Category: who made my clothes

Knitting a Dress for the First Time

Knitting a dress, how hard can it be right? It was actually pretty managable garment as an intermediate knitter. I would not recommend unless you have made a sweater before but would definitely recommend knitting a dress if you want a soft and stretchy garment that hugs you!

Inspiration

I have made plenty of dresses over the past 5 years, but they have all been cut and sewn from fabric. Knitting kicks it up a notch, asking you to assemble the dress, but make the fabric to boot. I thought it would be silly to try until I discovered some lovely crochet designers on You Tube who make with imagination!

I was inspired by Mama Gwen of TL Yarn Crafts to give designing a knit dress a try. She makes such beautiful dresses all from self-drafted patterns in knit and crochet. Along with Dana from Blondie Knots. Her Coachella scrap two piece outfit helped me have the boost of confidence to try something new.

Materials

Last summer at Joann, before the shenanigans began, I purchased 14 Big Twist Cotton 50g skeins on a sale with the intention of knitting a top. Many months later, this yarn was sitting in my stash with my mind uncertain if the punchy color changing yarn was my cup of tea for a cotton knit top. But a dress? Yes, that could work. Did I have enough yarn though? I’d have to make it so because there was no more being sold.

Because of the circumstances, I decided this dress would be my goodbye to Big Twist.

Design

I knew from sewing, my design would need to be a dress that was either tubular or empire waist to suit my body shape. I decided to knit this on US 7 needles, straight needles. Sometimes I would shift to circular, but this was not knit in the round. With the combination of yarn minders, a measuring tape and patience this dress came together!

To start I knew I wanted the bodice to be the anchor I worked out from so I cast on stitches to work horizontally. From the bodice, I then added one strap to plan the width and placement of the top. I was uncertain how much yardage the skirt would consume, therefore I paused to determine sleeves later.

My plan for the skirt was to knit a section by casting on the bottom of the bodice, adding stitches to increase width until I finished a skein. Repeat and fill out the row by picking up stitches to join the sections vertically into a tube. I continued on, and on  until weeks later I had a skirt but panicked that I was not going to achieve my desired length and second sleeve!

I decided to pull a teal yarn from my Landscape Painting with Yarn project. This hue pulled the cool tones into harmony in a pleasing way. I used two skeins of this teal color and then finished with the original Water Lily tonal yarn. I finished the second sleeve and tried on the piece with relative ease. There was one fit issue – plunging neckline. But it was a lovely, cozy knit from scratch dress!

The final touches to this project were addressing the neckline and the sleeves which were set too deep. I cast on to the neckline to fill in the gap and provided structure to the straps with several rows of decreases to give the dress a cap sleeve befitting my vision.

Final Thoughts

I am definitely making more dresses with knit! It’s far more pleasant than sewing if you want a comfy yet elegant style. You have both control of the drape and the fabric design. It’s your world, as Bob Ross would say.

This project was more than a goodbye to Big Twist, it was a new chapter for me. I began this journey 5 years ago to learn how to make and now I feel empowered by knowing I can make my own clothes, not just with fabric but with skeins of yarn and needles. It has been a wonderful journey of discovery!

If you want to knit a dress, I’d say go for it! If you’re a beginner, make one but not as your first project – you will be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of time this project took. It was weeks of work that as a beginner, would have scared me. In time I know you can do it though! ❤

Starting a Knit Garment

Do you ever get stuck in start mode when beginning a new thing?

Like you’re wandering through a maze of ideas. Maybe it’s the planning stage, too many ideas, not enough organization? It’s weird. I feel such a rush when I have multiple WIPs on my needles. The satisfaction of binding off stitches and slipping that garment onto my body makes every week of work worth it!

The void though, between new idea and casting on a new project, is a shape shifting process. The indecision sets in.

  • What yarn should I use?
  • Do I have a color palette
  • Stockinette or a new stitch?
  • Texture?
  • Colorwork?
  • Do I have an inspriation garment in mind?
  • Have I thought about how I want to garment to fit?
  • How much positive or negative ease should I plan for?

The next phase is choosing needles, selecting the amount of yardage, and gauge swatching the stitches to inches ratio to calculate the size of the garment.

