Category Archives: refashion

Sew 101 – Re-creation as recreation

Upcycling natural fibre clothing for a second life makes sense – for the planet, the hip-pocket and personal satisfaction.

There’s recreation to be had in recreating new garments out of old. It is fun engaging one’s creative and thrifty instincts, exploring and playing with textures and techniques … but it does require a willingness and flexibility to invest time in the process.

One of the most valuable things about having basic sewing skills is the independence and individuality they provide. You are not restricted to what’s currently trendy and newly available online or in shops.

The essence of Sew 101 is being empowered, sustainable and creative. I made this simple top and skirt years ago from Italian lycra (not a natural fibre I know, but so interesting). These casual separates served me well but I was no longer wearing them. From my op-shop stash I found a sheer silk shirt in complementary colours and merged the two to create a one-off.

Even as I filleted the silk shirt by cutting off the sleeves, the collar and rectangular panels from the body, I appreciated the high quality craftsmanship of the maker (it was a Liz Davenport, a leading designer from Western Australia).

I left all the fastenings and features in place, arranging and then sewing various pieces to the lycra base. The silk pieces float and drape from where they are anchored to the lycra with machine or hand stitching. Lycra doesn’t fray, so I cut into the sleeve and neckline without needing to neaten it. I kept fiddling, adding and subtracting until I’d had enough yesterday afternoon – and this is the result.

Sew 99 – Upcycling for green thrift

Green thrift describes the action of upcycling old stuff for ecological and financial health … and wellbeing.

Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. That’s what I’m doing right here, right now, using a few traditional sewing skills to adapt found clothing to demonstrate how we can all join the Fashion Revolution by upcycling.

Refashioning clothing that already exists makes good sense. The hard work has been done (zips, buttons, hems already in place), resources expended (cotton grown and spun, fabric woven and dyed) and dollars already spent when items were newly purchased. Continue reading →

Sew 96 – Creative inspiration

It is affirming to be around people who value your work, as it was for me yesterday meeting many wonderful women of threads at the Australian Textile Artists and Surface Designers Association Queensland social day.

Upcycling existing clothing is not new but many have lost the skills and confidence it requires or are not prepared to spend time and effort in doing so. We all have different priorities and are at different stages of life, but textile artists, designers and quilters, get what I’m about.

A common first-world problem is wardrobes bulging with clothing – we often keep stuff we bought in previous years and (on average) we each go on to buy another 11kg of clothing every year, according to FAO fabric apparel statistics. Multiply that by 7 billion people in the world and you begin to appreciate the impact clothing habits have on global resource use and ecological health. Most of the rejects end up as landfill.

To demonstrate what 11kgs of clothing looks like, I boxed up some cast-offs (thanks Sally) photographed right. To show fibre types, the synthetics nearly fill a 50-litre storage box, the cotton about half a box and the wool, linen and cellulose fibres are about one garment each.

In the front of this photo, there’s a measuring stick distilling the FAO figures from which I’ve calculated that on average, each person in the world is each year consuming 6.6kg synthetic, 3.74kg cotton, 400g cellulose fibres (eg viscose), 200g of wool and 150g flax/linen. In reality, the world is drowning in clothing. You almost can’t give it away except to third-world countries where most first-world cast-offs end up, leaving skill-displacement and disposal problems in their wake. Continue reading →

Sew 92 – Pursuing mindful creativity

Refashioning existing clothing is my chosen creative practice this year as I tap my roots as an agricultural scientist cum rural communicator and branch into eco-leadership bringing awareness to the stories wrapped up in our clothes.

This upcycle is a linen double-breasted coat dress from which I removed the shoulder-pads and extended the hemline by adding sheer panels cut from a reject silk shirt.

Over decades I found myself returning to natural fibres and threads for the pleasure, relaxation and purposefulness they provide that appeals to all my senses. Chances to make paper, textile art, fabric paint, pot, spin, eco-dye, knit, crochet and sew crept into my consciousness between career and children. In fact it was playing with paint and clay when my three gorgeous children were little (now grown) that I attribute my creative development.

Leadership study last year heightened my awareness that the world is drowning in clothing, with cheap and cheerful ‘fast fashion’ feeding society’s over-consumption of textiles – many being synthetic fibres that lead to disposal issues. Books by journalists such as Lucy Siegle in the United Kingdom To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing out the World and Elizabeth Cline in the United States Overdressed: The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion have articulated these problems well. Continue reading →

Sew 90 – Renovating your wardrobe

This casual linen suit made ages ago is refreshed by shortening the jacket and covering up the buttons. We renovate houses, why not our wardrobes? One way to do that is to sew it again.

Our clothes encapsulate our body. What we chose to wear is extremely personal – we want to look right, feel sharp, mirror trends and/or make a statement about who we are.

