Everything created will one day fall to the inevitable decay of time. It will always be necessary to create. In doing so, we can be inspired by great innovators who came before.
Our clothes, with enough time, will dry, rot, and disintegrate. After so much wear, we must maintain a process of ongoing restoration: patching, stitching, or mending any loose threads and rips.
I am in the process of paddling over 5,000 miles of waterways in The Great Loop, from Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico and back. I am to go up the Mississippi River, against the current, by canoe. And two years ago, I began hand sewing my own pants with a needle and thread. The time spent learning this new craft challenged me to grow creatively.
I was wearing through clothes faster than I could mend them, until I visited a library five months into my canoeing expedition, where they offered use of a sewing machine for free.
I had never touched a sewing machine before, so I sat alone for two hours in the back room and taught myself the ropes. Those hours of dedication, despite how minuscule it may have seemed, changed the trajectory of my voyage and perhaps my life.
With enough wear, you quickly discover each and every flaw your garments hold. With those flaws in mind, I designed improved trousers long enough to warm my whole leg.
The first set I crafted was inspired by trousers made by Eiko Ishioka, a Japanese costume designer who worked on the set of “Dracula” (1992), for which she received an Oscar for best costume design.
They feature ties inside the hem, which allows me to roll them up above the calf, doubling as a “short” in case I need to wade in the water to enter my boat. The top layer I quilted to a cotton flannel lining to ensure warmth while maintaining a light and baggy feel.
In the latter part of the voyage, I found other sewing machines along the way and made clothes for myself for the winter. The quilted cotton flannel re-design of the Eiko pant ensured I was warm enough in the canoe and while asleep.
I made pants with a quilted cotton flannel. My design ensured I was warm enough in the canoe and while I slept in them. I sewed rope into the hems above the ankle that could be tied below the knee for wading. I added pockets and ensured they had a baggy feel for flexibility.
I read of a pattern, invented by the French Navy in 1858, known as the Breton Stripe. It was of simple horizontal black lines designed to increase the visibility of sailors in the case of a man overboard. Through the years, the Breton Stripe found its way into design wear, furniture, and even modern fashion.
Lighthouses were also designed to be seen, spawning a pattern known as the Candy Stripe—a distant relative to the Breton. Combining the two, I made proper canoeing attire from scratch.
Developing the knowledge to sew my own clothes has been one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever given myself. It has instilled in me a broader depth of understanding in the world of garments and fashion through trial and error.
It has helped me reconnect with a creative profundity that could have been easily lost in childhood. It has changed the way I interact with the world.
Knowledge behind fabric choices and what they offer, sewing and mending skills, and a sense of limitless freedom in your creativity, is incredibly undervalued. Anyone who learns it has a significant advantage in the world.
I myself am inspired by great innovators, which led to the creation of many garments that aid me along my travels. Michigan has harbored many great innovators, from engineers to designers, it’s a cycle that once noticed, can be replicated.
Through inspiration, creativity and a little elbow grease, we can further the ideas of our predecessors, and attempt to make a ripple in the timeline that could last for centuries. One of the most commonly known clothing brands originated in 1889 in Detroit by Hamilton Carhartt.
Carhartt began production with only five workers and two sewing machines, and initially focused on designing a durable overall and functional workman clothes for railroad workers.
Twenty-five years into production, Carhartt offered seven of his facilities to the U.S. government to produce uniforms for the military through World War I. Today, Carhartt hats and clothes can be found in most any clothing store, a staple for Michiganders.
From a small loft to a major enterprise, people found value in his clothes. If not for the tinkering and creativity of Hamilton, none of it would exist today.
Creativity is the tool we use to navigate the world. With it, we can become creators of our lives, rather than just consumers of it.
Life is a continuum, so without creation, there would be nothing to inspire us. Without innovation, there would be no history, and without living, there would be no reason to create.
Peter Frank is a canoeist and storyteller from the Upper Peninsula. Follow his journey at whereispeterfrank.com.
