Me Made May 2015 #mmmay15 - Are you taking part?

I'm taking part in "Me Made May 2015" organised by So, Zo... What Do You Know? Check out her blog here.

This is my pledge...

I, Emma of craftyandcake.blogspot.co.uk and dressmakerssocial.blogspot.co.uk, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I endeavour to continue to wear at least one me made item of clothing each day for the duration of May 2015. In addition I will stop putting off making and wearing the knickers pattern I have had for too long and may even attempt to start the craftsy bra making course I bought six months ago!

I wear at least one me made garment most days so I needed to add a challenging bit. 

I enrolled on this bra making course six months ago and I have two knickers patterns that I received as birthday gifts. I haven't got round to making any of them yet so my challenge is to make and wear them this May.

If you would like to join in too, all you have to do is click here

I'll me posting updates on my progress on instagram as @craftyandcake on twitter as @dressmakersbton and here Facebook using the #mmmay15

Re-post from craftyandcake.blogspot.co.uk #sewsolidarity #whomademyclothes #fashrev

I’ll be honest, two years ago when I heard on the news that the Rana Plaza Factory in Bangladesh had collapsed I thought “that’s sad” as I often do with disasters reported on the news that are so far away. It wasn’t until recently after reading this blogpost by English Girl at Home that I started thinking about who makes the clothes I buy, mostly, for my two children and occasionally for myself as the majority of items in my wardrobe are home sewn.

My kids have grown up wearing lots of H&M clothes, mostly because I like them, but also because they are within our budget. It's only since I started sewing my own clothes that I have come to appreciate the amount time, care and attention needed to produce a garment and that to sell a garment so cheaply must mean that the person who made it must get paid very little for the work they have done.

So, thanks to an Instagram post about #sewsolidarity, Traid’s challenge to home sewers to raise awareness for the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster, my awareness of the topic has increased and my eyes have been opened reading about the conditions in which our clothes are made. One I found particulary interesting was this video by Leah Borromeo on suicide rates amongst cotton farmers. It would be easy to continue ignoring these stories and not think about where some high street clothes come from but I am glad that my eyes have been opened and I now think about “who made the clothes I buy for myself and my children?” and I have made a little pledge to myself, to be more mindful when shopping, to research where the clothes are made and continue to educate myself about who makes my clothes.

In memory of those that died in the Rana Plaza Collapse and to help raise awareness of the conditions in garment factories that produce clothes for the UK high street I am taking part in two awareness challenges.

First is Traid’s #sewsolidarity. Traid are asking home sewists to re-purpose a garment purchased from one of the shops who used the Rana Plaza factory to extend the garment’s life. I am re-fashioning two H&M garments from my son’s wardrobe that no-longer fit him, a plaid shirt and long sleeve T-shirt, into a dress for my daughter. If you would like to join in with the challenge, more details can be found here.

Here are the before and after pictures...

The second challenge is Fashion Revolution’s #whomademyclothes On Friday 24th April 2015. You take a selfie wearing an item of clothing inside out, post the photo on social media, tag the brand and ask the question #whomademyclothes.

There are lots of events on around the world, I’m hoping to pop along to my local one being hosted by Fashion Revolution Brighton at the MyHotel bar at 6pm on Friday April 24th. Details are on their Facebook page.

Have you ever thought about who make’s your clothes before? If not I'd check out Fashion Revolution Brighton and take a look at who makes your clothes. It’s interesting reading, eye opening, thought provoking and it certainly made me think about who make’s my clothes.

Originally posted by craftyandcake.blogspot.co.uk

The posters are out there!

I'm spreading the word about the meet up on social media as @dressmakerssocial on instagram and @dressmakersbton on twitter. There is also a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dressmakerssocial where I am sharing dressmaking related things I find interesting. If you are on any of these pop by and say hello.

Posters and flyers are appearing around Brighton and Hove, if you see one take a photo and share on one of the social media platforms mentioned above so I can see which locations are most visible. 

There is also a "lucky" Flyer somewhere out there. If you find it and bring it along with you to the meet up on the 18th May then I will buy you a cup of tea or coffee!

If you know anyone who you think would be interested please share the meet up with them too, the more the merrier.

Dressmakers Social Poster

Here it is the finished poster for the first Dressmakers Social...

Keep your eyes peeled for them around Brighton and if you see one, take a photo and tag @dressmakerssocial on instagram and @dressmakersbton on twitter

Introducing...

Clive, Guy and Nigel, 3 dapper gents who love to sew!

Earlier today Val and Betsy met 3 gentlemen who asked if they can come along to the Dressmakers Social too.

Dressmakers Social is open to everyone who is interested in sewing and enjoys or wants to sew their own clothes, so the girls said yes. 

The only trouble was that they didn't know the boys names, so with the help of instagram they found out they are called...

Clive, Guy and Nigel. Hopefully they won't turn up in their dressing gowns for the social!

With the boys and girls newly acquainted they oversaw the making of the poster for the first Dressmakers Social on 18th May. 

After a couple of ours getting frustrated with the computer I decided to give up and resort to a bit of cutting and sticking to create the poster which was much more fun, for me anyway...

...but not poor Nigel and his skimpy yellow robe as he didn't make the cut!

Val had an accident during the gluing! Maybe the computer was a better option after all!

But the great thing with glue is that it sticks stuff back together so Val is restored fully and the poster is nearly done!

I'm off to finish sticking...

Launching Dressmakers Social

Today on Instagram (@dressmakerssocial) Val and Betsy have been busy chatting about the Dressmakers Social. A meet up for dressmakers, sewists, pattern cutters, anyone with an interest in making their own clothes.

If you would like to join them, come along... It's on Monday 18th May 2015, from 6-8pm at The Marwood Cafe, 52 Ship Street, Brighton. More details will be revealed shortly...