You might have noticed that things have been a bit quiet here recently. After two years of blogging fairly consistently, Take It Up Wear It Out unfortunately had to take a bit of a backseat in 2019. I moved house at the end of 2018, so unpacking, making new soft furnishings and decorating took up a lot of time and energy. I also wanted to work on other sewing projects, like improving my embroidery skills, and creating my first work of wearable textile art, Worn Out.
Political events meant that my mental health took a bit of a battering - the reluctance of the government to act on the advice they were given by the Environmental Audit Committee to reduce the worst impacts of the fast fashion industry frustrated me, and the increasingly aggressive policing of peaceful Extinction Rebellion protests made me very anxious. Brexit loomed; a constant threat to jobs, trade, the supply of medicines, human rights and even our toilet paper supply as we discovered how woefully unprepared the government was and how little they seemed to care. And then the selfish, lying opportunists won an election and think they can do whatever they want.
Although I’ve spent a few days feeling hopeless, I’ve also realised I’ve learned a lot from a year of reading, speaking with and listening to other activists, taking part in anti-fast-fashion actions with Extinction Rebellion, running sewing workshops and generally observing what works and what doesn’t when it comes to helping people to make more environmentally friendly choices. I’ve got exciting plans for 2020, so here’s a little sneak peek at what you can expect from Take It Up Wear It Out in the first few months next year.
The Twelve Days of Fix-mas
I’ve realised I have a backlog of alterations, upcycles and other sewing projects that I’ve finished but haven’t mentioned anywhere, so they’ll be going up on my Instagram and as a series of mini blog posts between Christmas and the 6th January.
Fix It February
January always begins with a relentless onslaught of pressure to improve every aspect of our lives. It’s impossible to make every resolution stick at once, so it’s all too easy to feel like a failure before the year has even properly begun. So I’m giving everyone a month before I start my Instagram challenge to encourage everyone to get stuck in to that pile of alterations and repairs that we’re all saving “for later”. It’s still cold and dark outside, so what better time of year to snuggle up with some sewing?
Workshops
I’ll be assisting my amazingly talented artist friend CL Gamble with their ongoing project, Blanket Fort. This collaborative art project will involve making “achievement” patches that serve as a reminder to act in solidarity against the pressures of capitalism, neoliberalism and individualism. More details about the workshop on 4th Jan are available here.
I’ll also be running a sewing workshop as part of Swish and Style in Enfield, in partnership with Wise Up To Waste. Learn some simple embroidery stitches, and make a patch to customise or repair a favourite item of clothing. More details about the event are available here.
Ongoing blog series: Fashion Isn’t Rubbish!
I’m planning a monthly blog post about fashion that is being made from recycled and reclaimed materials. I’d love to feature a really diverse array of garments and accessories, so if there’s a brand you think I ought to know about, or you’re a brand doing innovative things, give me a shout! I’m looking for anything involving deadstock fabrics, recycled fabrics or yarns, post-industry or post-consumer waste or scaleable upcycling.
Ongoing holiday plans - Britain’s textile history
I travelled up to Burnley in October for the British Textile Biennial and visited the Queen Street Mill, after finding out that my grandmother’s family had been employed in Burnley’s textile mills. Britain’s textile history is complex and fascinating, and I’m planning to visit as many museums, historic factories and mills as possible before they are lost to developers or lack of funding. As well as personal family threads, I’m curious to follow the thread that leads from the Industrial Revolution to our current global fashion system, and hopefully I’ll be blogging about my travels! Again, if you know any local hidden gems, do share them with me.
Thank you all for following Take It Up Wear It Out, chatting to me on social media and saying kind things about my writing! It’s important to me to act to improve the fashion industry by constantly learning and sharing existing skills and new information, so I hope you’ll keep reading.
