{"id":2478,"date":"2016-07-05T15:04:47","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T19:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailysew.com\/?p=2478"},"modified":"2016-08-03T11:28:47","modified_gmt":"2016-08-03T15:28:47","slug":"reconstructing-garments-what-why-and-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedailysew.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/reconstructing-garments-what-why-and-how\/","title":{"rendered":"Reconstructing Garments; What, Why and How"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Collection by Xinyan Dai at EcoChic Design Award 2013. Photo by Andy Jones<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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How many clothes do you have in your closet right now? \u00a0If you’re typical you would say your closet is too small for all your clothes. Did you know we consume 60% more clothes annually than we did even 10 years ago? \u00a0It’s the era of disposable clothing. Worn today, trashed tomorrow.<\/p>\n

When garments are thrown away\u00a0resources are wasted and currently so many garments are being produced and consumed that charities and rag trades\u00a0can’t\u00a0sell it all. The waste\u00a0adds up\u00a0especially in an industry that never had a small footprint; pesticides to grow cotton, land and water for raising crops and sheep (wool), fossil fuels to produce man made fibers, water, coal and chemicals to treat fabric including “sustainable” fabrics and the fact that\u00a0man made fibers\u00a0are not biodegradable and blends cannot be separated to recycle the plastics. And, of course all the labor to produce\u00a0so much clothing is wasted.<\/p>\n

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But a garment at the end of it’s life cycle; produced, worn, discarded, for whatever reason, could begin again. Garments and parts of garments can be, and are by some designers, re-constructed into new fashion.<\/p>\n

Reconstructing\u00a0is making new clothes from previously worn garments. This can mean individuals who turn a dress into a skirt or a men’s shirt into a top<\/a> to wear themselves. Reconstructing can also mean people producing multiples of one item to sell like skirts from old t-shirts. And it could even be couture level garments made from garments no longer wanted.<\/p>\n

Many people view reconstructing garments strictly\u00a0as a green or eco movement; a niche market.\u00a0I see reconstructing garments as a creative challenge, as an experiment in living economically – within your means, sort of an anti-consumerism movement. I see it also as a lesson passed down from past generations to buy\u00a0the best quality you can afford and then take care of it.<\/p>\n

Most of us probably get the idea to reconstruct a garment when we see a piece of clothing\u00a0we love but no longer wear. Maybe we love it for\u00a0the fabric or the print or maybe for the sentimental value it has.<\/p>\n

I have been given cast-off\u00a0clothing\u00a0from relatives and from friends. I’ve picked up items at clothing swaps and thrift stores and\u00a0some of these pieces work for me as they are and some have been passed on to others but a few pieces sit in my sewing room\u00a0because they have “potential”. I see another garment in them waiting for me to bring it out, like Michelangelo saw the angel in the marble and carved to set him free. Well, maybe, I’m not creating at quite such a poetic and artistic level.<\/p>\n

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A dress made from trench coats by Gary Harvey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Tips for Reconstructing Garments<\/h3>\n