In the same way we may make informed food choices to nurture our health and wellbeing, we can make informed clothing choices which are good for ourselves and the planet.

Over-consumption of the wrong sorts of food is feeding obesity problems in most first-world countries – and that’s exacerbated by the many labour-saving devices we have on hand. Spending time growing a few herbs and cooking meals from scratch makes for a healthful, meaningful life.

By all accounts, the world is drowning in excess clothing and marketers are constantly pushing us to buy more new stuff through sales catalogues, inducements and prestige pedalling. Continue reading →

Sew 88 – Nature and knowledge

This dress is an old hemp top upcycled with a salvaged silk trim which matches the colour of frangipani flowers that fall from a tree on my local bush-walking track.

Gathering beautiful fibres and found stuff is second nature to me as an upcycler – and for this Sew it Again year I’m integrating these traditions with new knowledge and fresh ideas from a range of sources.

I’m grateful to yesterday have been able to spend time with Head of Fashion Kathleen Horton and Lecturer in Fashion Alice Payne at QUT Creative Industries and source their views on upcycling, fashion and the factors which influence the way we dress.

Kathleen spoke about how fashion is splintering in many different directions and 3D digital printing of clothing is not too far away.

Information about another new-age development came via my WA friend Lucinda Giblett who sent a link to the work of designer Suzanne Lee who is growing vegetable leather using kombucha fermentation techniques. See her amazing ‘grow your own clothes’ TED talk here. Continue reading →

Sew 86 – Valuing others’ work

Respecting time, effort and resources of others’ creations is part of today’s upcycle which includes the waistband of a knitted garment now featuring as a loose collar.

Thinking of others is key to the inspiring story told at the Rural Press Club by Danielle Crismani about her leadership journey during the 2011 Queensland floods when a simple act of baking muffins for volunteers sparked an outpouring of baked relief at this time of community crisis.

By giving to others Danielle has achieved many things, including being able to opening dispense her recipe for overcoming depression – which is show gratitude, sleep, be kind to yourself and help others. There were many great pearls of wisdom in Danielle’s speech, which you can get a taste of by reading ABC Landline Pip Courtney’s twitter feed. Continue reading →

Sew 85 – Upcycled history skirt

This history skirt is one of a series of three I made for the Green Heart Fair last year from six reject silk and linen garments, which I wear with an op shop navy wool top. Back home in Brisbane and excited today to be wearing this to the Rural Press Club lunch which is about the power of one person to change things and the power of cooking to bring communities and strangers together.

Baked Relief founder Danielle Crismani, @digellabakes on Twitter, is guest speaker talking about her amazing community leadership in 2011 and the recent #lovetothewest campaign. “When the 2011 floods hit the Lockyer Valley, Brisbane woman Danielle Crismani baked a batch of muffins for the volunteers she saw on her TV screen. Within days of a mention on Facebook, hundreds of people inspired by her act of kindness – were baking for flood hit communities. The accidently created charity ‘Baked Relief’ is still going with volunteers baking for Queensland’s drought hit farmers.” Continue reading →

Sew 84 – Moving along

Hand-stitching an embellishment to a plain neckline is an easy way to change the look of a silk shift dress and it doesn’t need to be permanent – you can change it again any time you want. Investing a little time adapting clothing that’s already in your wardrobe rather than spending time shopping for new stuff is one way you can be part of the Fashion Revolution which is raising awareness of where clothes come from.

April 24 is Fashion Revolution Day, a global movement in response to the Rana Plaza fire on that day last year which exposed the exploitative realities of cheap fast fashion and caused by rethink about ethical and sustainable ways of dressing. Stories like Toxic Clothes on The Project last night are bringing light to problems with some new denim jeans – giving pause for thought.

Fashion Revolution Day is encouraging us all to be curious, find out and do something about the way we engage with our clothes – in the same way we are now more engaged and interested in the food we eat, how it was produced and where it comes from. Continue reading →

Sew 83 – Second life for crochet

This fire-engine red crocheted wool cardigan was carefully created by an unknown soul before I rescued it from an op shop, rinsed in wool wash, repaired the seams and teamed with a black and red checked wool wrap skirt.

Valuing natural resources by upcycling existing clothing was the subject of a session I shared with Manjimup Senior High School home economics students in south-west Western Australia this morning, and it was great to engage and learn their perspectives. Sustainability is part of the new curriculum and I enjoyed the opportunity to seed ideas for slow fashion and future upcycling projects.

I was in Manjimup briefly to see my gorgeous friend and RIRDC Rural Women’s Award colleague Lucinda Giblett who is doing great work sowing seeds and ideas that enrich life, land and traditions through her community organisation Stellar Violets. It celebrates learning, living richly, health, land stewardship, local heritage, traditional skills, and the wisdom of elders. Continue reading →