Author Archives: Jane

Sew 206 – Jumper becomes jazzy skirt

Most of us have clothes we don’t wear in our wardrobes. We can give them to friends, donate them to charity, put them in the rubbish bin – or upcycle them into something else.

At our Jumper to Skirt workshop in Warwick today, Desirea converted this jumper (that was no longer being worn as such) into a jazzy skirt with two scarf options.

It is also exciting that Desirea hasn’t sewn before (she has always called on her mother to do that) so this simple project was a good way for her to get quick results and hopefully be inspired to sew more in future. Continue reading →

Sew 205 – Repairs and maintenance

Just a quick mend and post today pertaining to repairs and maintenance.

I wore Sew 205 to the International House Board of Management meeting last night. It is an exciting time for the organisation, with lots of clever heads around the table. The college was severely impacted by the 2011 Queensland floods but International House has recovered well and we had good discussions about strategic decisions for the future. It is great to be working with an astute team enabling young people to live, learn and lead with others from around the world.

Continue reading →

Sew 204 – Hem just right for Lily

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. Continue reading →

Sew 203 – Where clothes come from

During the past decade there has been growing interest and awareness in where food comes from, how it is grown and what are its nutritional and sustainable values. We’re alive to fact that we are what we eat.

In a similar way, there now is growing interest in where clothes come from, who made them, what they are made of and whether they are ethical and sustainable – because we are what we wear.

Skin is our body’s largest organ, so the clothing we wrap it in influences feel, comfort and interactions by osmosis. Natural-fibre clothing free from contaminants and toxins must be best. The benefits of natural fibres are eloquently summarised by Wildfibres UK. Continue reading →

Sew 202 – Crazy pants for Splendour

Although ‘buy once, buy well’ is an excellent strategy when making any purchase, it is not always easy to implement. Somehow we gather a lot of ‘also ran’ clothing which clutter up the place – eventually becoming upcycling fodder.

When my son Max moved out last year, he left various boxes of ‘treasure’ to be collected at a later date along with a bag of sweaters he didn’t want anymore. For months now, Max has been asking for upcycled gear and these crazy pants for the upcoming Splendour in the Grass festival at North Byron are a delivery on my promise.

I’d already used this Kwik Sew 3701 pattern to made house pants for Max, so I knew it fitted. The creative upcycling element with the crazy pants comes from cobbling together off-cuts of three cotton sweaters (including his old school sweatshirt) into trousers. Continue reading →

Sew 201 – Men’s dash of splash

A few men – including my sons – have been asking whether I’m upcycling men’s clothing. I’ve mended men’s clothing, but here’s the first creative effort.

This upcycle is a resew of two men’s shirts that were the same brand and size, so the button fronts match exactly. I’d fabric-painted the white shirt (which had a stain) many years ago when the children were little and we did t-shirt painting workshops with friends. I don’t think it was ever worn, partly because it just looked like a painted shirt. I’d kept it as a memory and the cotton is still crisp. Continue reading →

Sew 200 – Leather skirt becomes bag

With a background as an agricultural scientist and growing up on farms, I appreciate and value natural resources as authentic, non-toxic. and lasting a long time.

The greenest resources of all are ones that already exist in the world. Instead of seeking new materials, my practice is to harvest reject natural resources at op shops and markets either to use as they are or repurpose.

My leather handbag of the moment was once a mid-calf length straight skirt. After finding the skirt in tip-top condition at an op shop, I wore it once as a skirt before deciding to repurpose it as a carry-all bag. Continue reading →

Sew 199 – Coffee dyed crochet

We humans are autonomous, we make our own decisions, or so we think. Watch this documentary The Men Who Made Us Spend to learn how our ‘free choice’ is easily manipulated so a few makes lots of money while our environment is junked with unnecessary resource use and waste.

Investigative journalist Jacques Peretti explains how planned obsolescence, the organised creation of dissatisfaction and computer-aided design have cultivated competitive consumerism throughout capitalist society.

The documentary includes an economist saying change during the past two decades has seen the average American’s clothing consumption double from 34 pieces of apparel per year to 67 – equating to a brand new item of clothing coming into their wardrobe every 5.4 days. Once the garments are no longer ‘socially valuable’ they either go into the waste stream or the global apparel trade. Continue reading →

Sew 198 – Refashion to suit yourself

The benefits of upcycling are you can wear clothes that suit your body shape, are comfortable, in colours/fabrics of choice … and reduce your environmental footprint as you dress with conscience.

Apart from underwear, it is many years since I bought a ‘new’ garment. I’m upcycling and refashioning every day this year as a way of auditing the many wardrobes of pre-loved clothing I’ve rescued from opshops, family and friends. I do this because there is pleasure, reward and satisfaction in rescuing natural-fibre garments that are under-valued and worthy of refashion – and to demonstrate an alternative to fast-fashion churn and buying new.

Sew 198 was an assortment of op-shop garments that I’ve massaged to suit myself. The long navy knitted wool-blend skirt had two white stripes at the bottom. Continue reading →

Sew 197 – Wool jumpers become coat

Sew it Again is a social-change project to shift thinking about the way we consume clothing and textiles. The project demonstrates creative ways to upcycle existing clothing and empowers others to tap into their ‘greenest’ clothing of all. It engages old-fashioned sewing skills, encourages a culture of thrift, and shows heart-felt concern for where mindless consumption of fast fashion is leading.

Creative entrepreneur Dr Cathryn Lloyd from Maverick Minds says today’s business is no longer about doing business as usual. “Complexity and uncertainty reflect the world as it is today. All businesses require creative entrepreneurial thinking and behaviour. The 21st century belongs to those who can bring their creative potential and leadership skills to their personal and professional lives.” Continue reading →