Handmade cotton blouse, polyester thread, ceramic buttons, edition 6 of 10, 2023.

As a new mother, Hull has benefited from knowledge shared by friends and family about the experience of being pregnant and sustaining life. In addition to the immaterial support she receives, she has access to the secondhand and circular economy of baby clothes. As her child grows from newborn to subsequent milestones (0-3 months, 3-6 months, etc.), she is supplied with a wardrobe that she intends to pass on, continuing the reuse cycle. The Zero Waste Blouse reimagines maternity-wear, beyond the notoriously dowdy, limited-use garments, further reinforcing sustainable goals.

Hull produced this zero waste pattern – a technical design challenge in intentional material usage – while an artist-in-residence at the Icelandic Textile Center in northwestern Iceland in July 2022. The pattern used to make the shirts uses all the fabric of a 60 x 58” piece of yardage. A small piece of extra fabric is engineered into the pattern, sewn into the right front facing of each shirt to be used for future mends or to remain in place. The blouse silhouette is asymmetrical with the right shirt front extending over the left front in a point, designed to offer the wearer coverage while feeding a baby. 

The five shirts in this exhibition were designed by Hull and sewn by artists on the manufacturing team at Studious Monday, a metro Detroit-based fashion company in December 2023. The garment rack was also designed by Hull and fabricated by Detroit-based Subject Studio in Summer 2022. 

A note on sizing - Each shirt measures the following: Shoulder width 32”, Length (shoulder to hem) 29”, Sleeve length 19.5”, Cuff circumference 14”, Neck circumference 16.5”, Chest width 32”. Size is comparable to a ‘Large.’ Other sizes are available made-to-order. They are available here in an edition of 10, each is individually numbered and signed.