This hand-knitted coral pink wool twin-set is an op shop find which I’ve upcycled and wear with a contrasting jumper-skirt.

There was a time when people looked down their noses at home-made clothing. That’s all changed now that cheap store-bought stuff is a dime a dozen and one-off hand-made originals are being re-appreciated.

Knitting and crocheting has been rediscovered as a craft of skill, creativity and relaxation. What fun to come across Woollylatte’s, an exclusive knitting boutique and coffee house just around the corner from where I’m staying with my friends Pat and Bruce at Wembley in Perth.

Owner Anthea hosts popular knit ‘n’ yarn social evenings where knitters of all skill levels come together with a common purpose to have fun with knitting, pick up a few tips and enjoy a chat and coffee. How lovely.

It reminded me of the Paris Sweat Shop sewing café I read about which sadly now appears to have closed – but it is a concept which has potential as part of my quest to see home sewing revived as a way of upcycling existing clothing for a second life.

Today’s upcycle is a hand knit created lovingly by someone and barely worn when I purchased it cheaply from an op shop. The top had short sleeves, which I removed by unpicking the stitches. I then sewed them together by hand and turned into a cap, to which I added a crazy felted green hair-tie as a pompom. Instead of replacing the pretty pink buttons on the cardigan, I added vintage green ones in-between to create interest. The skirt is made from part of an over-large cotton cardigan/jumper. Because of the thickness of the cotton knit, it was not suitable to fold for the waistband, so I added a piece of lycra as a waistband which has elastic inside.