or at least think a little bit more about these issues rather than accidentally giving into the status quo, sometimes without even realizing it.

Haley
Yeah.

Sarai
All right. Well, let me just recap our tips for you today. So we had eight different ways that sewing can help you to consume less. Number one is to mend and repair your clothes. Number two is to upcycle and repurpose what you have. Number three is to add custom touches. Number four is to upgrade your garment construction and really learn about garment construction. Number five is to embrace a slow fashion mindset. Number six is to make mindful material choices about what you're making your clothes out of. Number seven is to create capsule wardrobes. Number eight is to share your skills with a community. All right. What's your big takeaway from this episode, Haley?

Haley
I think that my big takeaway is probably around the community aspect, and I think how without that support from a community, how much more challenging all of these efforts can feel. And surrounding yourself with other people really normalizes those choices in a society where those aren't necessarily the norm. And yeah, it de-influences you in the best way possible. So I think that's my takeaway.

Sarai
Yeah. Mine is similar. I think what struck me in this conversation is that sewers are non-conformists. I think we are people who think a little bit differently and like to look at the world a little bit differently. I love that about this community. I think it's very easy to be, like you said, influenced by all these things almost unconsciously and not even really realize it. I'm really happy to be part of a community that bucks that trend and thinks about things a little bit more deeply. And I really value that. So it's good to reflect on that. I think you guys, everybody listening to this, probably is a little bit different, a little bit outside of the norm. And I think that's something to be proud of and not something to treat lightly. It's something special about you.

Haley
So precious. I love that.

Sarai
Well, if you're looking for community yourself, if you're looking for a place to talk about these issues, talk about sustainability, about slow sewing, we'd like to invite you to join our community. We have some of the nicest, most helpful sewists that you can imagine in our private community over at Seamwork. Our team, along with thousands of Seamworkers, are here to talk to you and to cheer you on. It's a place where you can ask any question about sewing. There's absolutely no judgment, and you'll always get some amazing answers. And you can also share your finished projects, and you can even create and track goals. We'll even email you reminders to keep you on track if you want them. So it's a perfect place to go if you need a quick boost of creative energy, and we would love to have you there. And if you liked this episode, you can leave us a review We would really appreciate that.

We have a review we wanted to read today from Antoinette2019, who said, “Very helpful. She gave us five stars. She said, I look forward to listening to this podcast every day. As I'm going back and listening to the the last ones. It helps me put a little bit of sewing into my day and not feel disappointed if I don't get to work on a project outside of my 9:00 to 5:00.”

That's really nice. I like to hear that. Thank you, Antoinette. And we love getting reviews from you all. So if you would like to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you happen to be listening to this right now, we really, really appreciate it. We read every single review, and it really makes our day when hear from you guys like this. It also helps other people to discover the podcast, too. You can also follow us on YouTube at Seamwork Video. That's where I post videos of all the projects that I'm making. You can also follow us on Instagram @Seamwork. And if you'd like to join Seamwork and join that community that I was just talking about, you can do that and get access to hundreds of sewing patterns and dozens of sew-along classes. Our podcast listeners get a 50% off lifetime discount when you join That's seamwork.com/go/podcast50. So that's Seamwork.com/go/podcast50. And that's it for us this week.

Haley
I'm Sarai. And I'm Haley.

Sarai
And this is Seamwork Radio. Seamwork Radio is brought to you by the team at Seamwork. Seamwork is an online community that supports you in creating a wardrobe that feels right for you. When you join us at Seamwork, you become part of our private community of makers, and you also get access to monthly sew-along classes, a library of over 200 sewing patterns, and tons of great resources to help guide you through the sewing adventure that you choose. Podcast listeners can get half off a Seamwork Unlimited membership, which means you can download as many of those 200 plus patterns as you want at any time, and our community will be there to guide and support you. If you'd like to join us for half off, just visit seamwork.com/go/podcast50. You can also find us on Instagram @Seamwork or visit our YouTube channel, which is called Seamwork Video. We love hearing from you, so let us know if there's a topic or a personal story that you'd like us to cover. Thanks for listening to Seamwork Radio.