Millennials often get a bad rep for being a generation of people that want instant gratification but don’t want to put the hard work in. This may be true for some, but for many millennials, being proactive and creative is significantly more important to them than fame or fortune. This means that many millennials (people born between 1982 and 2000) want to do something – be it a career or hobby – that has a meaningful impact on both the people around them and the environment too.
Learning how to sew is a very important skill that many millennials’ grandparents and great-grandparents knew how to do. Enter Gen X and Gen Y, who preferred to buy rather than make, and the skill of sewing has become a dying art. Millennials, however, are really seeing the benefits of knowing how to make their own clothes, as well as being able to mend clothing.
Why is it Important for Millennials to Learn How to Sew?
Learning how to sew is not just a nice-to-do, but it’s an actual skill that can help improve your overall employability and creative skills – not to mention the fact that it can positively impact the environment. Here are our top five benefits of learning how to sew:
Sustainable for the Environment - instead of throwing away your jeans with holes, learning how to sew can help you mend and patch clothing and keep them off the landfills. Learning how to sew is an investment in slow fashion so that you keep your well-worn, good quality items going for years instead of simply discarding them after a season.
Hand-Eye Coordination – from delicately threading the needle on a sewing machine to keeping your eye fixed on the straight seam, sewing can drastically improve your hand-eye coordination which can benefit you when writing and playing sports.
Save Money – being able to create your own clothing or mend the clothing you already have is cheaper than buying new clothing and will save you money in the long run.
Good For Mental Health – people that sew say that it is a relaxing hobby that calms them. It could be a great hobby to have to promote mindfulness and living in the moment, to improve mental health.
Unlimited Possibilities – with a skill like sewing, you’re opening yourself up to a myriad of possibilities like employment, making money, teaching and much more.
If you’re keen to know more about sustainable fashion and how to make an impact on the environment, read our blog Make Fashion More Sustainable By Upcycling Clothing.
Advice for Millennials Who Want to Start Sewing
#1 – Start Learning
The PollIs eco-friendly cleaning important to you?
0 Votes
Of course, the most obvious place to start any skill is to begin to learn the steps on how to sew and make your own clothes. Whether you choose to go on a course, learn from YouTube tutorials, or ask your grandmother to teach you, you’ve got to start somewhere. Learning the basics is the first step in mastering the skill of sewing.[1] [2]
#2 – Invest in a Good Sewing Machine
You’ll need a sewing machine to begin. The good news is there are new machines on the market that offer the basics and are affordable. Or you can look for a used machine that is still in good working order.
#3 - Measure Twice and Cut Once
It’s an old proverb, but it is a good one! No matter how much experience you have with sewing you should always measure twice before cutting your fabric. This way you can avoid encountering issues such as running out of material.
#4 - Practice, practice and practice!
Before you start working on any project it is always important to give yourself a test run. We recommend that you do some practice sewing. Learn how to stitch along a fold and check your thread tension and that your machine is working properly.
#5 - Lock Your Stitches
This may seem obvious, however, if you are a new sewer you should get into the habit of locking your stitches. Reverse sew at the beginning and end of each seam to lock your stitches in place to prevent them from unravelling once the threads are snipped.
Read our sustainability articles for more tips and tricks today.