It feels as important to start with the correct amount of stitches as it does to pour a concrete foundation evenly. I think this is why I get stuck in neutral instead of shifting into gear – when you get a creative idea sometimes the final design outcome is a little fuzzy.

So how do I get out of it and move forward with my design? I sketch, even simply shading the colors together in simple patterns helps me see if the image in my head will fit the realized garment. I also start working with the room to frog the yarn and begin again.

That is my favorite thing about fiber art, you can tear out and begin again without ruining your materials. Even though the first stitches feel like concrete the process is flexible.

Do you get stuck in planning? How do you move your mind forward? Thanks for spending time with me today. You are amazing and I hope you know that you are loved. Until next time. ❤

What About the Garment Workers? 2025 Edition

There are a lot of things about this new Trump term that are setting my jaw. The newest one, though, happens to be the tariffs zeroing in on Vietnam, and something we are losing sight of in this discussion—what is going to happen to garment workers?

Vietnam is one of many countries in the global south that are responsible for the garments and shoes we wear every day. In May 2024, they surpassed China as the largest textile and garment market share for U.S. imports. The nation employs around 2.5 million people within the 6000 garment and textile factories across Vietnam. This rapid growth of 37 billion USD worth of garments being made in Vietnam in 2024, from 26 billion USD in 2017, is due to the low wages of Vietnam compared to the higher wages of China and even higher wages in the United States. In the 1980s, before Clinton’s NAFTA in 1993, garments sold in American stores were made in the United States, but this changed during the Clinton era and has gotten worse in the 32 years since through the rise of fast fashion and the fashion industry’s reliance on cheap labor at the expense of the garment workers.

So, now we bring the so-called “Liberation Day” of tariffs, and since this is a space I like to keep safe, I’m going to move on because I have nothing nice to say. What I want to focus on is not making this job American again, the rising prices of garments, or anything political, and instead I’d like to zero in on what seeing the world with a Kingdom (God’s Kingdom that is) lens has taught me so far this year.

I’d say that my eyes being opened began last year with diving deeper into Fashion Roadman’s channel, which led me to watch two documentaries – The True Cost of Fast Fashion and Perfume’s Dark Secret in 2024. The other revelations that were exposed in 2024 such as the labor practices of Armani and Dior, were very telling for how are garments are made from luxury to fast fashion. It’s no secret that the fashion industry, including luxury brands, is not concerned with the moral cost of their decisions and is solely focused on getting money in their pockets for their shareholders. So, what is going to happen within the fashion industry as a result of these tariffs set on Vietnam, especially with no sign of negotiation from the Trump Administration? I think it’s going to be bad for everyone.

I think costs from the brands will be cut from the quality of the garments being made, to the materials, to the contracts with these factories. I think garment workers will probably see the biggest hit in their work environment and wages, as their economy is hurt. Or potentially the factories will no longer get these contracts to cut labor costs, meaning the production of garments will be further entrenched with slave labor in countries where workers are exploited. Then what will those women be left with? Garment Workers are primarily women, and they are skilled laborers who could be left without a way to provide income for their families.

It’s not okay for so many reasons.

That is why, as we look towards Easter, I am thinking about those who are oppressed in our world, because Jesus came to be a new Moses and lead us through the Exodus Way. Thank you, dear reader, if you stayed with me on this one. I wish this world weren’t such a downer right now, but just know, although we are from the United States, we are not pleased and empathize with how this is affecting you too. ❤

Fashion Feels So Off in 2025

I was talking to my friend recently about fashion week, we bounced between NYFW and PFW in our discussions, primarily NYFW and we both remarked how the spark is gone. Growing up we both lived for those massive February and September issues of American Vogue, but as adults, neither of us read the fashion magazines nor are we swept up in watching a runway show stream on Youtube. In college I remember watching runway shows between classes, soaking up the atmosphere of the music, the makeup, the silhouettes strutting down the long walk away. Now, I hardly care about fashion week. My favorite moments of fashion week are no longer the collections and focus on Hyunjin’s interactions with Donatella at the Versace show and Felix’s runway passes for Nicholas Ghesquiere’s Louis Vuitton Women’s collection.

