Our tastes in clothing evolve over time so it is handy to have a few sewing skills and be able to lengthen or shorten hems and sleeves, without needing to replace garments.

Taking something from your wardrobe and making it work better for you is on the Guide to a Conscious Wardrobe created by Magnifeco which I came across yesterday and have included below because it is such a fabulous resource.

This 365-day Sew it Again project by Textile Beat aligns with Magnifeco’s guide because we mend, value the story, look for natural fibres, cherish second-hand, avoid fast fashion, use eco-dyes, read the labels and we make something better by resewing. 

Sew 349 (of 365) is a cotton lycra skirt I made a while ago which I’ve lengthened with a bias-cut trim – that I’m wearing (above right) with an opshop found silk/cotton top (and the pearl from my late brother Paul).

Because I wanted a longer skirt, I extended the hem using a piece of bias cut linen. I found some loosely woven white linen in my fabric stash and folded it in half on the diagonal on the floor. I pinned the width I wanted and cut it off (doubled over) before neatening the cut edges with the overlocker. I decided how long the linen strip needed to be (about 1.5 times circumference of hemline) then starting at the front near one side, I sewed the linen directly to the base of the skirt, stretching it (the skirt) as I sewed. When it was nearly sewn, I stopped and made some random pleats with the excess linen, before sewing it all in place. The photos below give you some idea of the process. Linen is so beautiful to work with because it doesn’t move about – you can just pin and stitch. I added a gorgeous shell button to finish off the front feature and this outfit is good to go for a Christmas event tomorrow night.

Because bias cut linen is so useful for refashion, I decided to cut the rest of the linen into strips of various widths (for future projects) which I’ve rolled up and stored in plastic (see photo at bottom) so they are ready to use as trims or frills. I’m sure a roller cutter would generate more accurate bias strips if required, but my rustic method got the job done.