Project Textile Revolution

Fast Fashion becomes Slow Sewing

The concept


Of course, first of all, awareness must be created that Fast Fashion is not environmentally friendly and should disappear from the clothing range as soon as possible. In the meantime, we are left with a mountain of non-recyclable clothing that is either sent to Africa and Asia where they can do nothing with it and the waste mountain only grows, or it disappears into the incinerator with the result: more CO2 emissions.

 

I want to use these clothes to make new products and sell them at creative markets such as Swan Market and Handmade Market. This includes both consumer products such as new clothes, blankets, dolls and cuddly toys, as well as art objects and paintings.

 

The clothes themselves can come from clothing sorting companies or second-hand shops, which often also receive damaged clothes or clothes with stains that cannot be removed. So I don’t want clothes that can be worn again, but only clothes that can’t be used for anything else, except throwing them away.

The Plan:
Clothes arrive in large bales and need to be sorted. Split into smaller pieces, they can be washed by several people.

 

Then: the largest pieces are used for embroidery. Long strips can be used for weaving and rug hooking (a kind of tufting or punching). The smaller pieces can be used for patchwork and crazy quilting. The even smaller pieces can be used for a technique where small pieces of fabric are loosely attached to backing fabric with a running stitch. For (note) book covers and artwork.

 

Start-up capital

A start-up capital is needed for the first period of renting space as well as the second-hand larger furniture and tools such as tables, chairs, shelves, a sewing machine and ironing facilities (ironing board & iron). This is the minimum. Other items can be brought in by participants themselves, obtained in another way (donations or borrowing) or purchased with the proceeds of sales. If the plan is successful, we will be self-sufficient through the sale of the products.

What we will make
  • Patchwork/quilt blankets can be made. Or other items with patchwork
  • Make new pieces of fabric from smaller pieces of fabric, so that clothing can be made from them again or 3D items such as cuddly toys and Christmas trees
  • Crazy quilting: randomly flattening pieces of fabric sewed together and then embroidering and decorating with lace, embroidery and beads
  • Embroidering, weaving or tufting artworks (rug hooking)
  • Making flowers and flower arrangements from fabric
What do we need 
   

First of all, a (large) space where all activities can take place and where interior and equipment can remain.  

Furthermore, a lot of hands:

  • People interested in textiles
  • People who want to wash clothes,
  • People who are very good at needlework
  • People who specialize in specific disciplines and want to teach other people
  • People who can and want to ensure that things run smoothly
  • People who want to search for second-hand materials
  • People who want to sell products and the story behind them at markets.


Various (second-hand) tools and furniture such as:
  • Tables & chairs
  • Sewing machine(s)
  • Ironing board & iron
  • Looms
  • Embroidery tables & frames/rings
  • Shelving
  • Nice bench or chairs for a cozy place to sit where you can work
  • (Sorting) Bins
  • Small tools such as scissors, needles, pliers


Further second hand:
  • Basic fabric for foundation quilting (old duvet covers and sheets, also suitable as a backing for a blanket)
  • Quilt batting (intermediate fabric for quilt blankets – old blankets and maybe old duvets?)
  • Sewing thread
  • Yarn for the warp of small looms,
  • Embroidery thread, beads, lace, sequins for crazy quilting
  • Coarse-meshed jute or linen for rug hooking
  • Various wools and yarns for painting embroidery & rug hooking

Within the Textile Revolution project,
the aim is not to buy anything new!