TUTORIAL
PIMP MY CLOTHES TUTORIAL GREEN FABRIC
Intro
The goal of pimp my clothes is to give clothes a second life. In collaboration with designers, we created unique patchs that extend the life of clothes, restore their value and thereby reduce the environmental impact of our wardrobe. GREEN FABRIC
Material - Leftovers fabrics (end of stock, end of rolls, scraps) that do not fray (silk, wool, velvet, polyester ...) To find fabrics that can be used to create patches, do not hesitate to contact local designers. - Double-sided iron-on fusible fabric - Laser cutter machine GREEN FABRIC
Attention Fabric choice Not all fabrics can be cut with a laser cutter. Fabrics that contain chlorine and fluorine give off gases that can be toxic, so they should not be cut with laser. For recovered fabrics, if you do not know their composition, it is possible to carry out a fire test, by burning the fibers and analyzing their fire behavior. The fire test is the subject of a separate detailed tutorial.
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Forms and creations
In order to create original patches, team up with a designer or let your imagination run wild. In order to optimize the use of the fabric, Try to make interlocking designs for zero waste using the concept of Eschel constellation These drawings can be created by hand and then vectorized on a computer software to be able to be transferred to the software of the laser cutter.
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Fabrics preparation
The recovery fabrics are heat-sealed with a doublesided fusible fabric. To apply the fusible, fix it on the back side of your fabric with an iron at maximum temperature, and placing 5s min over the entire surface. Leave the fabric flat for 20 minutes. GREEN FABRIC
Laser cutting
Laser cutting is a manufacturing process which consists of cutting the material using a large amount of energy generated by a laser and concentrated on a very small surface.
To prepare the fabric cutting, measure the dimensions of your fabric. These dimensions will be used in the drawing software as the dimension of the sheet. Once this dimension has been defined, fill in the sheet with as many drawings as possible. Once the file is ready, export it in .svg format to the laser cutter.
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Laser cutting In the laser cutter machine, put the fabric with the fusible fabric on top, to reduce the risk of burns on your fabric. Choose the right parameters to cut the fabric nicely and without burns. This parameters will change depending on the fabric type and thickness. For this project I used the Lasersaur machine and use the following parameters : - coton, silk, polyester : power 20% and speed 1000 - velvet : power 25% and speed 1000 GREEN FABRIC
Use Take the patches and choose their locations on the garment you want to pimp. If you want to repair a damaged garment take a patch 2 times larger than the area to be repaired, and take good care to cover the entire damaged area. For the elbows or the knees, choose a fairly thick and resistant fabric to resist stresses (velvet or jeans will be ideal). If the goal is to create a unique piece from a basic let your creativity speak and arrange the patches as you wish. GREEN FABRIC
Use Once the location of the patches is defined, remove the protective film on the back of the patches. With the iron fixed the patches, being careful to glue the entire surface. A minimum ironing time of 5 seconds is necessary. The temperature of the iron will have to be adapted according to the fabric on which the patch is fused, but the higher the temperature of the iron, the better the patch will be fixed. To avoid damaging the garment, put a thin cloth between the iron and the patch. Let the garment lie flat for 20 minutes. GREEN FABRIC
Use
The clothes can be washed at 30 ° C and ironed inside out.
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Workshop animation The workshop was introduced by raising awareness around the environmental impact of textiles and fast fashion. Then we presented the different creators of the workshop and patches creation process. All the patches were then presented on a table and the participants took the clothes they had brought, and made different compositions with the patches available. The designers gave their advice on the combinations of colors and fabrics. Once the composition was done, the patches were heat sealed using the iron. GREEN FABRIC
Feedbacks The participants were delighted with their participation in the workshop. Most of them doubted their creative abilities and the workshop allowed them to express their creativity while being accompanied in the process. Upcycled clothes had new value for them, and they were all proud of their achievements.
At first, I apprehended the event out of pure curiosity, in order to learn more about what circular fashion is, I must admit that I also took great pleasure in lending myself to the game of re- pimp my old denim jacket and then, following the workshop organized where we were able to receive more information, it raised my awareness and I became aware that small everyday gestures were not so restrictive, Lydia
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Kit The kit contain 20 patches to upcycled clothes at home.
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Realisations
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