I started learning how to hand-spin my own yarn at the beginning of the pandemic, and then picked up knitting, crocheting and sewing as a side-effect. I’m pretty sure the stuff I make still “looks handmade”, but I’m getting better all the time, and as a bonus, I’ve taught most of my friends and comrades how to sew on buttons and do basic garment repairs. I still buy most of my clothes, but now the major question when I’m shopping in stores isn’t “how long will this last/how long will it be in style?” but “will I be able to fix this if a button falls off or one of the seams comes loose?” Even for people who cannot afford to abandon the entirety of the fast fashion mass market and/or sew things themselves, learning some basic clothing repair skills is still a positive thing. I like to think of it as an opportunity to collect useful skills for the day when capitalism goes belly-up entirely.
I started learning how to hand-spin my own yarn at the beginning of the pandemic, and then picked up knitting, crocheting and sewing as a side-effect. I’m pretty sure the stuff I make still “looks handmade”, but I’m getting better all the time, and as a bonus, I’ve taught most of my friends and comrades how to sew on buttons and do basic garment repairs. I still buy most of my clothes, but now the major question when I’m shopping in stores isn’t “how long will this last/how long will it be in style?” but “will I be able to fix this if a button falls off or one of the seams comes loose?” Even for people who cannot afford to abandon the entirety of the fast fashion mass market and/or sew things themselves, learning some basic clothing repair skills is still a positive thing. I like to think of it as an opportunity to collect useful skills for the day when capitalism goes belly-up entirely.