Tailor-made in Michigan: The joy of crafting your own wardrobe

We talked to a Michigander who makes her own clothing and secured some tips for beginners. 

The weather’s getting colder, and many in the Mitten are thinking about ways to refresh their cold-weather wardrobes. While there is no shortage of fun places to shop throughout Michigan, from major retailers to local boutiques, how about something truly unique? In fact, how about something that’s one-of-a-kind and made to fit your measurements perfectly?

Well, you can have just that if you join the Michiganders (and people around the world) who are making their own clothes!

Homemade clothing comeback

While the advent of ready-to-wear clothes has meant that homemade clothes, once a staple for Americans, have become a rarity, hand-making clothing has seen a resurgence in recent years. From sewing to knitting to “upcycling” old clothing, making your own clothes is a fun hobby that can help you appreciate the work that goes into what you wear—and land you some cool clothing at the same time!

Rachel Leggett, a software engineer based in Ann Arbor, started making her own clothing around ten years ago while she was a student at the University of Michigan. Although she learned to knit at age nine, she only really got into making her own clothing her senior year of college, when she first made herself some socks and sweaters—and she hasn’t stopped since. The hobby stuck, she said, “because I like making things I can use!”

Rachel is part of a growing group of people who are making clothing, whether to save money, express themselves, or as a more sustainable alternative to fast fashion. But if you want to join them, it’s not unusual to be intimidated or unsure of how to get started.

Beginners: Just go for it!

Rachel makes no secret of her enthusiasm for more knitters, sewists, and other textile and fiber fiends getting involved in her hobby. “Just go for it!” she says. “You will make mistakes, but each mistake is a learning opportunity. A garment that doesn’t fit isn’t a failure as long as you learn something from it.”

She also has some advice for a good starting place: “For sewing, skirts are a great first project because they teach you some basic key skills: how to sew in a straight line, how to install a zipper, and how to sew a hem. Also, pressing your seams is crucial! Don’t skip that step!”

And don’t worry if you’re not quite ready to buy expensive equipment for your new hobby. “If you want to try machine sewing but don’t want to commit to buying a sewing machine, I recommend checking if your local library has machines available,” advises Legget. The growing “equipment library” movement has taken root across the Wolverine State, with the Ypsilanti District Library’s “Library of Things” offering heavy-duty sewing machines for patrons, as do libraries in Bridgman, Stevensville, Lansing, and other districts across the state.

Finding people (and places) to connect with

While many people start making their own clothes purely to enjoy the work and the fun fashion they can produce, making clothing can also be a great way to connect with other people. Leggett doesn’t belong to social groups related to clothing making but does self-publish her knitting patterns on Ravelry, and her work has been featured in Knitscene Magazine (current knitters and the knitting-curious, take note—it’s a publication that’s worth a read). She posts on Instagram as arbortwist, where aspiring knitters and tailors can share their work under popular hashtags like “#knittersofinstagram” and “#imademyclothes,” the latter of which has over 300 thousand posts. 

Or, if you want to meet fellow enthusiasts in person, consider joining up with a sewing class or a group like Michigan Knit and Crochet, which brings knitting and crochet enthusiasts from all over the state together. Across the Mitten, you can find classes for all levels of expertise, which are a great way to make new friends, pick up tips and advice when you face a challenge, and learn about projects other people are working on when you need a spark of inspiration.

So, what are you waiting for? A “stitch in time saves nine,” and there’s no time like the present to try something new. So grab a needle (or hook, or library card to check out a sewing machine) and get started!

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.