Out of the two of these collections – Versace and Louis Vuitton, I guess I pay attention to and prefer Donatella’s work, but I’m not looking at the collection, I’m focused on the spectacle anymore with these fashion shows. Versace shows at Milan Fashion Week, not Paris for clarification. I watched a highlight of PFW from Fashion Roadman and was underwhelmed. Even Alexander McQueen cannot get me hyped for the runway anymore. I saw there was a Carhartt collaboration with the brand Sacai which was quite frustrating to me. I’ve worn Carhartt before and it is not my vibe. Some shows reused old items, sorry they presented from the archive, from previous collections for “sustainability” and there was a collection addressing war, which feels a bit like that infamous scene in The Devil Wears Prada.

I know it sounds harsh, but I wish brands would do more for countries around the world than present a “statement” against war with military-inspired pieces when these brands are part of huge conglomerates that have the resources and influence to make a difference and instead, they use fashion to make money from exploited workers. And maybe that is why fashion in 2025 feels so off – fashion is not fun anymore. We know too much, the fashion machine has destroyed so much and is the capitalist monster filled with egos and performative greenwashing.

I’ve mentioned before that I find more inspiration from K-Pop than fashion magazines and that holds true for me in 2025. I’m more interested in customizing my wardrobe and making things personalized to my tastes than following the trend cycle because the trend cycle is regurgitating things from my lifetime that I’m already interested in, such as ballet flats, but assigning them an expiration date and I disagree. By the mid-2010s I was tired of ballet flats, but I had worn them for 10 years at that point and was interested in something new to replace my worn, falling-apart flats. I’d rather pick a reference and get inspired, like watching Seinfeld and writing notes for an outfit I’d like to emulate. But that doesn’t fit with the fashion cycles and seasons, so it’s making the fashion shows seem pointless to me.

But the most off-putting thing I’ve seen this year is the discussion – ‘The Death of Personal Style’ which I have seen explored by Drew Joiner, Mina Le, and Nicky Reardon. This topic has been debated across the internet in spaces I don’t visit like X or TikTok, but I think people are bored and claiming personal style is dying because we need some fresh inspiration. I’ve been in a creative slump so far in 2025 with writing because the internet spaces I hang out in have been so negative this year. Like a communal ennui has rolled in, shrouding creative people in a fog. It’s been hard to not buy into the mindset and I’ve been a member of the club after seeing how worried my loved ones are that are facing being cut from their job or their career sector being gutted. Fiber artists and sewists are definitely in a delicate place right now, finding a new normal after Joann’s.

Yeah, it’s weird. I hate change, and I fear the past being repeated, but something struck me last night after watching two videos that have nothing to do with fashion but humor me. The YouTube creator Suibhne (Swee-nee) makes historical content about countries around the world, I in particular chose The History of Korea and The History of Japan to watch, and it’s heavy. What happened between Korea and Japan in the Sino-Japanese War has had lasting consequences, but so has European colonialism in Asia and America’s forced opening of Japan through Commodore Matthew Perry.

Watching these videos that recount the atrocities of WWII in the Pacific reminds me that the overall concern of what is happening politically in the world and in my home country is coming from a noble place. I think overreaction or potentially appropriate reaction is important to keep any bit of the past from being repeated. It’s staying vigilant, like the servants in Luke 12 who were waiting at the door for the master of the house to return. Complacency is never a good thing.

Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 

Luke 12:35-36 ESV

So instead of being concerned by the social worry of WWII attitudes re-emerging, I should see it as a positive that people are taking things seriously and are unwilling to let evil take root again for the good of all. Even when I consider how fashion seems so dark because of unethical labor practices, sometimes I wish I didn’t know about the darkness, and instead I should consider how knowledge is not the enemy, the unethical practices are the enemy. Shopping is not as fun, but why is my pleasure more important than the rights of garment workers? It’s not all about me. Knowing this information is not the end point either, we put the awareness into action for change. So fashion feels off, but I think we’re tilling up ground for something new, not destroying something joyful for us fashion lovers.

