Sewing in Culture: Make, Sew and Mend

Traditional techniques for a sustainable wardrobe

A compelling how-to book is also a why-you-should book. Make, Sew and Mend: Traditional Techniques to Sustainably Maintain and Refashion Your Clothes by Bernadette Banner will be compelling to anyone interested in making sustainable choices about their clothes and better understanding the role of sewing in culture. Published in May 2022, the book was well-timed to intrigue those who picked up an interest in sewing during the pandemic lockdowns. The book was so popular it debuted at #3 on the NYT Bestseller List for Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous books.

Though Make, Sew and Mend is a how-to book, it’s not for pure beginners. There’s an aesthetic specificity that is distinctly different from the bright simple colors and fonts that characterize most intro-to-a-hobby books. This is obvious right away; the cover (above) features a filtered photo of Banner hand-stitching a garment. The image evokes the historical Edwardian and Victorian periods in which Banner is most interested.

You may have already encountered Bernadette Banner. She’s been an active YouTuber since 2018, amassing a library of 129 videos with over 110 million views. She specializes in garment design and construction processes in the decades surrounding 1900 in England and the United States. Her videos feature recreations of historical garments, the creation of historically inspired looks, as well as commentary on historical costuming and sewing in culture.

Experience highlighting sewing in culture

Given this narrow niche, it may be surprising that she has amassed 1.45 million YouTube subscribers and 390,000 Instagram followers (@bernadettebanner). However, she understands that her appeal extends beyond people who aspire to acquire the same skills.  Banner’s videos aren’t specialty tutorials but “mainstream entertainment and something nice to look at.” She’s correct; the videos are lovely to watch. Lighting, angles, pacing, and music are all selected to create a dreamy but grounded aesthetic.

While the videos aren’t intended as instruction guides, Make, Sew and Mend is different. Existing followers that purchase the book are taking a step from an interest in sewing in culture and slow fashion to learning how to do it themselves. Banner wants you to take control over your clothes “to make them more uniquely you through the upcycling, alternation, mending, refashioning or construction of full garments that have value to you; to give you the ability to make do and mend so that your clothes last you as long as possible.”

Woven into her interest in historical dress is a critique of fast fashion. Before the modern era, most people owned only a few garments that were well-constructed and suited to the wearer’s body. Clothes could—and were meant to– last a lifetime because textiles were sturdy. As Banner cannily notes, however, our modern attitudes toward fashion are different. Today, we don’t generally view ourselves as caretakers of garments that will have a useful life beyond us. Instead, we more often regard ourselves as consumers and displayers of trends. Make, Sew and Mend asks us to consider maintaining and refashioning the garments we already have instead of buying new items as often.

Including diverse cultural voices

Banner has also structured the book to share glimpses of other voices and attitudes in historical costuming. The book includes five feature essays written by Banner’s peers in the historical dress community. Through these essays, Banner delivers perspectives of diverse creators whose experiences with sewing in culture have implications related to gender, ability, and identity. While Banner presents as a white female from the global West, the five contributors speak to their experiences of historical garment study and craft from their own grounded perspectives. They also shed light on the personal meanings they find in clothing.

For example, contributor Yang Cheon Shik is a Korean-born adoptee raised by a white family in America. He had little connection to his heritage during his formative years and has chosen in his adult life to study, make, and wear hanbok (traditional Korean dress) daily. Shik explains that this practice connects him to his cultural heritage and provides a “depth of fulfillment” that sustains his energy and curiosity. Each feature essay elaborates on the personal meanings and expressions conveyed by clothing, providing an angle that Banner herself does not speak on in depth.

Practical sewing instruction

All techniques are carefully explained and illustrated in full-color photographs by Banner. The book is lovely to look at, as the color palette is consistent and constrained throughout the text. The introductory pages and chapter breaks include aesthetic photographs of vintage items, most notably Banner’s 1891 Singer Sewing Machine, which she regularly uses in her videos.

Make, Sew and Mend has plenty to offer readers, whether they’re interested in historical hand-sewing techniques or in making more sustainable wardrobe choices. You’ll come away understanding more techniques and more about the role of sewing in culture.

Read more about sewing and culture:

For a completely different angle on sewing in culture, check out my review of The Hype on HBO Max.

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