Creative Second Hand — Nicole Knutsen

A version of this post originally featured on naturallynoracrochet.com, my slow crochet and home arts site, which is now a static, stand alone collection of content.

As I have intentionally simplified and slowed the pace of my life, one of the more impactful shifts I’ve made has been around shopping, especially shopping for clothing.

I really enjoy getting dressed. It can feel like art, but an art that feels cozy, or professional, or bold, or lovely, an art that prepares you to be more present in the world in a practical, tangible way.

Clothing is not the most pressing problem our earth and the people in it face, but it has a significant impact, particularly on the many thousands of garment workers, mainly women and young girls, who produce these items. There is no shortage of information available on this topic-I’ll spare you my version of the specifics, but I suggest doing some careful research of your own. I recommend Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion*, Wear No Evil*, or To Die For*, as well as checking out the excellent content and resources at Fashion Revolution.

I acknowledge that this movement for sustainable fashion is complex and nuanced, bound up in enormous systemic issues, and that it can feel elitist. I also believe deeply that we can and should effect our own spheres of influence as much we are able as a way of living out our values to positive impact.

We are all connected, we all come from the same stuff. It is important for me to live like that matters. Our lives are not in danger the way many garment worker’s are. However, I would contend that living in a state of mindless consumption, blind to the damage we do in the process, is detrimental to the state of our hearts.

Shopping first for only what you need is a deceptively simple foundational step. It is not one that I have mastered, but it is one I work on diligently and daily. Other important practices I have made part of my routine over the past few years are shopping second hand first and hand making as much of my clothing as possible. The first reduces waste and feeds my local economy; the second slows my consumption to the pace at which I can produce my own garments. I am making it a goal for 2020 to combine these two practices and sew with second hand fabric as much as possible, hopefully exclusively. It’s going to be a trick.

Shopping for fabric yardage second hand is less like shopping and more like sticking your hand in the pocket of an old coat and pulling out a surprise ten-dollar bill. It is a delightful surprise, but there just isn’t any way to plan for that kind of thing. Second-hand fabric that is worthwhile can be hard to find. However, this hard to find quality has revealed to me some pretty deep-seated assumptions and consumer habits that I find rather destructive. These assumptions center around one thought: if I prefer something, I am entitled to it. It seems rather brazen when stated so plainly, but there it is. As a means of example: I would prefer to have windowpane linen for a tank top this summer, so I will look for windowpane linen on second-hand racks. If I find plaid cotton at a thrift store, even though it is the more sustainable and economical option, I refuse to settle. I believe, in a deep, dark kind of way, that I am entitled to that which I prefer. Shopping for second-hand fabric has taught me that most of the time, I simply have to love the one I’m with. It’s a little less Anne, and a little more Marilla.

When shopping for second-hand fabric, choice and variability are slippery and elusive. There are a handful of great options: Matchpoint Fabric has some great deadstock and sustainable options, Star of Well Fibre is an excellent resource for individual projects, and Etsy and eBay always have something second-hand, deadstock, or repurposed to consider. The commonality among all of these options is really that they each require you to let go of the idea that you are entitled to whatever it is you prefer.

This isn’t the first time I’ve learned a life lesson from a home art, but it is an important one.

When I found a significant length of grey, striped jersey at our local Savers, while my daughters shopped for other kid’s rollerblades, I knew it was not a fabric I would choose had I seen it among hundreds of other bolts on a shelf. I do not often wear gray, I do not often wear stripes, I do not often wear jersey knit. I also knew that I could make something nice out of it, even if it wasn’t my first preference. So, I practiced loving the one I’m with and I spent the five dollars. That’s about $.50 a yard, in case you’re keeping score.

Sometimes, putting new boundaries on creativity is exactly what the mind needs to break out of previously enforced, possibly stale boundaries. By the time I had the fabric washed and dried and the thrift store fragrance was gone, I knew exactly what I wanted to make, and it only remained to wait impatiently for Amy of All Well Workshop to publish her Box Top sewing pattern. The pattern was published on a Tuesday. I made the set on Wednesday. Because I have loads of self-control, that’s why.

I’ve put together a small selection of spring outfits using these two non-Nancy-Reagan matching separates. All but one of the pieces I’ve paired them with are second hand or handmade! All of the outfits use the grey striped skirt and the All Well Box Top I made using the thrifted fabric, but using just this small selection of pieces, you could easily make many more combinations.

Grey Striped Top: Hand made from second hand jersey fabric, using the All Well Workshop Box Top Pattern.
Grey Striped Skirt: Hand made from second hand jersey fabric, using a self drafted pattern.
Off White Wide Leg Pants: Second hand, found at Crossroads (similar*)
Camel Short Sleeve Sweater: Second hand, found at Crossroads
Straight Leg Jeans (the only item on the list that I purchased new*)
Thin Mohair Crewneck Sweater: Second hand, found at Savers (similar*)
Canvas High Waisted Shorts: Hand made from new cotton canvas, using a self drafted pattern (similar*)

I have linked similar items when possible if you are in NEED of something, though I think you’ll be surprised at the amazing things you can find second hand.

I hope this inspires you to get creative with your second-hand shopping, to mix in a little handmade, and to make it fun!

*Links are affiliate. I receive a small commission on purchases made through those links, which helps me continue to write and produce content. I only link products and/or companies I can unequivocally recommend based on my personal experience and research.