Clothes that fit well make people feel comfortable and confident.
We will learn about the problems trans people face with fit, work with designers to produce affordable clothes and patterns, empower trans people to sew and adjust their own clothes, and help trans people navigate some of the practical and emotional challenges connected to clothes.
PRIMARY GOALS
To provide specialised online education in sewing, pattern drafting and clothing adjustment to trans people (initially through a blog and link archive) – for free.
To learn more about both pattern design and trans bodies, and share that information for others to build on.
To encourage individuals and groups to use the data to create affordable clothes, patterns, and preferably free patterns, for trans people.
To work alongside projects with similar goals; and support the creation of sibling projects who wish to use the data, work on one of our goals or accomplish similar things.
To provide free, open source clothes patterns online for everyday clothing staples; for trans men, trans women, and non binary people.
To be aware of the diversity of trans experience, and seek to welcome and include as far as possible – especially trans-related factors, such as transition status, binary/nonbinary, different kinds of transition and individual choices.
SECONDARY GOALS
To work with clothes brands, both big and independent, to design affordable clothes for us, or with us in mind.
To work with clothes pattern companies, big and independent, to design specifically for us, or with us in mind.
To work with fashion designers – professional, students and amateurs – to design patterns and clothes for us, or with us in mind.
To build a small community of like-minded trans sewers, who want to work together in person and online to share their skills, writing, and discoveries.
to run an ongoing survey, and provide an updated open source data set describing trans body measurements – ON HOLD
NB – this is temporarily on hold. It was originally a primary goal. I’m no longer certain this is a good goal. We are still researching, but the new focus is “how to fit and make your own patterns” rather than “a size chart of trans people”. This is because “size charts of cis people” in the fashion industry serve most people really poorly. However, I’m leaving it in the manifesto for now because it may be a thing again in future.
TERTIARY GOALS
To find out more about how transition impacts the body, by surveying trans people of all ages and transition pathways and maintaining a data set – ON HOLD
Help cisgender people with non-normative gender expressions access affordable patterns and clothes, as well as trans readers.
Help cisgender sewers learn more about pattern-making and fit.
Ally with & support projects and pattern-makers for those with other kinds of non-normative bodies.
Expand access to professional pattern cutting knowledge & skills for project participants – for example, through workshops, courses, and textbooks.
As often as possible, provide what we create on an Open Source/Creative Commons basis, so others can archive, build on, and benefit from our work.
Last updated: May 2018
The Trans Sewing Project 