Every end is the beginning of something else: a beautiful quote from M L Stedman’s book The Light Between Oceans which I’ve just finished reading ahead of book club dinner next week. Although the book’s about right and wrong, love and loss, I reckon there’s an upcycling analogy in that quote.

The life of my linen trousers has come to an end, but they have a new beginning as a skirt. I’ve mentioned before that I have a crush on linen and almost never iron it.

Apart from saving effort and power, my view is the crush makes a statement about what is a beautiful. long-lasting, and sustainable natural fibre (it is grown with fewer inputs than other crops). Linen stands out as a fibre and I love chatting to women I see wearing it. 

Although it is a relatively uncommon and more expensive fibre, I did notice affordable linen shirts making a comeback at stores like Uniqlo when I visited them in KL a while back. Anyway, Sew 245 is an upcycle of some linen wide-leg trousers which I’ve turned into an ankle-length skirt (similar to Sew 212). The fabric is a fine weave check in three colours – beige, light blue and cream – which has faded a little with washing but still with lots of life left in it. (I found a scarf I’d made with a strip of the same fabric that has not been washed, so I can see the difference.) To create the skirt, I cut the leg centre-seams open and pinned them flat (so the curves remain as an upcycled feature) and stitched in place using zigzag in a darker thread. To create some interest in the hemline, I arbitrarily cut a curve along the skirt bottom, removing 2/3 of the hemline and zigzagging cut edges to prevent fraying. I then used the offcut to form a side-hem-feature (which fills about half the cropped section) by making random pleats and zigzagging it in place on top of the cut edge. The linen falls well, it swings when you walk . I like the result but it is an individual, creative thing. The look is worn with a bargain $2 opshop merino-wool top.