Why are so many people turning to sew?

Now then, have you noticed how many people seem to be taking up sewing? It seems to be everywhere at the moment. You see younger people talking about sewing on social media, sewing classes popping up, fabric shops expanding their ranges and even some of the big clothing companies offering repair and alteration workshops. And it isn't just women either. More and more young men are having a go at sewing too.

I have to say, I think it is rather lovely. I have been sewing for a very long time, and I don't think I ever really stopped to think about why I sew. You just get on with it, don't you? You see something you like, find a pattern, choose your fabric and before you know it, half the dining table has disappeared under tissue paper, scissors and pins. But perhaps there is more to it than that.

It starts with the fabric

For me, it always comes back to fabric. I wrote about this in my article Choosing your First Fabric, and I keep thinking about my mum whenever I talk about it.

I remember being out shopping for fabric with my mother when I was young. She picked up a piece of fabric, scrunched it in her hand and said:

“It creases!”

That was it. No long explanation. No lecture about fabric composition. Just, “It creases!” But she was teaching me something without me really knowing it at the time. She was teaching me to feel the fabric.

To see how it behaved. To notice the drape. To think about what it would be like once it was made into a garment and, importantly, what it would look like after you had worn it.

I still do it now. Give me a piece of fabric and I'll scrunch it up in my hand, look at it, hold it up and see how it falls. You learn quite a lot that way.

And I think this is one of the reasons sewing is becoming attractive to a new generation. When you buy a ready-made garment, the fabric has already been chosen for you. When you sew, you get to choose. You can pick up the linen and feel it, compare two different cottons, decide that you want wool rather than a synthetic fabric, or simply choose something because you like the colour, weight or weave.

And then there is the pattern.

With a vintage sewing pattern, you are not simply buying instructions for making a dress or a coat. You are looking at how people dressed and sewed in another time. The illustrations, the fabric suggestions, the little details in the design and even the shape of the garment tell you something about the fashions of the day.

That is one of the things I love about vintage patterns. They give you the starting point, but they leave plenty of room for your own ideas.

A new appreciation for natural fibres

Perhaps we are also becoming more interested in what our clothes are actually made from. Linen, cotton, wool and cashmere are hardly new discoveries. We have been using them for generations, but there seems to be a renewed appreciation for them, particularly amongst younger people who are thinking more carefully about what they buy.

Linen is breathable and cool, and has that lovely natural rumpled quality. Cotton is wonderfully versatile, with so many different weights and weaves that you can use it for almost anything. And wool is one of those fabrics that has stood the test of time. A good wool garment can be warm, comfortable and incredibly long-lasting, and it can often be repaired when it needs a little attention.

Then there is cashmere. Soft, warm and wonderfully light, it is one of those fabrics where you understand the attraction as soon as you pick it up.

You don't need to be a fabric expert to appreciate the difference. And when you have an old sewing pattern in front of you suggesting wool, cotton, linen or silk, it can be rather nice to think about choosing a fabric in much the same way someone might have done when the pattern was first printed.

Are we getting fed up with polyester?

Now, I don't want to be too hard on polyester. There are times when synthetic fabrics are useful. They can be strong, inexpensive and practical, and there are garments where they make perfect sense.

But there is certainly more conversation these days about just how much polyester and other synthetic fibres we have in our wardrobes. Younger people in particular seem to be asking more questions about what their clothes are made from and how long they are likely to last.

And when you sew your own clothes, you have a choice that you don't always have when you are standing in a high street shop. You aren't limited to whatever fabric the manufacturer has decided to use. You can choose the fibre, the colour, the weight and the quality that suits the garment you are making.

That is quite a lovely bit of freedom.

It also means that an old pattern doesn't have to stay in the past. A 1940s blouse can be made in a beautiful modern linen. A 1950s dress can be made in a contemporary cotton. A 1960s coat can look completely different depending on the cloth you choose.

The pattern may be vintage, but what you make with it is entirely your own.

And younger men are sewing too

It is particularly encouraging to see younger men taking up sewing. For years, sewing was often thought of as something women did. But sewing is simply a useful skill.

You can make a shirt, alter a pair of trousers, repair a favourite jacket, make a bag or rework something you already own. And once you understand how clothes are put together, you start looking at them differently. You notice the seams, the pockets, how the collar has been made and how the fabric has been cut. You begin to understand why some garments fit beautifully and others don't.

Vintage sewing patterns are particularly interesting here because there are so many designs beyond the usual women's dress patterns. Men's shirts, jackets, trousers, coats and waistcoats, as well as children's clothes, all have their own fascinating history.

And there is something rather satisfying about wearing something and being able to say, “I made that.”

Perhaps we have become a little too good at throwing things away

This is another part of the sewing revival that I find interesting. We have become very used to buying something cheaply, wearing it a handful of times and then getting rid of it.

A seam comes undone. A button falls off. The trousers no longer fit quite as well. There is a little hole. And somehow the easiest answer has become to throw the garment away and buy another one.

But it wasn't always like that. My mother would never have thrown something away just because it needed a little repair. You mended it. You altered it. You turned it around. You found another use for it. You looked after it.

