From Seed to Stitch: Woman Grows Her Own Dress

Eve Ogden Schaub has embarked on an ambitious project to create a linen dress from flax cultivated in her own Vermont backyard, aiming to counter the detrimental impacts of fast fashion. This initiative, initiated in April 2025, involves growing, harvesting, and processing flax using time-honored, labor-intensive techniques.

The multi-stage process includes retting, breaking, scutching, hackling, spinning, and scouring the flax fibers. Schaub is also cultivating indigo plants for dyeing the yarn, which will then be woven on a large loom. This mirrors historical textile production methods that were commonplace before the rise of mass manufacturing.

Schaub's project serves as a critique of the environmental and health crises associated with fast fashion, such as landfill waste and worker health issues in garment factories. It underscores the societal tendency to prioritize cheaper and faster options over more meaningful and sustainable practices.

With prior experience in lifestyle experiments, including a year without sugar and a year of zero-waste living, Schaub draws parallels between her current endeavor and her past explorations of sustainable living. She aims to raise awareness about the hidden costs of modern clothing production, including low wages and poor working conditions.

The learning curve has been steep, with Schaub sharing her struggles and triumphs through videos, which have resonated with many. Her project educates viewers about the historical value of cloth and the extensive effort required to produce garments, contrasting sharply with the disposable nature of fast fashion.

Schaub anticipates the final dress, to be designed with historical patterns and the help of a friend, will be deeply meaningful. While the completion date remains uncertain, she is committed to wearing the garment, finding beauty in the personal significance of its creation.