Category Archives: hand sew/no sew

Sew 151 – T-shirts reworked

The fabulous City of Brisbane Australia demonstrates that it values sustainable living by hosting the Green Heart Fair twice each year – and this free community event is on again at Chermside tomorrow.

I’m looking forward to engaging with eco-aware locals on the topic of sustainable and ethical dressing – discussing ways we can reduce our clothing footprint.

With the 365-day Sew it Again campaign approaching the half-way mark (well nearly), there are plenty of garments to fill out the Textile Beat tent this year.

Although time is against me now, I’m working on a few t-shirt upcycles we can do – sans sewing machine with just scissors, hand stitching and crafting. Continue reading →

Sew 150 – Turtleneck becomes fringe

Tight necklines can be uncomfortable, which might be why there are many turtle-neck wool jumpers to be found in op shops.

I decided to test what would happen when I fringed the neck and Sew 150 is the result. I’ve since washed it on gentle cycle in a laundry bag and the edges developed a nice fluffy effect, no unravelling in sight.

So instead of throwing away jumpers with tight necks, consider fringing. To achieve this effect, cut by following the rib-lines about 1cm apart, taking care to stop before the reinforced edge of the neck. Keep the strips as even as possible – get your eye in by looking ahead of where you are cutting. Wash with care. Sew 150 is teamed with a brown wool jumper skirt, with sleeves used as a tie belt. The different colours is the photo are due to the flash – not a magic new dye process. Continue reading →

Sew 133 – Alter a turtle neck jumper

Alternative ways of living and shopping that are more healthful and mindful for ourselves and our environment are all around us when we open ourselves to them.

It is great to see Reverse Garbage in New South Wales has a new shop ReConsidered at Redfern to increase the reuse of materials and decrease the amount of valuable resources heading to landfill. This South Sydney Herald article quotes Reverse Garbage CEO Narelle Mantle saying the project is promoting care and responsibility for one another and our environment. “ReConsidered seeks to inspire others to literally reconsider the notion of what is ‘waste’ and ‘garbage’ and to see value and function in materials which have been thrown to the wayside.”

This aligns with my Sew it Again project this year, in which I am valuing natural fibre clothing as a resource that can be reinvented for a second life. Sometimes it only takes a small change to make an otherwise attractive garment more comfortable. Continue reading →

Sew 130 – Fast fashion waste

The built environment shapes the way we live, food choices influence our health and the clothing we chose to wear is a statement about who we are.

Media reports today confirm that fast food is having a profound influence on our diet, with a new Australian Health Survey by the Bureau of Statistics showing we are eating 30 per cent less fruit and vegetables than 15 years ago.

Curtin University’s Professor Mike Daube is quoted as saying fast food has eclipsed vegetables as a dietary staple, which is a major concern because of the implications for health costs and disease burden in society. “The results are a triumph for the mass marketing of junk food,” he says.

Just as fast food has negatively influenced our diets, fast fashion has transformed the clothing and textile landscape. In the past decade, our entire approach has changed since globalisation made clothing cheaper and more plentiful that ever before.

Clothing waste is a very real issue, leading to organisations such as the UK-based charity TRAID working to stop clothes from being thrown away and Hong Kong-based NGO Redress promoting environmental sustainability in the fashion industry by reducing textile waste, pollution, water and energy consumption.

Tweets from the Ecochic Awards yesterday via @TRAID and @Redress_Asia quoted: “A third of all clothing is still ending up in landfill In the UK … we throw £140 million of clothes into the bin every year … according to WRAP UK 17-20% of garments made remain unsold.”

Such waste is worrying and these figures are probably similar in other developed nations such as Australia. A desire to value reject natural fibre clothing underpins my 365-day Sew it Again project to raise awareness of how we can creatively reconstruct and upcycle what already exists instead of always buying new.

Sew 130 is two op-shop found jumpers. The striped wool had a couple of small holes which I mended by hand-stitching on a few buttons. The khaki wool jumper was cut and reshaped as a jumper skirt, with the sleeves sewn together (on the diagonal to optimise length) to become a scarf. Ele has accessorised with bright blue and makes these rejects look groovy.

Sew 124 – Upcycled in Coolah

Very excited to have my first Upcycled exhibition now hanging in Pandora Gallery at Coolah in New South Wales as a celebration of natural fibres and (re)fashion from today until May 16.

Upcycled is an interactive exhibition about the history, origins and uses of natural fibres which explores creative ways to refashion existing clothing for a second life.