I wish you hope, joy, and peace wherever you are. Thank you for taking the time to spend it with me today, dear reader. Until next time ❤

Checker Board Pants: Making Pants From Your Favorite Jeans

In 2024, I was inspired to start making pants. I had attempted making pants before and they were successful but I struggled to make them feel like more than just a pair of lounge pants. Part of this was caused by not choosing a good bottom-weight fabric, and instead opting for a lightweight summer cotton that draped beautifully but didn’t give me that tailored look. I also tried an ill-fated scuba fabric in 2023 that crashed and burned because my thread tension was off. Enter this checkerboard denim print I purchased at Hobby Lobby. It was denim but lighter, not too heavy to be a problem for my sewing machine. But how would I find the right pattern?

I had a pants pattern in my stash for menswear trousers, that I considered using on this project. It’s a solid pattern and would make a straight-fit pair of jeans, maybe not the style I was going for though. I considered buying a new pattern, but then I fretted that the pattern would fit me weirdly or might not fit at all. The current style in 2024 still featured that tapered-in waist on pants that favor an hourglass figure, not my rectangle athletic build, so should I risk it? A big reason I chose to make pants in the first place was that I was sick of shopping and trying on pants that made me feel weird about my body. The men’s section was my go-to for their up-and-down pattern cutting, compared to the extreme tapering and high waist silhouette of women’s pants. Even low rise was stuck in mid-rise inseam, not the true low waist inseam I was accustomed to in the 2000s and early 2010s that helped me find good-fitting jeans because they favored my shape not the post-bbl world of fashion. I digress, my point is that buying a pattern someone else drafted felt like a risk because the fit is such a personalized thing.

My solution was to take a pair of pants in my wardrobe that I liked the fit of and to trace that pair of pants to gauge the shape. I did this with a pair of jeans that were high waist but had a nice loose fit through the hip and leg for the K-pop-inspired baggy jeans style I was interested in making with this 1990s Vans checker board print. This worked swimmingly! So much so that I traced the jeans onto a piece of brown craft paper for a quick pattern to reach for on future projects.

I chose to record this project, start to finish in video from instead of video to have a memory of how I did this to learn for myself and remember what I did but to also inspire others to try this. Pants are intimidating, especially from a paper or PDF pattern. The written instructions and diagrams have puzzled me in past projects but truly, pants are simple once you see how its done. I wanted to help others feel that freedom to create because at least in my American fashion market, fast fashion has destroyed the craftsmanship of pants and standardized sizing. I referenced this in a previous post, Shaping Up where I had to confront the dressing room terror of things not fitting and seeking to not be defined by my jeans size, when trends and pattern cutting shape shift sizes, but to take control of it on my end and get healthier in 2023.

This pants project was one of the most challenging and rewarding projects of 2024. I faced my fear of sewing denim, inserting pockets, and fastenings. I chose to not attempt a fly into I had more pants sewing experience, instead I planned to make what I knew I could achieve under my skill set. I opted for a side closer with a drawstring to have an adjustable fit since the denim had zero stretch. The denim containing no stretch was a feature I sought because I believed it would be easier to work with as it was my first project of this kind, and I wanted a crisp tailoring from the woven fabric. A key thing to note is that the jeans I used for my template also are non-stretch denim. For an accurate this is paramount or else the project will not work. Either you will cut your project too large or too small. It is also essential to leave a seam allowance on your pattern pieces. When self-drafting it is your responsibility to take charge of the seam allowances and plan ahead.

I messed this up with the crotch line and had to make a quick fix. My fix was a diamond gusset. Popular in women’s leggings, this diamond gusset shape piece allows for greater mobility while maintaining the strength of the seams.

The second challenge I faced was the problem of a narrow bolt and an all-over pattern. This fabric was quite narrow and because I was cautious with my seam allowance, I cut my pieces large. This meant that I was not cutting from the longest side, but the most wide. The pattern pieces were cut out missing length on the leg. My solution was to add on to the bottom and pattern match. It’s easier to match than people say, it just takes patience and intentional sewing. I’m pleased with how seamlessly I got my pieces to match up.

The pockets were a challenge. How do you place them? How do you insert them with strength so the pockets can be used without pulling the pants down or ripping? I chose to place them angled on the sides, aligned with my hips so that they would be practical and not create weird bunching at the front of the pants. No wonky crotch fit here!

