Zero Waste

     Every once in a while I let my disdain for waste stop me from beginning projects. Whether this is a paralyzing act of eco-conscience or just a complicated form of procrastination is of little consequence. Either way, nothing happens.

     Have you ever heard of zero fabric waste fashion? I found this site through the Fashion Incubator forum. Blogger Timo Rissanen is a PHD candidate concerned with eliminating fabric waste by changing design practices. Really, if you can scroll down to October 02, 2010 to see a pattern layout it's worth checking out. He uses every inch of fabric. I wonder how easily patterns could be graded and whether it lends itself to a certain look. I hope he publishes his dissertation!

Hundred Mile Closet

     I have a full-size, shuttle loom. It belonged to my Grandmother. It's likely a far cry from the kimono loom in the video above, but I plan to get it up and running this summer. Imagine working with selvage denim made in-house? Imagine wearing jeans made from cloth woven just up the street? 

     I've been thinking about this idea for a while and was really excited to come across the videos from the Japanese denim brand Momotaro.  They even dye their own cloth! I won't get too carried away (yet), but in house cloth production, even on a supplemental scale, is something I'd really like to work towards. 

     Judging from the videos I found on Youtube, Momotaro denim isn't exclusively a hand-woven denim company either. At 8 hours of labour per meter and about 3 meters of fabric per pair of jeans, I can only imagine how many years it would take to fill a store let alone keep it stocked. 

     The video below is also from Momotaro. Look at those machines! I like this level of automation -the machines are assisting the people in contrast to the videos I posted earlier this week where the opposite seems to be true. Very inspiring!

Gold Mine

       Fashion Incubator has to be the best resource I've come across for anyone looking to start a clothing line or for anyone who already has one.  Even if you just want to learn how to sew it's a great site to find tutorials. I also highly recommend the book written by Site Founder Kathleen Fasanella, "The Entrpreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing". You can buy it on Amazon or through her site for about $60.00 USD.