Home clothes construction in the context of sustainable fashion: design strategies for promoting the development and application of basic sewing skill
Lead Research Organisation:
Nottingham Trent University
Department Name: Graduate School
Abstract
The proposed practice-based research will examine the means by which amateurs acquire sewing skills. It will test a series of design propositions to improve on the tools and resources already available, with an emphasis on the development of transferable skills and know-how toward more sustainable fashion futures. The project will investigate the historical and contemporary tools and resources available to amateur makers (including paper patterns, 'how to' guides, kits and online tutorials) to develop a typology of resources. Participatory workshops and reflective participant diaries will be used to gain feedback on user experience of these resources and the acquisition and application of sewing skills. A series of propositional designs for alternative kits/resources will be generated, tested with participants and adapted based on user feedback. It is anticipated that participants will be recruited with the support of Fashion Revolution.
This study builds on a lifelong interest in sewing, craft skill and the making of clothes. As a designer and maker I am acutely aware of how craft knowledge has informed my relationship with clothing over time. It is possession of these skills that enables me to engage with clothes (new, homemade or second-hand) in ways that extend their longevity and associated practical and emotional durability and value (Chapman, 2015; Townsend & Sadkowska, 2018). Consequently, I see sewing skills as valuable contemporary know-how and a form of sustainable fashion activism rather than the nostalgic pre-feminist pursuit it is often presumed to be (Bain, 2016). Amateur making has the potential to reconnect ideas of craft, making and use that have been substantially lost in the 'fast fashion' melee. My MA research focused on hand and digital processes in textile print design. Close investigation of my own craft practice led to an informed practical and theoretical understanding of the embodied nature of craft skill, which informed my MA dissertation and a subsequent peer-reviewed paper presented at the Making Futures 2017 international academic conference. Since graduation I have combined my sewing knowledge and printed-textile design skills to create a range of flat-pack cut-and-sew kits for beginners. The design and testing of these kits informed a second peer-reviewed paper (discussed above), which provided insight into the dynamics of sewing skill acquisition and potential for alternative tools to support this. The proposed PhD study would enable a much more fundamental evaluation of these issues and allow for a speculative and experimental design-led approach in responding to them.Recent decades have seen a resurgence of interest in home sewing (Bain, 2016). Sustainable fashion research, focusing on wearers' consumption and use behaviour (Fletcher, 2016; Twigger Holroyd, 2017), highlights the importance of amateur sewing skills for a sustainable fashion system. However, basic sewing skills are no longer routinely passed on at home or school, meaning their acquisition is more dependent than ever on remote learning and the tools/resources available to beginners. While new online and offline resources have emerged in response to this increased interest, the extent to which they accommodate lower general levels of sewing knowledge and/or new potential audiences is questionable. The primary aims of this research are to understand: What constitutes basic skills in the home construction of sewn clothing? What helps beginners to acquire these skills? And how does the development and application of these skills impact on the sewer's relationship with their clothes more generally?
generally? The research will draw on literature addressing: craft skill and tacit knowledge (Palanyi, 1966; Pye, 1968; Sennett, 2009; Wood, 2006); the scaffolding that supports learning/skill acquisition (Wass & Golding, 2014); craft consumption (Campbell, 2005; Watson & Shove, 2008); and 'pro-sumption' (Knot,
This study builds on a lifelong interest in sewing, craft skill and the making of clothes. As a designer and maker I am acutely aware of how craft knowledge has informed my relationship with clothing over time. It is possession of these skills that enables me to engage with clothes (new, homemade or second-hand) in ways that extend their longevity and associated practical and emotional durability and value (Chapman, 2015; Townsend & Sadkowska, 2018). Consequently, I see sewing skills as valuable contemporary know-how and a form of sustainable fashion activism rather than the nostalgic pre-feminist pursuit it is often presumed to be (Bain, 2016). Amateur making has the potential to reconnect ideas of craft, making and use that have been substantially lost in the 'fast fashion' melee. My MA research focused on hand and digital processes in textile print design. Close investigation of my own craft practice led to an informed practical and theoretical understanding of the embodied nature of craft skill, which informed my MA dissertation and a subsequent peer-reviewed paper presented at the Making Futures 2017 international academic conference. Since graduation I have combined my sewing knowledge and printed-textile design skills to create a range of flat-pack cut-and-sew kits for beginners. The design and testing of these kits informed a second peer-reviewed paper (discussed above), which provided insight into the dynamics of sewing skill acquisition and potential for alternative tools to support this. The proposed PhD study would enable a much more fundamental evaluation of these issues and allow for a speculative and experimental design-led approach in responding to them.Recent decades have seen a resurgence of interest in home sewing (Bain, 2016). Sustainable fashion research, focusing on wearers' consumption and use behaviour (Fletcher, 2016; Twigger Holroyd, 2017), highlights the importance of amateur sewing skills for a sustainable fashion system. However, basic sewing skills are no longer routinely passed on at home or school, meaning their acquisition is more dependent than ever on remote learning and the tools/resources available to beginners. While new online and offline resources have emerged in response to this increased interest, the extent to which they accommodate lower general levels of sewing knowledge and/or new potential audiences is questionable. The primary aims of this research are to understand: What constitutes basic skills in the home construction of sewn clothing? What helps beginners to acquire these skills? And how does the development and application of these skills impact on the sewer's relationship with their clothes more generally?
generally? The research will draw on literature addressing: craft skill and tacit knowledge (Palanyi, 1966; Pye, 1968; Sennett, 2009; Wood, 2006); the scaffolding that supports learning/skill acquisition (Wass & Golding, 2014); craft consumption (Campbell, 2005; Watson & Shove, 2008); and 'pro-sumption' (Knot,
