Lotus Bag

Sew along with one of our 11 year old students and make this handy lotus bag. It is perfect for keeping trinkets or small items safe, it’s versatile and can be made in any thin fabrics, we’ve recycled some jersey offcuts!

You will need:

• 2 squares of fabric (Ours were 50cm x 50cm but you can do any size!)
• Drawstring or ribbon
• Thread
• Sewing machine
• Safety pin
• Iron

With right sides of the fabric together pin all the way around your squares. Leave a small gap in the middle of one side.

Sew around the outside with a 1.5cm seam allowance.

Cut off the corners, be careful not to cut the stitching.

Pull the fabric through the gap to turn the square the right way around, make sure you poke out the corners and iron flat.

Turn your square at an angle so that it looks like a diamond. Fold each corner inwards until they are touching the centre.

Pin each of the 4 seams together and sew about halfway up the line.

Take the unsewn flap ends and fold back this creates the petals of the flower. Iron.

Pin the flaps in place along the top edge and sew along 2-3cm from the edge to make tunnels.

Take your cord or jersey drawstring and thread through the tunnels using a safety pin. Go around tunnels twice then knot ends together.

Pull your bag and it will look like a lotus flower!

 

It’s Fashion Revolution Week!

It’s Fashion Revolution Week! “Fashion Revolution is a global movement calling for greater transparency, sustainability and ethics in the fashion industry.”

It began in commemoration of the devastating Rana Plaza factory collapse that happened on 24th April 2013, where where 1,138 garment factory workers were killed and many more injured.

The idea is to ask brands ‘Who made my clothes? and demand greater transparency in the fashion supply chain. #whomademyclothes

“It’s all about uniting the fashion industry and igniting a revolution to radically change the way our clothes are sourced, produced and purchased, so that what the world wears has been made in a safe, clean and fair way!!”

Sounds good to us! We’re super excited here at Little Hands! As we are firm believers that teaching people clothes making skills is a huge step along the path to a fashion revolution!

Firstly it gives people the power to make what they want and not be a slave to the high street, secondly you can update and remake items and keep them for longer, and thirdly it gives people an inherent understanding of the effort that goes into making clothes. Our students know that the people who make them should be treated with kindness and respect and a fair wage!

We talk to all of our students about these issues, making the young people we teach aware that they can have the power in fashion the choices they make. They will be the revolution!!

Reduce and Reuse

Most of the fabrics and materials we use here come from industry waste! A great thing for big companies to donate, meaning less materials go to landfill.  We are very lucky to have donations from Ted Baker as well as many other generous which is great as we are a non profit making community interest company.

Get Involved!

There are loads of ways to get involved with events happening all over the world. Just take a look at the Fashion Revolution Website.

The simplest way is to take a photo of yourself wearing an item of clothing inside out and tweet or instagram the brand that made it and ask them “Who Made My Clothes?” remember to tag @fash_rev and #whomademyclothes?

Or you can make a Haulternative like we did below!

 

 

Haul videos are big ‘thing’ on Youtube with people showing off their ‘hauls’ from high street shops, the epitome of fast, disposal fashion! So Fashion Revolution are asking people who make Haulternatives, showing ways you can update your wardrobe with out buying new! Whether that’s thrifting or DIY.

Our videos feature some of our lovely students their homemade outfits and talking about why they love making their own clothes!

Get inspired and creative and get involved in the Fashion Revolution!