 Another vivid memory I have is of my grandmother. I was about 10 when she made me the best pair of patchwork trousers you could ever imagine, and I absolutely loved them. I remember watching her cut patches from old garments and pieces of clothing she had saved, then washing all the pieces first so they wouldn't shrink later when the trousers were made. I thought they were wonderful. Looking back, I realise she was teaching me another lesson about sewing without ever needing to say it. Nothing needed to go to waste if you could make something lovely from it. My Gran knew she would make me very happy.  I can just see my brother now in one of those knitted jumpers my mam or perhaps my Gran - made him. They certainly weren't bought to keep up with fashion!

I diversified slightly there…. So why vintage sewing patterns are having their moment? They come from a time when making, altering and repairing clothes was simply part of everyday life. These patterns have survived all these years, and there is something rather wonderful about taking one of them and making it into something that will be worn again.

Slow fashion isn't really a new idea

We hear a lot about slow fashion these days. But if you grew up around sewing, it doesn't sound particularly revolutionary. It is really about taking a little more care over what we buy and what we keep, rather than treating clothes as something disposable.

Sewing naturally fits into that way of thinking. When you make something yourself, you are involved in every part of it. You have chosen the pattern and fabric, spent time making it and, hopefully, ended up with something you really want to wear. And if it needs altering or repairing later, you already know the garment well enough to do something about it.

With a vintage pattern, there is another element too. You are giving an old piece of sewing history a new life. The original pattern may have been sitting in a collection for decades, perhaps folded away and forgotten, and now it can become a blouse, dress, coat or pair of trousers that someone actually wears. I rather like that.

Love it for longer

I rather like the expression love it for longer.

When you have spent hours making a dress, you don't tend to regard it in quite the same way as something you picked up in a shop for a few pounds. You know how much work went into it. You remember choosing the fabric, cutting it out and the bits that went wrong along the way!

And if something happens to it, you are much more likely to repair it. That is where I think sewing can change the way we think about clothes. It gives you a relationship with them.

The same can be said of a vintage sewing pattern. Once you have found one you really love, it is rather easy to start imagining all the possibilities. You see the drawing on the front and immediately start thinking, What would that look like in this fabric? Would I make the sleeves as shown? Would I change the length?

And before you know it, you are rummaging through the fabric cupboard or looking to see where you can get some more from.

The shops have noticed

It isn't just home sewers who have noticed that something is changing. Some very big clothing companies are now offering sewing, repair, alteration and upcycling workshops.

Levi's, Uniqlo, Primark and Zara have all been looking at different ways of encouraging customers to repair, alter or extend the life of their clothes. John Lewis has also expanded its repair and alteration services.

And really, it makes perfect sense. People are becoming more interested in keeping things. They want to repair a favourite pair of jeans rather than throw them away, alter something that doesn't quite fit and learn how to mend.

Of course, the retailers have their reasons too. Repair services bring people back into their shops and make good business sense. But I don't mind that at all if it means more people discover that clothes don't have to be disposable.

Even fabric departments are growing

And here's another thing. Fabric shops have noticed.

Liberty in London recently more than doubled the size of its fabric department, with fabric sales increasing and thousands of fabrics now available. That is quite something. You don't make a fabric department bigger unless people are buying fabric.

So perhaps the sewing revival isn't quite the little niche hobby some people might imagine it to be. People are sewing, people are buying fabric and people are interested in what they are buying.

And for those of us who love vintage sewing patterns, that is rather encouraging. Because the more people discover sewing, the more likely they are to discover the joy of an old pattern too.

There is something lovely about knowing what goes into a garment

I think this is perhaps the bit that appeals to me most.

When you sew something yourself, you know what is in it. You know the fabric, how it was put together and how much time it took. You have made decisions along the way that you simply don't get to make when buying something ready-made.

And then there is the joy of finding just the right vintage sewing pattern.

Perhaps it is a pattern from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s or 1960s. Perhaps it is an unusual sleeve, an interesting neckline, a wonderful coat or simply a very good everyday dress. You look at the illustration and immediately start imagining the fabric.

That is the part I still love.

Because a vintage sewing pattern isn't just a set of pieces of paper. It is a little piece of fashion history waiting to be made again.

Maybe we are simply remembering what sewing gives us

I don't think people are turning to sewing because they want to go backwards. Quite the opposite. They are learning an old skill and using it in a very modern way.

They are making clothes that suit them, choosing their own fabrics, learning how garments are put together and discovering the satisfaction that comes from making something themselves.

And perhaps those of us who have been sewing for years should be rather pleased about it. After all, we've known about it all along.

For me, it still comes back to that piece of fabric and my mum picking it up, scrunching it in her hand and saying: “It creases!”

And perhaps that's really what sewing is about. Not simply making another garment, but choosing something carefully, finding a pattern you love, making it well and ending up with something that you want to keep.

Love it for longer.

Now then, put the kettle on and have a rummage through your fabric box. I'm sure there's something in there you've been meaning to make for years.

Some other good reads:

Guardian - Liberty embraces sewing boom with craft classes as it expands fabrics section

Guardian - A stitch in time – new era for home sewing