c/fashion-design-ideas

Came across a wild stat about fabric waste in the fashion industry

I was reading an article from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation last night and it said the fashion industry produces 92 million tons of textile waste every year. That number blew my mind because I never thought about how much fabric ends up in landfills from just sample runs and overproduction. Has anyone here tried designing with zero-waste patterns or deadstock fabric to cut down on that?

2 comments

patricialee•27d ago

I was totally against pleated trousers until a stylist called me out during a fitting in Chicago

I always thought pleats made pants look baggy and old man style. This stylist I worked with on a custom suit order said my flat fronts were making me look wider in the hips because of how they pulled across. She had me try on a pair with single forward pleats and a higher rise and honestly the difference was night and day. Now I actually prefer them for my tall frame because they drape way cleaner. Has anyone else had a specific garment feature flip their opinion after hearing the right feedback?

2 comments

holly_henderson86•29d ago

Tried sewing with thrifted bedsheets instead of fabric store stuff

Picked up a queen size sheet for $3 at Goodwill and made a summer dress that actually has a better drape than the $15/yard cotton I usually buy. Anyone else have luck using random bed linens for clothes?

2 comments

victor_adams•1mo ago

Vent: Spent 6 months draping fabric wrong before a tailor called me out

I was working on a satin dress last spring, draping the bias cut over my mannequin like always. A tailor at the shop next door saw the folds bunching up around the waist and asked if I was ignoring the grain line. I told him I just pinned it wherever it looked smooth overnight. He showed me how the fabric was pulling 15 degrees off, and suddenly the whole garment hung completely different. Has anyone else had a moment where a simple fix flipped your whole process?

2 comments

kai_butler83•1mo ago

Swapped to paper patterns after messing up 3 digital ones in a row

I used to design everything in Illustrator but kept getting my seam allowances wrong, so last month I printed out a basic bodice block and started draping on a dress form instead. Has anyone else found that going analog actually saves time when you're prototyping new cuts?

2 comments

anthonymurray•1mo ago

PSA: I stopped using muslin for mockups and started with cheap thrift store bedsheets instead

After wasting $40 on muslin that draped totally wrong for my jacket pattern, I grabbed a $3 king-size flat sheet from Goodwill and the fabric behaved way closer to my final tweed, so has anyone else found a weird substitute that actually improved their fitting process?

c/fashion-design-ideas

Came across a wild stat about fabric waste in the fashion industry

I was totally against pleated trousers until a stylist called me out during a fitting in Chicago

Tried sewing with thrifted bedsheets instead of fabric store stuff

Vent: Spent 6 months draping fabric wrong before a tailor called me out

Swapped to paper patterns after messing up 3 digital ones in a row

PSA: I stopped using muslin for mockups and started with cheap thrift store bedsheets instead

Tried making a dress from old bedsheets and got a weird compliment i didnt expect

Unpopular opinion: pleats are totally underused in men's casual wear

I spent 3 months sewing darts wrong before a tailor corrected me

Just realized my denim jacket looked way better after I stopped washing it for 6 months

That invisible zipper trick from a $15 online course saved me from trashing 3 finished dresses last month

TIL thrift store blazers in Seattle taught me more about fit than 4 years of design school ever did

Had a pair of jeans I patched with iron-on denim and it peeled off after 2 washes

Had a lucky week finding vintage patterns at estate sales

Fabric store in Brooklyn had rows of polyester blends labeled as 'linen'

Denim jacket buttons snapped off after 3 wears

Had to choose between cotton duck and waxed canvas for an apron

Used to sketch by hand before every design, now I just use digital mood boards

That 5 minute chat with a tailor in Chicago shifted my whole view on denim

Went with a cotton-linen blend instead of pure linen for a summer dress pattern

Vent: Why does everyone push oversized blazers like they're the only option?

Spotted a jacket detail at a bus stop that changed my pattern approach

Took me 4 days to figure out why my pleats were curling up on one side

Unpopular opinion: Should we stop obsessing over sustainable fabrics and focus on durability instead?

Found a way to reuse old denim scraps that actually turned out great