Here’s my little girl all grown up and flown the coup. Lily left with friends for Europe last night to holiday before undertaking a semester of her University of Queensland degree at Leeds University in the United Kingdom. We will miss her so much. Travel safe my beautiful clever girl.

Like many people, Lily buys clothes online. Because you can’t try them on, they’re not always what you expect. Lil bought several dresses including this one a year ago, and we had a sewing bee (she sewed!) taking up the hems about 4cm and trimming the sleeves. The viscose fabric (reconstituted plant fibres) is light, soft and easy to wear and work with. 

But as Lily tried on this dress while packing, we decided it was now a little too short for travel and took it back down about 2cm. I did that for her, simply unpicking the earlier sewing, trying on to measure, pinning and resewing. There is nothing complicated about this upcycle but I do wonder whether many bother with these small home-sewing tasks anymore – or simply toss the dress out and buy another. The reality of global clothing supply chains encourages a disposable culture because it is easy, but it leads to waste and loss of skills. I know most online stores accept returns, but I wonder how much clothing waste is being generated from dud purchases.

Anyway, 19 years after my beautiful Lily rolled around on the front veranda for this photo, above, she is off and away. Giving me a great reason to visit after I finish my Sew it Again year and begin to fulfill my goal of travelling the world inspiring creative upcycling of natural fibre clothing. There’s a lot of upcycling happening in the UK so I’m excited about the potential for learning and engaging with others when the time comes.