Forecasting social-cultural trends is something European trendsetter Lidewij Edelkoort learned to do by trusting her instincts and she now travels the world presenting at events such as Designex  coming soon to Sydney Australia.

In a recent article, Edelkoort reflects on the current move towards nature, organics and the traditional. “We’re seeing the dawning of an embryonic age, where the social mood is shifting to a climate of community, care and compassion. A new epoch with different and more wholesome, localised options … Twenty years ago we craved imported goods. Now we’re turning our attention to things that are local and locally made … We went very quickly into the desire for global things and I think we will also unglobalise rapidly which I think is positive because transportation is taking its toll on society, financially and ecologically. So if we can do less of that, the better it is.” 

This resonates with the Sew it Again project I’m incubating this year, valuing natural fibres by adapting them using traditional sewing skills to change existing clothing rather than purchasing more. Upcycled garments are mindfully created within a climate of care for Earth’s limited resources and provide a slow-fashion alternative to clothing consumption being driven by fast fashion greed.

Sew 147 was a long harlequin-checked wool cardigan (opshop $7) made from gorgeous fabric but a somewhat dated style. I used a de-pilling gadget to tidy up the fabric and removed excess fibres which provided a near-instant improvement. I then cut off the sleeves, sliced the shoulders and trimmed the remains of the sleeves into rolling curves. I had a piece of apricot wool fabric in my stash and cut the fringe from this to add (using zigzag stitch) as a bottom-trim on the skirt. I just re-frayed the new cut edge on the apricot fabric and it still works as a scarf (albeit a slightly narrower one). I then created an elastic waistband by folding the waist edge down over a circle of elastic and stitching to secure. The arm offcuts become leg warmers after I secured the cut edge by zigzagging narrow elastic on the inside.  The beautiful shell buttons remain in place as a natural feature on the skirt.