This rework of a shirtmaker dress was quick and easy with a curved reshape of the hemline, scooped at the front, then the sleeves cropped and just zigzagged to finish.

I feel a bit of a butcher taking the scissors to such garments but my conscience is clear because its from an op shop, tossed out because a button fell off.

The fabulous thing about cutting and resewing existing clothing is you can experiment, have fun sewing and trying techniques without breaking the bank or wasting new resources.

I’ve been harvesting natural resources at ops shops for some time now, which is why I’m spending this year working my way through the stockpile and demonstrating a different way of dressing with Sew it Again. (My son Max laughed when I told him I’d filled up a loyalty card and got $50 of free stuff – ‘its like frequent flyer points’ he said.)

The whole idea of endless consumption of stuff and continual growth of society – which we’re sold as being good for the economy – is unsustainable. The Impossible Hamster video shows why. Then there’s this amazing video by the Planetary Collective which documents the Overview Effect felt by astronauts when seeing the beauty of Earth as a planet.

This film shows the big picture of Earth, as a planet and with our sun being just one star in the universe. This cosmic perspective provides understanding of Earth as a living, breathing organism that is fragile. The astronauts say it is sobering to see human impact on the environment and appreciate the interconnected oneness of all life on Earth. They say: ‘Living more in tune with our natural world is key to our survival – we have to act as one species, one ecosystem, with one decency. If Earth becomes sick, we will become sick. We need to shift our behaviour to a sustainable approach, as opposed to a destructive approach. Earth is our home, an oasis on the backdrop of infinity … and it is incredible to be able to see that with your own eyes.’

All of Earth, nature and people are intertwined. That’s why I’m doing my little bit in Brisbane, on Earth’s biggest island continent Australia, to demonstrate how you can revive home-sewing and creativity to renovate existing garments instead of buying new stuff and using more resources.

This op shop dress is made of cupra/viscose (a cellulose-based renewable man-made fibre) which has a beautiful swish. It’s a stock-standard shirtmaker style that was long and dated. To alter the hem, I drew a rough curve with chalk that was higher at the front than the back, and cut a groovier hemline. An easy way to get an even curve is to cut one side of the front, then fold it over onto the other side (of the front) and follow that curve – that way they are both the same. Ditto the back. I trimmed and curved the sleeves similarly. Then I just zigzagged all the raw edges – that way when this new hemline becomes dated (as it will), it can be cropped straight again at the shorter length. The shell necklace was op shop ($4) – one day soon, you won’t be able to find such gorgeous natural treasure so cheaply.