All living things have a place and a purpose on the planet. While life is a struggle for some, others expend much time and effort chasing money and stuff.

Popular culture positions elite, prestige and luxury atop a greasy pole. Many invest a lifetime pursing this elusive high when it is simple things around us that provide meaning in the end.

Through her beautiful distillation of The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Australian Bronnie Ware has become an advocate for healthy, simple living.

We know that whole local food keeps our bodies healthy. If we expend effort in its growing and cooking, then all the better. Quick, easy, processed, packaged fast food might be cheap, but we have come to understand its consumption is not good for our health.

We are coming to grips with our clothing story in the same way. Events such as the Rana Plaza factory collapse last year exposed the dark underbelly of fast fashion as a source of cheap, ready-made, clothing that exploits people and resources. Somebody somewhere is losing out when you can buy $5 shirts and treat them as disposable.

That’s why we need a Fashion Revolution. Young people such as UK-based creative Tilly, of Tilly and the Buttons fame, are empowering a new generation of DIY dressmakers by demonstrating how to create their own clothing.

For me, as an op shop addict, the revolution involves resewing clothing that already exists in the world rather than producing new from scratch.

It’s amazing how many perfectly good clothes end up in op shops or, worse still, in landfill. We can’t be bothered – or don’t make the time and have the skills – to care for, mend or adapt what already exists in our wardrobes. And we’re encouraged to buy more at every turn.

I’ve been rescuing and reviving natural-fibre clothing for years, and this Sew it Again year is a byproduct of my op-shop obsession. I’m spending each day working through the stockpile – resewing, refashioning and remaking pre-loved clothing for a second life using simple home-sewing skills.

This charcoal denim eco-look utilises the off-cut skirt from Sew 102. Using the top part of the skirt, I turned up its hem to the outside, zigzagged the raw edge then did another two rows of stitching to hold it in place. The top was an op-shop shirt which I filleted (removing collar and sleeves). The sleeves become the belt. The top of the shirt is trimmed and back becomes front. Before you gather the edges and resew the collar, neaten the armholes by turning raw edge over, and over again, and stitching in place.  Use scissors to further scoop the back (which will soon be the front) down towards the centre (make the middle at least 1cm lower than edge) so when you gather and sew the collar in place it doesn’t feel like a choker when you wear it. Happy resewing!