Our consumer society is using textiles at an unprecedented rate, with thousands of tonnes of waste clothing dumped in landfill or shipped to third-world countries every year.

Thanks to my ARLP leadership colleague Ele Cook and gallery coordinator Jennie Stephens, I’ve been able to mount this exhibition to showcase some of my repurposed reject garments 365-day Sew it Again creations to raise awareness of the ethical, social and environmental issues of textile waste. Continue reading →

Sew 123 – Sew it UP

I’ve traversed two states in two days, leaving Mt Tabor near Augathella yesterday morning and now at Coolah in southern New South Wales, travelling through grazing, grain and cotton country.

Part of that 15-hour journey was with Georgie Somerset, but since went separate ways at Miles yesterday afternoon, I’ve had plenty of reflection time ahead of my first exhibition Upcycling at Pandora Gallery tomorrow.

Australian country singer Tania Kernaghan was a special guest at the launch of Keelen Mailman’s book The Power of Bones at the magical sacred site of Lost City on Mt Tabor on Friday. Keelen meets everyone with an open heart, and because Tania also has a beautiful heart she says Keelen’s book “will touch your heart in so many ways”. Here’s a happy photo of us under the bough shed with me, left, Tania, Keelen and her sister Cissy, and Georgie.

Because I’m travelling, Sew 123 is by necessity a simple one. It’s an upcycle of an upcycled jumper which I purchased in Canberra. The vintage brown wool cardigan had vintage yo-yo flowers attached and I was pleased to find it on my last visit to the capital and support another upcycler’s efforts. After some wearing, the shoulder seam needed a mend and a small hole needed darning. Clothing never stays perfect forever, so simple skills like using a needle and thread to mend a hole is a basic life skill.

Sew 121 – Natural, authentic people

Very quick post today while my friend Georgie Somerset and I are stopped in Roma within phone range. Of course we made time for a quick visit to Ace Drapers, an amazing treasure trove of fabric, craft and cookware. The shop does’t look special on the outside, but it stocks many things you can’t buy in the city.

On the way up to Georgie’s place at Durong last night, we were carrying a precious cargo of Anzac biscuits donated to Danielle Crismani as #bakedrelief from caring Brisbane people wanting to send #lovetothewest for drought-affected farmers. Here’s the photo of Georgie handing over treasure to Margie Lee-Madigan. Continue reading →

Sew 120 – Passing it on

The internet means sharing and connecting through social media is a great way to source and receive information about happenings in the wider world.

Technology has transformed since my first professional job, as an ABC rural reporter back when we used manual typewriters, nagra reel-to-reel recorders, and telex machines. Eek, that’s ages ago!

With age comes knowledge and experience though, and that’s why I enjoy being part of the QUT Career Mentor Scheme to pass-on some of my hard won lessons to help kick-start another’s work-life journey.

Reflecting on what you enjoy doing, what your core values are, what you feel passionate about and how that align with your skills and qualifications sounds simple – yet it can take a lifetime to get them singing in tune. Continue reading →

Sew 107 – Little brown number

Chocolate brown is a favourite colour and I gravitate towards it in op shops – which of course I’m trying to steer clear of these days as I work my way through the accumulated stockpile.

Doing some research ahead of an interview tonight with 612 ABC Local Radio’s Rebecca Levingston, I came across the Little Brown Dress project in which Seattle artist Alex Martin wore the same brown dress in different ways for an entire year in 2006.

In this Seattle Times article Martin said she did it to make a personal attempt to confront consumerism. “Martin was troubled by sweatshops, over-consumption and the modern American penchant for disposable items. And she was irritated by the societal pressure on women to buy into, literally and figuratively, what’s considered fashionable.”

My personal commitment this year is to upcycling – adding value by mending, modifying, remaking, resewing, refashioning – unworn and reject clothing for a second life. Continue reading →

Sew 100 – Bring on the buttons

Buttons are useful, decorative, sentimental, collectable, fun … and they cover a multitude of sins when upcycling.

In a long-ago Sunday Mail magazine article (23 November 1997), I wrote about the magic buttons and the stamp of individuality they bring to garments. The story included a north Queensland grazier who was making buttons from timber on her property to generate income during hard times. The buttons were made by pruning branches from native hardwoods on the Charters Towers property that were 1-2cm in diameter, dry them for weeks to harden the sap, cut them into circles and treat with durable varnish to keep the bark in place and make them washable. Continue reading →