At the beginning of 2014, I set a big goal to upcycle every day this year in an eco-social project demonstrating creative ways to reuse and refashion existing clothing instead of buying new.

Postgraduate study last year affirmed my impression that textile consumption was accelerating at an unsustainable rate, with UN Food and Agriculture Organization figures indicating annual per person usage rose from 7kg in 1992 to 11kg in 2010 – and most of the increase was in synthetic fibres made from petroleum.

There are 7 billion people in the world to feed and clothe, yet a United Kingdom report indicates nearly one-third of clothing ends up in landfill. When I considered that waste of resources and what I, as one little person living in Australia could do to make a difference, I felt compelled to act. 

My model for change includes empowering individuals with ideas and skills to recreate their wardrobes by refashioning clothing that already exists. Because most clothing is now made cheaply in Asian factories, refashioning is also a way to bring home-sewing into the 21st century as a life skill akin to home-cooking.  

So here I am, up to Sew 244 of 365 days of upcycling – Spring has arrived in the Southern Hemisphere – and I’m two-thirds of the way through a year which is a strategic platform to build my credentials as a voice for change in the way we engage with clothing and textiles.

I’ve heard all the reasons why not – lack of time, skills and confidence, interest and motivation – and of course we make different choices because we are at different life-stages and situations. But living more slowly, more mindfully, and more resourcefully are choices too – and my own choice is to be the change I want to see by doing what I can to engage those with an interest in creative reuse of waste and unworn clothing.

I’m excited to be invited to speak at the Queensland Rural Regional and Remote Women’s Network conference in Charters Towers later this month in a Sew it Again Jane workshop. I’m excited that a young journalism/business student sought me out for her assignment on sustainable fashion. And I’m excited that my gorgeous young niece Katy looks so good in Sew 244 – a history skirt with a story to tell about where it came from.

I created it from various reject silk, linen and cotton garments which I embellished with vintage buttons and a crochet square all salvaged cheaply from op shops. To make this skirt, I constructed eight panels and sewed them into a circle to become a gored skirt which I trimmed with a long (4m) strip of silk cut from an outdated garment and secured at the waist with an stretch knit band. The top was a pink t-shirt cast-off from an old friend, which is transformed simply by cutting random diamond shapes below the neckline and on the hemline. Katy wears this with her own belt, jeggings and shoes.