Making Clothes from Scraps at Swap-O-Rama-Rama

Swap-O-Rama-Rama has been at Maker Faire Bay Area every year since it first started. They are always a hit and this year was no different. During the weekend, every station was packed with people eager to experiment with clothing alteration and learn new skills. There were stations for just about everything, including learning how to use sewing machines, slashing t-shirts, silk screening, hand sewing, and how to properly dye clothing.

Besides having awesome workshops going on, they also had speakers come in and talk about different topics pertaining to clothing and upcycling. One particular speaker who was pretty popular was Lynda Grose.

Besides teaching at the California College of the Arts, Grose does marketing research for the Sustainable Cotton Project. During her talk at the Faire, she gave a background on cotton and went on to discuss what the Project is all about.

The Sustainable Cotton Project is a California based non-profit with the goal to help farmers reduce chemical use in cotton production. One thing that they are really pushing for is Cleaner Cotton™.

Cleaner Cotton™ is the name for the responsibly grown fiber produced by the cotton farmers enrolled in the Sustainable Cotton Project. Grown without using the 13 most toxic chemicals in conventional cotton production in California, utilizing non-genetically modified seed, and biologically based integrated pest management practices.

To learn more about their goals and find updates on how they are doing, make sure to check out their website and Twitter page.

Now, check out the video below to hear Erin Scholl talk more about the history of the Swap-O-Rama-Rama and what it was like this year at the Maker Faire.