Sewing and crafting on social media during a pandemic
I wrote this text for my last University assignment in January 2022 for a Journalistic writing class. I was really proud of it but noone but my teacher got to read it so I decided to put it here. I spoke with some great makers (who I have tagged where possible) who gave me alot of insights and I am eternally greatful to them.
The pandemic brought with it an abundance of things, masks, panic… and time. Suddenly, the world was brought to a standstill and forced to stay home with little certainty of what the future would bring, many people developed new hobbies and interests. Sewing, knitting and crochet for many became an outlet for creativity and creative expression.
When footage of Olympic diver Tom Daley knitting in the stands of the Olympic village during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics made headlines, the gold medallist explained his love for knitting and the joy it brings him. Daley is not the only one. With sewing and knitting content available at their fingertips across all social media platforms, thousands of young people are flocking to these “grandma” hobbies. Has social media revolutionized the way people perceive handmade garments?
Most GenZ and Millennials get their social media content from TikTok. If the numbers on TikTok are to be believed and taken as an indicator of the interest in crafts like sewing and knitting, then that interest is of seismic proportions. Craft-related hashtags on TikTok range from: 7.2 billion views for #sewing and 5.7billion views for #crochet to 922.1 million views for #knitting. And that’s only TikTok. Social media clearly has influenced people to start sewing, knitting and crocheting.
Jessica Laschinger 23, has been sewing since the start of the pandemic when she returned home to live with her parents and decided to take up sewing, which she had wanted to learn for a while. She started off with thrift flips, turning old items into something new, and creating unique pieces in her wardrobe. Jessica is probably the only person in the world who owns a Hannah Montana “Ready to Rock” blanket turned jacket and purse. During our interview, Jessica pointed to her latest creation behind her: a mannequin donned in a regal blush pink handmade blouse with a pearl-embellished neckline, made from the scraps of the curtains in her bedroom.
In the sewing and crafty community, thrift flips or upcycles are a popular way to be both creative and sustainable. By buying second-hand or shopping from small local businesses or businesses that sell deadstock (unsold, leftover fabrics), those who sew are taking into consideration the link between fashion, the garment production industry and the environment.
Let’s just look at the environmental impact of the production of clothes for a moment. According to the world bank, every year the sector requires 93 billion cubic meters of water, which is enough to meet the consumption needs of five million people, and is responsible for around 20% of industrial water pollution as a result of textile treatment and dyeing. The rapid nature of the fashion industry doesn’t do much to help matters. No longer are collections launched seasonally, some fast fashion companies like SHEIN taking as little as a week to get items from design to store. The whirlwind pace of garment production has accelerated consumption to the point where the average person today buys 60 % more clothing than in 2000. Not only are people buying more but they are throwing away more and with the speed of garment production, the quality of the garments is nothing to hold your breath over. There are also numerous problems with the materials and processes used. The industry also has a heavy carbon footprint, which is responsible for up to 10% of total global carbon emissions, and is estimated to increase by 50% by 2030.
For so many, the sewing community and its creators on Instagram like @mimigstyle or @withwendy inspire and motivate people in their decision to take up these crafts. The perfect example is Ruti Bohadana, who started her sewing journey at the start of the pandemic in London. Ruti, @thalia_threads on Instagram was frustrated and on the hunt for a specific bathing suit design, took to sewing in the early days of the pandemic, and attempted to bring her design to life. With little knowledge about how to make her dream bathing suit, she picked up some fabric, thread, and elastic and pieced together her first handmade garment. Through the pandemic, she refined her skills and now creates beautiful unique outfits, such as a marine blue crushed velvet full bodysuit inspired by the hot pink Balenciaga catsuit Kim Kardashian wore in her 2021 SNL debut.
In January of 2022, influenced by clothes made by @Smithereens Knitwear, Ruti started learning how to knit. For Ruti, there is a future business in her sewing. She aspires to one day create garments and bathing suits to a standard that people are willing to buy.
