Getting Curious: Textiles

This week we’re getting curious about the place of textiles and sewing in our daily lives. Here are our prompts for cultivating your curiosity:

• Get hands-on. Find a piece of clothing that you don’t often wear because it’s torn, missing a button, or doesn’t fit quite right. Take this week as an opportunity to mend it! Find a tailor who can help you, or see if you can learn about mending it yourself.

• Read about fashion from a different era. Pick a place and time to read about. What did people wear then? Do you see any influence from those garments on what we wear today? How do you think today’s clothing has improved, and what do you think it has lost?

• Look at the labels of your clothing. Each day this week, write down what you learn about the items you put on in the morning. What fabrics are they made of? Where were they produced? Research how those fabrics are made, and look for information about the fashion industry in those countries.