Would you make your own pants? I hope I inspired you to get creative and go for it if you are sewing-inclined. Thanks, reader, for joining me once again on this quest to grow my fashion design skills. Have a wonderful day!

Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2024

Have you claimed your deal yet? What are you waiting for? Has every platform, company, or application on your device prompted you to check out their coupon code for an amazing, one-time-only deal?

This year has felt different. Maybe it’s the economy of the United States in 2024, or perhaps it’s the fatigue of advertisements from how many ways we see them nowadays. The Christmas shopping season took on a new flavor in 2020. Sales migrated online, and shopping days—Black Friday and Cyber Monday—became “Black Friday all month” and “Cyber Week.” I feel like Charlie Brown, I’m aghast at the rampant consumerism, which leads me to believe I have changed.

I think it is the amazing work of normal people who have started talking about the current tour-de-force of consumerism that is becoming normalized in first-world nations. I started taking serious note of this during Fashion Roadman live streams, where he discussed the voracious gains of the conglomerates – Kering and LVMH to grow every quarter. While growth was sought, prices soared, and quality took a nosedive. How was this happening? This was a never-ending I sought to learn more about throughout 2024, and along the way, I discovered the web of destruction that almost every company is caught in. Cheaper materials, cheaper production, the global south, slave labor conditions, child labor, toxic chemicals, microplastics, lithium mining, and planned obsolescence. That is as concise as I can get, and trust me, there is so much I’d like to write about on this topic.

How does this connect to Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Well, I used to have a bit of a shopping addiction. This season used to wreck my bank account. Saying no to things I didn’t need because I like clothes was difficult, as dumb as it sounds. It was my way of hiding from my problems by giving me a little treat. I wasted a lot of money and time working to make up for the financial consequences of my actions. Most importantly, it never gave me true happiness. So, if you are struggling with all these sales being shoved in your face, I feel you.

I did go to my local Premier Outlets on Black Friday to pick up a gift for my stepdad and was immediately tempted by the sales and a cute pair of pants I had seen the day before from Old Navy. That’s where being aware of how and where our clothing is being made can really help to wake up to the noise – I remembered where Old Navy makes their clothing in the global south in countries like Bangladesh, where labor conditions are despicable. I snapped out of it. Does this mean I will never shop from Old Navy or another company like them? No, because the system is broken, and all clothing and manufacturing are tainted right now by the Temu and Shein models. But it is helping to only buy if I need something and try to upcycle or make the garment so I can understand how much goes into the process of the garment worker.

Ironically, as I was leaving I saw a sign on the Forever 21 store that they accept Shein returns. We all know where those are going.

This brings me to what actually sparked this post today, it was an email I received from Converse, which advertised a Cyber Monday 75% off sale on everything! Yeah, that’s what the email said. Dubiously, I clicked the link to check it out. I had heard that Nike (the owner of Converse) had a slow 3rd quarter and is falling behind Adidas in the 2020s due to the popularity of the Samba and Blokecore in recent years. Maybe it was true to make Q4 a success? I was surprised by what I saw!

I was surprised to see nothing even approaching 75% off. Either there were a few items that sold out, and the 75% off is gone, or this deal was carefully worded to get traffic. I was disappointed. This goes along with many deals I saw this year on Black Friday and today on Cyber Monday. It’s lackluster. I was looking at colors to touch up my roots and saw that Arctic Fox was running a cyber deal through Amazon, and it was more expensive than the price it was advertised when I purchased it. So what is my point? Be wise and buy what you need when you can afford it, but don’t let the talons of consumerism dig into your wallet this year because there is a cost, and we can’t afford the cost of hyperconsumerism on our fellow humans in the global south, the planet, or our finances.

I saw a short clip someone shared that said on Black Friday, everything is being sold for the price they want. I can attest to receiving junky quality items that were being sold as Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. It’s a web, but let’s marinate on the problems being brought to light and fight together to solve this problem. I think in time we can sort this out.

I hope wherever you are, you are feeling warm (if you are a Northern Hemisphere person, winter is in full force here!) and know that you were made for a purpose. Thank you for spending time with me today. ❤

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