We are what we repeatedly do. I’m repeatedly refashioning existing clothing to prevent them going to waste. Everyday this year, I use what I have and do what I can to demonstrate a more creative way of reusing natural fibre clothing instead of dumping them.
In so doing, I’m part of a REfashion Revolution which is inspiring thoughtful and creative reuse of existing clothing instead of buying more.
Waste not, want not, as my Great Grandma used to say – but it is astounding how wasteful our society has become in pursuit of new stuff.
The REfashion Revolution has integrity.
It is creative, autonomous and purposeful in reducing waste and exploitation – and in alignment with my personal values. Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles – or another graphic definition I picked up via social media recently which I love is this: Integrity is choosing your thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain.
The REfashion Revolution is happening all around us, when we pause to consider how we can reuse clothing by chopping and changing instead of tossing out.
I’m excited to be going to Biloela in central Queensland this weekend to launch the REfashion Revolution there through a History Skirt workshop that’s supported by the Biloela Arts Council and enabled by local advocates Dominique Tan and Fay Neale.
In Sydney, New South Wales, it is fabulous to see UTS fashion lecturer Kirsten Lee being supported by local councils with her ReFashion It workshops to engage, inform and equip participants to be part of the solution by moving towards more ethical, lasting fashion.
Kirsten says ReFashion is about creativity and expression through remaking what we wear rather than disposing and repurchasing. “ReFashion workshops are a guerrilla movement towards more conscious, engaging, creative, unique, ethical and empowering fashion.” Yay Kirsten, bring it on I say. See photos in yesterday’s Sew 161 post.
Today’s upcycle Sew 162 was a long cotton, opshop-found skirt with lots of beautiful embellishment using fabric and buttons that was too good to see wasted. I refashioned the skirt to be knee-length by chopping off the waistband and zip, and replacing them with a flexible elastic waist. Measure the finished length you want (adding extra for the folded-over waistband) then cut in a curved shape (dipping down in the middle and even at the sides). Neaten then turn over and insert elastic to fit your waist. To extend the frilly look, I used the waist offcut to create a big rosella rosette. I overlapped the cut-off strip of fabric length-wise and sewed it together so there were folded edges on both sides. I ran a gathering thread around one edge, pulled it up, then spiralled the fabric together to form a flower shape, which I roughly machine stitched to hold in place. On the front I attached a vintage button and on the back I attached a brooch pin so it is a multi-purpose rosette. These Items I’ve teamed with a cast-off (thanks Sally) striped cotton t-shirt with a knot tied at the waist to create a more shapely look.
