Ensuring that craft patterns are accessible to crafters of diverse abilities is important not only to individuals but also to ensure our community is inclusive and supportive of all makers.
This is something we are working to improve here at Digits & Threads, and we hope this series on accessibility encourages you to join us.
[For all readers] Faced with garment sizing standards that don’t accommodate many body types and proportions, Kim McBrien Evans set out to create a new set of standards, drawing on a variety of sources and her own expertise. Here, she explains the methodology she employed to build a new and more inclusive set of standard body measurements for garment sizing, and her new chart is available for free download.
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“En tant que propriétaire queer non-binaire d’un magasin de laine, j’utilise ma voix pour aider à amplifier celles des personnes qui ne peuvent pas être entendues,”écrit Zoe Desborough. “J’utilise ma voix pour apporter des changements dans nos communautés.” Un essai à lire absolument sur l’impact de la conception de vêtements inclusifs, ce qu’il faut rechercher et comment le trouver.
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Gender-inclusive designs are not sacks or formless garments. They are meant to be gender inclusive, the same way a designer would design body-inclusive garments. As writer Zoe Desborough concludes, “They mean to provide us safety and comfort, without owing anything to anyone, without compromising ourselves for the comfort of others who can’t understand. They are meant to make us feel like our bodies are worth being seen for what they are: accepted and celebrated.” A must-read essay on the impact of inclusive garment design, what to look for, and how to find it.
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An injury prevented Helen Mawdsley from handspinning until she learned to make her own spindles designed to alleviate her pain so she could spin comfortably. She found little information about adapting spindles and techniques for different bodies and needs, and she’s now determined to keep this conversation going. “How our bodies uniquely move matters, and this needs to be incorporated into how we discuss and teach spinning techniques,” she writes. “I believe that this is one of many ways in which the larger fibre arts community can continue to work towards inclusivity.” Read her full essay, and let us know if you, too, have adapted your spinning technique or equipment to accommodate your body’s needs.
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More than 3 million Canadians have print disabilities, yet the Government of Canada has announced major cuts to two non-profits that work together and with publishers and libraries to produce and distribute accessible publications. Learn more about this issue, and please join us in advocating for long-term federal funding.
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“Inclusive design” in clothing is a catch-all term that evokes a utopian dream where anyone and everyone has clothing that fits, is affordable, and functions well for their needs and abilities. It is not the world we live in now, where our choices are dictated by a system that has been geared to serve tall, thin, cisgender, and able bodies. But what if there were a way we could achieve inclusive design, at least in the craft industry that generates the patterns we use to make DIY garments? What if we, as makers and as designers, worked in partnership towards that utopian goal?
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To complement her article on how we can work to achieve truly inclusive sizing for hand-making clothes, with yarn or fabric, Kim McBrien Evans compiled a list of resources that she has found helpful or uses herself in her design work and making.
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Accessibility isn’t optional. Ensuring accessibility on a website isn’t catering to a minuscule subsection of the population; rather, it is now an industry standard, and for excellent reasons! It’s about making a website the best it can be for everyone, and pulling in a larger audience.
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