 |
|
|||||
 |
Of the staggering 62,000 individual craft items Birch Haberdashery sells, sales have skyrocketed for four things: dressmakers models, zips, scissors and thread. If that doesn't tell you sewing is hot right now, nothing will.
"Our sales are going up all the time, by up to five per cent a year. Sales of zippers are up dramatically. I've never sold as many dressmakers' models and as much sewing thread, either. Scissors are up, too," says Managing Director John Birch, who has been in the haberdashery business for 59 years.
"It's a bit of craft repairs and some Scrapbooking," he says of their sales. "But mainly it's sewing. Women are making things. But it's everything – quilting, knitting crocheting, cross-stitch, embroidery."
The world has, indeed, gone mad for craft. Five years ago everyone got knitting – not just at home but in bars and cafes. Young professionals did it; so did mega-celebrities like Julia Roberts, Uma Thurman and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Now it's sewing's turn. Sales of sewing machines and haberdashery are up, and so is the number of people attending sewing expos and fairs. In the UK, the famous Liberty department store has re-launched its Sewing School where you can learn to knit, sew, embroider, or even embellish a pair of ballet slippers. In the US, there's a reported boom in sewing 'retreats' where sewers gather for a long weekend and sew from dawn to dusk.
Birch, one of Australia's largest haberdashery wholesalers, is now importing about 800 Adjustaform dressmakers' models – priced at $300 [retail] each – from the UK every few months. This time last year, it was half that. |
|||||
"I think young people are making more of their own clothes. They're sitting down with Gran and learning how,” John says. “It's terribly important to have teachers. They can only go so far on their own. But they want to do something, to take up the challenge. And I think they’re tired of going to second-hand shops and buying vintage. That was fine for a while but I think that's worn off. I think they want to be different to a degree."
Brother Australia tells the same story, with increasing sales of their sewing machines. "Sales are growing steadily, and we’re happy with the growth," says Marketing Manager Brenda McCullough. In the UK, sales of sewing machines are at their highest levels for years. Sales of Brother machines through Argos catalogues shot up 50 per cent in 2006-07. Sales of Argos' cheapest model, at £70 (nearly $150 Australian), went up 500 per cent in the same period.
"It’s a modern take on the ‘Make do and Mend’ attitude of previous generations and looks set to continue, especially with the challenging economic environment,” says Richard Webster, sewing machine buyer at Argos.
Brenda at Brother says sewing's popularity dipped in the 80s and 90s as access to cheaper clothing grew but attitudes have changed radically. "Most women in that period had a 12-week sewing 'moment' at school. It just wasn't relevant. The curriculum changed in high schools so that girls were pushed to be less domestic and more science savvy. But there's been a shift. The market for sewing machines is gradually growing and a lot more young people are sewing.
"Suddenly, sewing is cool. It's not daggy to sew anymore. There’s an ethical side to it. People are reviewing how they can help the environment, and refashioning clothes is one way to do that. Also, increasingly, there seems to be a need to look more individual. That's why people like to sew. It's to re-use, renew and redefine. And all this is within the growing do-it-yourself marketplace. The handmade is highly valued. First it was quilting, then knitting and now sewing. People go to the local craft markets and see the beadwork, the paperwork, all the handmade things and from that they think ‘I can do that’."
At London’s Alternative Fashion Week in April 2008, recycled textiles were a major feature of the shows by aspiring young designers. Maggie Pinhorn, director of the event, says “the increasing use of recycled materials and the desire for one-off designer-made garments and specially customised clothing means that the sewing machine is really back in business with our designers.”
Brother Australia sells sewing machines from $199, for an entry-level machine that does the basics, to a $12,000 specialised embroidery machine for die-hards. For $399 you can buy a computerised machine that offers speed control, needle threaders and stitch memory, all at the touch of a button [foot pedals are a thing of the past]. The "pride of the company fleet" is the $7000 NV4000, which has embroidery and quilting capabilities. With a machine like that you really have to ask yourself why you're not sewing.
They can also be the price of a car, and there's not much these high-priced, computer operated models can't do. Some models even have internet capability, which means you can chat, download patterns, learn new skills, buy and sell while you sew! And there's a whole range of software that makes sewing easier.
This technical wizardry combined with greater interest in sewing from younger generations has seen the rise of what's called the bling factor. Products and methods not traditionally associated with sewing are being used as practitioners experiment, stretching the boundaries. More sewers are decorating old clothes with buttons and beads, for example, and in quilting, neon, 3D, metallic threads that sparkle and shimmer and spirographic stitching are all being used in modern interpretations of the age-old craft.
"A lot of that has to do with the greater range and availability of craft materials,” Brenda suggests. “People aren’t just working with fabric and thread, they’re working with fabric and yarn and other products. There’s an integration of craft activities, the market is much broader now and we’re providing machines that can work with that. We’re trying to make sewing fun, to demystify it, and say to people: jump on the bus, whenever, it's going to be fun.”
And of course anything goes when it comes to fashion and bling. Just what younger generations of sewers are dreaming up and executing on their machines can be seen on Australia’s very own Project Runway on Foxtel. Partnered by Brother and filmed in Melbourne, Living Creatively will have more on this exciting event in future issues. Originating five years ago in America, where it’s hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum, the hit reality TV series – which has been credited with helping prompt sewing's revival – sees a group of fledgling fashion designers compete in weekly assignments, with one designer named the eventual winner after 12 weeks.
"The show has been huge for us," says Dean Shulman, senior vice president for Brother International Corporation, which provided 16 industrial-quality sewing machines, worth about $US7,500 each, for the show's competing designers. Brother has 20-22 per cent of the sewing machine market in the US, where about three million machines are sold every year. Since Project Runway, sales of Brother machines through dealerships have almost doubled.
Dean believes Project Runway has given home sewing some Hollywood glamour. "We caught the wave. There's been a resurgence in knitting and sewing. People think ‘if the machine is good enough for the designers on Project Runway, it's good enough for me’.”
But you don't have to be an aspiring fashion designer or a professional on the sewing machine to get great results. Charity shops are a great source of pieces to customise, not to mention your own wardrobe. So go sew some sequins and beads around the neckline of that old twin set in your mother's wardrobe [with her permission, of course!], or some red gingham patches on a pair of faded old jeans or a fabric flower to give that little black dress a lift. Then again, why not make a whole new little black dress ... the possibilities are positively endless.
By Carolyn Ford
|
||||||
The boom is being driven by a greater awareness of ethical and environmental issues. But there's also a renewed appreciation for quality, handmade and unique clothing that sets the wearer apart from the crowd. Nobody wants to look like a clone and people are less inclined to buy cheap, disposable fashions. As well, in these days of spiralling prices for everything from petrol to property, it makes sense to save money by being creative with a needle and thread. Imagine the money you'd save making your own graduation gown or wedding dress!
"