72 Times Skilled Sewers Created Something Worth Showing Off (New Pics)

Looking at all these beautiful sewing projects, it’s easy to forget that making clothes is a skill many of us don’t have anymore. In fact, a 2018 YouGov survey of more than 6,000 American adults found that 57% said they couldn’t sew very well or couldn’t sew at all.

Only 10% felt they were very good at it. That’s quite interesting when you consider how important sewing has been throughout human history.

People have been sewing for tens of thousands of years, long before clothing stores or even sewing machines existed. According to a study published in Science Advances, some of the earliest known needles with eyes date back around 40,000 years.

They were discovered in Siberia’s Denisova Cave and were made from bone. Just imagine how much patience it must have taken to make clothing using such simple tools.

For much of history, making clothes was a normal part of everyday life. People either sewed garments themselves or had them made by someone who knew how.

According to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, most clothing in America before industrialization was made for individual customers, whether at home or by professional dressmakers and tailors.

Things started changing during the 19th century, especially as sewing machines became more widely used. They made producing clothing much faster and helped the ready-to-wear industry grow.

By the 1890s, Americans could buy mass-produced clothes from department stores and mail-order catalogs. As a result, people started dressing more alike, making the differences between them less noticeable.

Fast forward to today, and buying clothes has become easier than ever. We can browse hundreds of options from our phones and have something delivered to our doorstep within days.

Fashion trends also come and go so quickly that it can feel like there’s always something new to buy. Unfortunately, all that convenience comes with some pretty serious environmental consequences.

The amount of clothing and other textiles we throw away is staggering. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the world generates around 92 million metric tons of textile waste every year.

That’s the equivalent of a garbage truck full of textiles being burned or dumped in a landfill every single second. It’s a pretty shocking figure.

Of course, we can’t all start sewing our entire wardrobes overnight. But trying to make something ourselves, even if it’s just a simple piece of clothing, could help us appreciate the process a little more.

Once you’ve spent hours measuring fabric and carefully stitching everything together, you might start looking at the clothes in your closet differently. And who knows, you might even discover a new hobby along the way.

Another option is to support people who already have these skills. Getting something custom-made by a local seamstress or tailor might take longer and cost more than picking something up at the mall, but it also gives you more say in how the finished piece looks and fits.

You can choose materials you genuinely like and have something made with your preferences in mind. With good fabric and proper care, a well-made garment can stay in your wardrobe for years.

Maybe the perfect person to make your next custom outfit is even hiding somewhere on r/sewing. After all, the community is full of people who can turn even the most ambitious ideas into something you can actually wear.

And looking through their creations is a lovely reminder of how rewarding it can be to own something made just for you.