Similarly, Tiana Dinard-Samuel, 23 took up crochet during the United Kingdom’s third lockdown after seeing clothes people made and posted on social media. People made tops, bucket hats, dresses, cardigans, and sweaters. She thought if they can do it then why can’t I? And she did, starting with tops like the white bralette top bordered with sunflower patches across the waist and hats like the bucket hats that became trendy in the summer of 2020.
When reflecting on his motivations for taking up sewing Andres Cosa criticized the unethical practices of fast fashion. He recalled looking through ready-to-wear shirts, and trousers and being dissatisfied with the fit and quality of the clothes found in many of the high-street shops. By drafting his own pattern, Andres was able to take control of every facet of his clothes. Taking pattern drafting lessons from a local tailor in Hilversum, Andres is learning how to draft pattern blocs that can be customized to create any garment imaginable. He adds that the supportive nature of the sewing community and the willingness of people, strangers, to help encourages him to continue and try new things.
Considering how toxic many people find social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter on aspects like mental health, the Instagram sewing community seems to be an untainted part of the internet where people are honest about their successes as well as their failings and instead of being competitive are supportive and encouraging. The crafty side of social media seems to be a happy and encouraging bubble where creativity is at its peak and the content is realistic and inspiring.
Unlike most of the people I interviewed, 20-year-old English Literature Student Sanjana Khoobarry, sitting comfortably in a self-made sage green hoodie explained how her interest in sewing, knitting, and crochet at around 10 years old developed but fizzled out over the years with a lack of time. With the pandemic bringing with it an abundance of time Sanjana rekindled her interest. Her fabric and yarn choices and style of photographing her makes is a wonderful combination of bright, mesmerizing colours and a captivating ’70s groove. For Sanjana, her Instagram @Smithereens Knitwear has given her a platform for her to build her brand and a portfolio, providing a way to show off her dressmaking talents and also a legitimate side hustle. Sanjana became a model for House De’ville a vintage clothing shop after its owner saw and liked her style and Instagram.
The unethical practices of the fashion industry and its impact on the climate also are a big motivator for many who have taken up sewing. Alexandra Vrolijk 28, who took up sewing in 2017 wanted to make more conscious fashion choices. However, after an internship with PALAVER, an Amsterdam-based sustainable clothing company Alexandra found sustainable ready-to-wear fashion to be expensive and inaccessible to the average person especially considering the prices that most people have become accustomed to because of fast fashion. And you can see why with the brand stocking a €425,00 knit cardigan and a wrap blouse at €120,00 just to name a few.
She started Sycamore Road Patterns where she designs sewing patterns- templates for other sewists to create garments. With her patterns costing around €12 and a sewing project costing anywhere from €10, home sewists like Alexandra adopt values of sustainability in their clothing and fashion choices on an economic level that works for them.
Most importantly, she noted that even PALAVER, a sustainable fashion company could not be fully certain about how ethical and sustainable their supply chain was.
Social media has brought like-minded people together to aid, encourage and support each other and the sewing community inspires its members to be adventurous in the projects they take on. On the other side, the social side, new friendships, and relationships are formed. People follow makers who inspire them and introduce them to new patterns or fabric companies and expand their network of crafting friends. For pattern designers like Alexandra, the sewing community can also be supportive in the financial sense as people can purchase her patterns to make their clothes.
Sewing, knitting and crochet, provides these crafters a side hustle. Although not the goal for every person who takes up any of these crafts, these crafts can provide an alternative source of income for some. Alexandrea for example, a part-time French teacher, designs and sells her sewing patterns with the hope of building a business surrounding the thing she loves and enjoys. Similarly, Thalia’s desire is to create and sell her custom-made bathing suits. For others, monetizing social media platforms can provide this alternate source of income for a hobby that brings so much joy.
GenZers and Millennials seem to be turning to sewing and knitting for several reasons. The increased awareness of the moral and ethical issues of fast fashion, a desire for more creativity, and with an abundance of time on their hands, more people are taking up hands-on wholesome crafts like knitting and sewing. Are people turning to sewing and knitting because they are concerned with the unsustainable and unethical practices of the fashion industry? Or have people started sewing and which has made them more aware of the ethics of the questionable ethics and unsustainable practices of fast fashion? To be honest this is a chicken and the egg type of situation.
Gen Made That 
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