A me-made wardrobe... x 3

I ended Monday's post with a note about my husband floating the idea that I make all his clothing. I feel so flattered and overjoyed that he is comfortable enough to wear what I make him (he has been wearing that vest quite a bit. Youpee!) and thinks my skills are up to it (knitting and sewing-wise). But his comment got me really thinking about this: a me-made wardrobe...x 3?

Eek! Yes, that was my first reaction. An eek of excitement and a bit of anxiety too, no denying that! Baby steps, Alexandra, baby steps. I've been making many garments, knit and sewn, for our little boy, L, since before his birth, and in our home he is the one who has the most me-made garments by  a longshot: sweaters, hats, mittens, socks, shirts, pants. I have a few shirts (4), two sweaters, and  two pairs of handknit socks. My poor darling husband currently only has his vest and a handknit scarf my mother made him (he had other small knit accessories such as hats and mittens but they have an inexplicable habit of running away, or more accurately getting lost, and unfortunately, a couple pairs of superwash socks felted). There you have it: our current me-made situation. Much to be done.

As I'm sure is pretty clear, I'd like to have more of our clothing be me-made. I so enjoy the process of knitting or sewing. Spinning and weaving also call out to me. But it is more than just enjoying the process, knitting for the sake of knitting or sewing for the sake of sewing, although I very much doubt I would want to do this if I didn't find it so enjoyable. It is about wanting to participate at a very basic level in the production of our necessities. For me, going to the store to buy clothing already made does not satisfy this need to get involved in the production. This makes sense to me but I understand that it might not for others, and that's ok. I do also ask myself where I should place myself in the production of a garment. Should I produce the yarn myself, spin it, weave it, dye it?

It is quite overwhelming to think of making a whole wardrobe all at once, not to mention three. We all three of us have good clothing that was store-bought, and even though I would like to open up our closet and see only handmade garments there, I feel it is also important to respect the time, materials, people, energy, and cost that went into producing those store-bought items. Rather than chucking it all, I would rather let it go through its normal cycle of wear to reach the point of needing to be recycled and replaced. (Offhand, I can think of a few sweaters of mine that I can refashion to make little sweaters for little L.)

Ah, so there are my thoughts on a subject that is very dear to my heart, a project that I believe to be somewhat of a way of life.

One thing, or in this case, garment at a time. Baby steps.