Bonjour mes amis!
Many of you know about my little Flax project, right? Where I am following in the footsteps of Kate from In a Haystack and attempting to grow my own cloth. From soil-to-skin as I have seen it stated elsewhere on IG. It's been a really fun process thus far, though I won't be obtaining a Flax harvest this season (Silly me choosing the wrong site to plant this Spring!).
I wanted to explain a bit the thoughts that led me to this entire project, and how my outlook on the materials I use in my sewing process have shifted dramatically. Actually, that may need to be saved for a longer blog post as there was honestly a complexity of things that made me decide to want to grow my own fibers including: lack of available fabrics that were created (from soil to cloth) in my region, desire to work with a 100% organically grown base cloth, thoughts surrounding the energy use at all steps of cloth production including transport, desire to utilize all-natural dyes derived from plant material harvested in a way that doesn't negatively affect the eco-system, etc.
As you can see, it was a complexity of things that led me to want to slow all the way down and try my hand at creating something as complex as fabric. That and wanting to really see how complex that system is! I mean, can you imagine what the sewing and fabric industry would look like if we didn't have industrialized processes? How much would our fabrics cost if they were handwoven? Or if people at all steps of the process were being compensated with a fair wage for their skills and expertise? How would our relationship to fabric be altered? Would we be more conscientious of how we tackled our sewing projects and how much waste might be left on the cutting floor?
It's a lot to contemplate! Which has led me to establish a list of criteria for future fabric purchases for myself. So far, I haven't found any fabrics that check every item of this list (which means I haven't purchased any fabric lately and that's more than OK). But these are my current set of “ideals” for future fabric purchases:
+ Composed of Natural Fibers
+ Organically/ Naturally Grown (without the use of pesticides/ herbicides/ fungicides)
+ Fair Trade (Every person paid fairly along the supply chain)
+ Naturally dyed or Undyed (This way the fibers are compostable at the end of their life cycle)
+ Locally produced (preferably within 200 miles to keep carbon footprint as low as possible, but will accept items that have been grown, milled, dyed within the US)
This all may seem like an impossible task (which is a big reason why I dove into growing my own Flax), but it has led me to realize that the future outlook for Untitled Thoughts is one that includes a larger goal outside of simply creating sewing patterns. I want to do more through my business and give back to the environment and my community. This all feeds into an idea that has been developing within me for many years. One that involves creating my own fibers and seeking out and employing local artisans for spinning, weaving, dyeing, etc. Because these are skills that are disappearing, but I think they are worth holding on to.
These are just some thoughts for today. Thank you or taking the time to read through my inner ramblings! These ideas may take me a loonngggg time to realize, but that's ok. I'm not trying to rush anything, especially something I find so important.
