A long blue linen jacket is updated by shortening and adding the top part of a jumper as collar, with the jumper bottom becoming skirt.

Making simple changes that transform existing garments into something fresh is creative upcycling as I’m doing every day this year with my Sew it Again campaign.

My purpose is to empower individuals to reimagine and recreate their own wardrobe collection by resewing at home.

Home sewing is a lost art overtaken by cheap fast fashion, just as fast food did with home cooking. In recent years we’ve rediscovered home cooking and food production as nourishing and pleasurable activities. My aim is to see home sewing revalued as a life skill, in the same way as home cooking.

This message found a receptive audience at the Carindale Community Forum last night, which included LNP Member for Chatsworth Steve Minnikin as well as Labor’s Paul Keene and the Greens’ David Nelson.

It was great fun engaging with mindful Brisbane people interested in where clothing comes from and rethinking the way we dress and live in this fast-paced world. They were also interested to hear about Fashion Revolution Day on April 24.

Thanks to the fabulous Gen Robey for taking this photo with her co-convenor and good sport Glenn Millar demonstrating one of six skirt-to-dress garment surgery conversions performed this month with Sew it Again. I found the men just as interested, so I’m thinking of ways to include them in some future upcycling projects.

This skirt-to-dress garment surgery will be the theme for a workshop this Sunday at Jewel West’s home. If you are interested in hosting a workshop, please get in touch via email or mobile – Jane Milburn contacts here. More insightful reading via Twitter today, including this blog post from social impact strategist Danielle Vermeer on a jeans’ purchasing experience that brought haunting memories of the Rana Plaza tragedy. It is a thoughtful piece about the manner in which most of our clothing is made and purchased.

Today’s upcycle reusing existing resources is a revamp for a tired but still worthy collarless long navy linen jacket. I cut the bottom off just below the pockets, turning the raw edges together and top-stitching in place. From a men’s pull-over jumper, I cut the bottom and trimmed to become a skirt by adding an elastic waistband. I removed the jumper sleeves and cut open the front, attaching as a collar to the jacket by hand-stitching in place – in a style reminiscent of the classic Driza-bone raincoat.