This morning I measured most of the yardages in my fabric stash and took this photo. This doesn't include scraps leftover from other projects, quilting cottons, or clothing in the refashion piles. I pledged last August to not buy any new Ready-To-Wear clothing (not counting socks and undergarments) for at least one year, and cataloging the stash will help with planning clothes I can make with what I have.
Why the pledge for no new RTW?
1. I find the quality of most purchased garments to be inferior.
2. Most RTW is manufactured overseas and I'm increasingly aware of the resources (mostly petroleum) involved in shipping everything around the world. I am aware that most fabrics I have were also made overseas and I plan to keep that in mind for future fabric purchases.
3. I enjoy making my own clothes and like that they can be custom made to fit me.
4. I'm trying to be less of a consumer in general, in thinking about my environmental imprint on this planet. This ties into making thoughtful purchases, and not purchasing fabric that I don't need or have no immediate plans for.
5. Ithaca has several shops to purchase thrifted/gently used clothing and I have had good luck finding nice garments there. With Cornell University and Ithaca College, we have a large population of transient people with money to spend. Many of the college kids leave behind everything when the finish their degrees and move elsewhere. Why spend $75 on a blouse when I can find it looking new for $5? We've decided in our household to shift the spending to buy organic food from local farms.
You've got quite a few new garments in that pile, yes? I agree with your reasons for not purchasing RTW. I haven't pledged to do the same, but I've been doing it about 95% for the past couple of years. I love having a custom made wardrobe that fits me!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is quite a lot of fabric. I'm too embarrassed to add up the yardage numbers yet, but it certainly does offer many wardrobe options. That is super that you've already been making 95% of your clothes for a couple of years!
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