The Sew it Again project is not about Jane Milburn resewing adventures, it is about inspiring and enabling others to relook at clothing that already exists in their wardrobes and refashioning it for a second life.

Serena Williams is an early adopter. Having bought jeans-to-skirt convo Sew 31 at the Reverse Emporium Love Upcycled exhibition, she got in touch about refashioning a wool suit that was no longer suitable for her partner’s corporate role.

We had sew much fun together, although she made me wield the scissors. Tellingly, Serena felt a twinge in her chest as I cut into the fine wool suiting fabric. It is a little scary slicing up something that still has intrinsic value but if it is not being worn as is, the risk is not high.

So Sew 149 becomes pin-striped wool suit culottes. We selected a preferred length and cut both trouser legs off,  measuring down from the waist. We then opened out both leg-offcuts and cut about an 8cm-wide portion from each. This strip is then sewn to each culotte leg as a trim feature/extension, with the stripes running perpendicular to the body of the garment. We made two tucks in the waistband, either side of the back-centre seam, to provide waistline definition with the belt pulling in the rest.  The remainder of the legs are then sewn together, turned inside out and become a neck wrap. We’ve left the jacket as is for now and just turned up the sleeves. This is Junky Styling for beginners, which Serena relates to having recently returned from London where self-taught designers Annika Sanders and Kerry Seager have been chopping up men’s suits for a decade!