Author Archives: Jane

Sew 246 – Reusing what already exists

The coming to consciousness about what we wear on our bodies is being driven along by many factors – including popular culture icons engaging their profile and influence for greater good.

Pharrell Williams, of ‘Happy’ fame, is one such musician involved in a fashion initiative that is turning plastic and ocean waste into desirable clothing under the G-Star RAW for the Oceans collection launching this month. Read more in this 1 Million Women article by Bronte Hogarth.

Another popular musician Will.i.am is stepping out too, in sharply tailored suits made by Coca-Cola funded reuse initiative Ekocycle with fabric created from recycled plastic bottles, as reported by Ecouterre magazine and in the video below. Continue reading →

Sew 245 – Crushed linen maxi skirt

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. Continue reading →

Sew 244 – Year is two-thirds stitched!

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. Continue reading →

Sew 243 – Opshop finds need no-sew

Last year National Op Shop Week came and went without much of a ripple – in contrast to this year when there has been an incredible media response, including from New Corp HQ.

Hats off the Jon Dee from Do Something Near You and the National Association for Charitable Recycling Organisations for raising the profile of the important role op shops play in our society and highlighting how we can contribute by donating, buying and volunteering.

News Corp Australia became involved as part of its 1 Degree environmental sustainability initiative, which is about the small steps we can all take that add up to big change and lead to a sustainable future. That’s so aligned with my Sew it Again project, refashioning existing clothing. Continue reading →

Sew 242 – Op shop uncut

Individual tastes and preferences in the clothes we chose to wear each day are what set us apart. For those who want to be on-trend followers of fashion, there’s a $1.7 trillion global fashion industry catering to their needs.

But in the past two decades as the world has become saturated with perfectly good clothing that no one is wearing – creative ways of sourcing pre-loved clothing have emerged including swaps and swishes, online resale, markets, vintage shops and of course charity/opportunity/thrift shops.

The beauty of op shops is we can donate clothes to them when they no longer suit our needs – and make a financial and sustainability contribution by buying clothes from them to create unique looks combining random finds that work together. Continue reading →

Sew 241 – Little black dress lives on

Great to have more of my New Zealand family involved in the Sew it Again project, with cousin Keri being the latest to upcycle and wear a Textile Beat refashion as Sew 241.

We went op-shopping in Brisbane during National Op Shop Week, as you do, and Keri found a little black dress of dated style with good potential because of its viscose fabric and pretty neckline.

After washing it, Keri grooved-up the hemline by cutting it into a modern curve and cropped off the puffy sleeves. When teamed with a red top and tights (from my stash) this is ideal work-wear for Keri whose management role within childcare centres straddles the office (add a black jacket) and occasional hands-on involvement. Continue reading →

Sew 240 – Snip and tie shoulder straps

Op shopping is such an adventure and much more fun than shopping for new stuff because you get to make discoveries.

This is a quote from my young New Zealand visitor Olivia after we called into a few op shops during National Op Shop Week, in-between the usual sightseeing and conventional shopping.

What a great insight from a nine-year-old, right, modelling one of her finds. The I Love Aus singlet was perfect, apart from being too long in the shoulders. All we had to do was snip each shoulder on the diagonal and tie a knot to shorten and prevent the shoulders slipping off (see photos below). Olivia then teamed it with op-shop-found shorts to suit her young athletic style. Continue reading →

Sew 239 – Small tuck revives castoff

It was great to have a reason to head to Byron Bay yesterday, playing tour guide around the lighthouse and Wategos for my New Zealand cousin Keri and her offspring Olivia and Liam.

Although I didn’t buy anything, I took the opportunity to chat with Glen Casey who owns the new Patagonia – Byron store and learn about the company’s impressive environmental and social commitment.

The integrity of Patagonia products is reflected right through the company and includes the Common Threads Partnership to encourage recycling and reducing consumption by creating products that last a long time. The partnership is fostering a culture of reduce, reuse, repair, recycle and reimagine to lower our collective environmental impact. A fabulous ethos underpinning a great clothing company. Continue reading →

Sew 238 – Op-shop lace treasure

This is a truly beautiful cotton lace vintage-style top which is embellished with pretty pansy and daisy flowers, and fastened with shell buttons.

It is fun discovering beautifully-made items like this top at op shops and creating an original outfit by teaming them with a skirt such as this linen one worn by Katy, right, or just blue jeans, below.

From a broader perspective, supporting op shops through National Op Shop Week is a means of raising raise awareness of the important role these charity shops play in our community. This week aims to:

boost donations of quality clothing and household goods to charity op shops
boost charity op shop sales
recognise the tremendous work of the volunteers and staff of charity op shops. Continue reading →

Sew 237 – Kate wears opshop crochet

Here’s my gorgeous niece Kate wearing an earth-toned crocheted wool vest with a silk top and two strands of indigenous beads made from seeds and wood.

All of these items were found in op shops and with it being National Op Shop Week from August 24 to Sunday 31, Kate is modelling a series of outfits styled from charity shop finds that only require a wash and go.

Although Kate now works in a pharmacy, she spent several years managing a clothing store so knows how the fashion business works to flatter individual features and bring outfits together. Continue reading →