The World

is violent and mercurial

it will have its way with you.

We are saved only by love --

love for each other and the love

that we pour into the art we

feel compelled to share: being a parent,

a writer, being a painter, being a friend.

We live in a perpetually burning

building and what we must save

from it all the time is love.

Cutting - in my opinion, the most labor intensive part of the process. The amount of time/effort needed varies depending on the pattern and if seam allowance is included or marked separately, but no matter what this process can not be done by machine. Each and every panel and piece of fabric that goes into a garment must be cut by hand by a person.

Pinning/clipping - pinning (or clipping) is the stage at which you align the pieces you are going to be stitching together and hold them together with — you guessed it! — either pins or clips. This can not be done by machine.

Stitching - the actual sewing. This can be done by a sewing machine, but that machine still needs to be operated by a human being.

Ironing/pressing - two words that mean the same thing. The iron itself is a machine, but once again, it needs to be operated by a human being.

Finishing - depending on the technique you use, there are certain finishing techniques that can only be done by hand. But, let’s assume we’re talking about fast fashion, which is usually just finished with a simple overlock/serger. Once again: these machines need to be operated by people.

These are just the basic steps to making a garment, and don’t include textile arts that I am not as knowledgeable about, such as weaving, knitting, and crochet. Also, it is important to note that there are a lot of things that can only be done by hand, such as certain stitches and decorative techniques.

Also, the machinery being operated in textile factories is not equivalent to a domestic sewing machine. We’re talking about one of these guys:

See that gray cylinder under the table, behind the knee pedal? That’s the motor. These machines can sew through your fingers bones and all and not even stop. The people in these factories and sweatshops are operating heavy machinery, and are subject to all the risk that comes with that in addition to all of the work I mentioned above.

And then you complain about your clothes having loose threads.

As it is, there are still some things that are done by hand. Harrison Tweed is done by humans, not machines. Traditional kimonos are still woven by hand and require several different people in the process, all each specialized in a specific skill. Just to put one traditional kimono together. If you're looking for cheap weaves, sure, a machine can do that, but a human is still needed to operate the machine.

From what I've heard, there is no machine that can crochet. So anything that was crocheted was done by a human.

Machines can knit, and a lot of clothes are made with machine knit fabrics. But you still have the sewing process, and I'm pretty sure knitting machines still need human supervision and set up.

So basically, even with the textiles that can be done with machines, they still need humans involved in the process.

I wrote a master’s thesis on intentionally single people, and the number of them that said in various ways, “I didn’t know not dating people was even an option at first” was absolutely tragic. They honestly thought they had no choice and it never occurred to them that opting out was even a possibility available to them.  

People honestly believe these are life experience you are required to have AND THEY ARE NOT.