Welcome back to the podcast. This is episode 4 of Motherhood in Making. Today I am going to be continuing our conversation on the heirloom sewing series. Today's episode is called "What Fabrics Qualify as Heirloom?" Hi there, I'm Whitney. You're listening to Needles, Motherhood and Making. I'm a professional seamstress, embroiderer, and recently I've added long arm quilting to my needles arsenal. Most importantly, I'm a wife and a mother to three amazing little humans. This podcast lives at the intersection of motherhood and making. Today I'm going to be talking about fabric, not trends or what's popular this season, but what actually lasts and what qualifies as heirloom when it comes to clothing, specifically children's clothing, because that is what I am sewing most often. Children don't need clothing to look good just on the hanger. They need clothes that keep up with their lifestyle. Children are active and should be active. Children are very often unscripted. ⁓ is that only my children? Okay. I have three amazing little humans at home they are 12, eight and four. And I have the privilege of sharing this life with them. I have two older little girls and a spunky little boy and they are every bit. unscripted and because I make a lot of their clothing they look good while living life. Believe me, not everything in their closet is handmade. However, I am able to get some quality mom-made clothes on them from time to time. let's discuss what makes some fabric qualify as heirloom and what fabrics don't. Fabrics that we want to label as heirloom must meet the following criteria. High natural fiber composition, durability, and timeless. High quality natural fibers like cottons, linen, silks, which now I'm realizing that I have forgotten to mention in my last episode. Mainly because I actually don't use silk, but I can envision several projects such as receiving blankets, baptism gowns, and even bonnets being made using beautiful silks. I might actually have to try some. And it's not a criteria, but often heirloom fabric tends to lean toward the timeless color palette, such as white, cream, or soft pastels, and are frequently embellished with lace, embroidery, or smocking. Children are often crawling, climbing, spinning, washing their hands a hundred times. Well, should be anyway. So fabric has to be more than just pretty. It has to be willing, willing to be washed often, be stretched and pulled, be slept in, be mended. And I mentioned in my last episode, that repairs are part of making garments. It teaches our children that their clothes matter and are worth the investment to mend. If a fabric can't survive childhood, then it doesn't belong in a child's wardrobe. Here's why natural fibers always win, hands down, every single time. Natural fibers last because they age well. And when these natural fibers are woven together, they create a fabric that is durable and long suffering. Cotton, linen, wool, silks soften over time and they relax instead of resisting movement and breathe with the body. fabric content matters because it allows our skin to breathe. and that our children can often tell the difference and their behavior is a response of what fabric we're putting on them. Their response to the clothing is visible in how they play and move. Allow me to elaborate. I find this really interesting because a healthy body has a frequency of 100 hertz. match the body's frequency of 100 hertz. while linen and wool are considered to be super fabrics and resonate at a staggering 5,000 Hertz frequency. These fibers are considered to be live. Is that not incredible? So what is considered dead fabric? Is there a dead fabric? Okay, if you listen to my third episode, I touched on this briefly. but I'm going to bring it up again because I believe that it is imperative to your physical health and your children's health. Truly. synthetic materials such as polyester, rayon, and nylon only read between 0 and 15 Hertz frequency. Blah.
