Category Archives: refashion

Sew 293 – Reshaping for a fresh look

I flew to Sydney today and was surprised to see an advertisement for Pfaff sewing machines right up front in the Virgin Australia’s in-flight magazine Voyeur. Sewing is a happening thing.

Just as there’s resurgent interest in home-cooking and baking, crafts such as knitting, crochet and home-sewing are coming into the frame because people enjoy being resourceful and making things for themselves if they have time available.

Sew it Again is a 365-day project demonstrating how to use simple sewing techniques to refashion clothing that already exists but is not being worn as is.

Every day this year, I am posting an upcycled outfit here on sewitagain.com – with all the upcycles easily viewed via pinterest with postings also at facebook.com/textilebeat and twitter.com/textilebeat

Last week I spent a day upcycling with fashion and textile students at Fairholme College in Toowoomba, and Sew 293 is a Year 11 product. This look was created from an unworn cotton knit jumper and a cotton shirt from my accumulated op-shop pile and the students then used their creativity to turn it into something to suit their style. They reshaped the hem of the jumper, cutting along the zigzag open-stitch pattern then sewing across the cut hemline to stop it from fraying. The jumper offcut became a headband. For the skirt, they reshaped the bottom portion of the shirt, taking it in at the sides and turning into a short-sculptured look that utilised the existing hem. A fabulous result, modelled by Shannon.

Sew 292 – Restyle with a bow

The choices we make when we dress each day influence the kind of world we live in. The greenest clothes are those that already exist in the world, mountains of which are readily accessible from your own wardrobes, through op-shops, friends cast-offs or clothing swaps and can then be refashioned.

Having a few sewing skills is empowering. It gives you choice, because you are not restricted to what is newly available for purchase at any particular time. You can choose fabrics you like in colours and styles that flatter your style. And you can be uniquely original – and never run into someone wearing your style. And best of all, by reusing natural fibre clothing you can help save it from prematurely ending up in landfill. Continue reading →

Sew 291 – Re-learning care for clothes

The study of home economics has disappeared from some Australian schools entirely and is considered a lightweight in others – yet it teaches important life-skills about food and nutrition, sewing and textiles, and consumer citizenship.

Lack of knowledge about food and food preparation is no doubt contributing to obesity while absence of simple sewing and laundering skills leads to many clothing being discarded prematurely.

Recent United States research discussed in this Ecouterre article found that young people there have little idea of how to care for clothes. Textiles and Apparel Professor Pamela Norum from the University of Missouri-Columbia surveyed hundreds of American baby boomers and millennials about clothing consumption and found the ability to sew, hem, repair, and launder diminished across generations. Continue reading →

Sew 290 – Sewing in the 21st century

Everyone has a unique journey through life. Good things and bad things happen to each of us – and all we can do is make the most of the opportunities that come our way.

My opportunity this year is to spend time every day refashioning and upcycling existing clothing – demonstrating a creative way of dressing that doesn’t involve always buying new stuff. I’m working through my stash of op-shop found natural-fibre clothing, playing with ideas to reshape and resew them.

I’m not trying to become a clothing designer and I don’t pretend to have fashion qualifications – I’m coming at this from the perspective of conserving natural resources in our finite world. I believe refashioning existing clothing also enables sewing – a dying art in most communities – to be a useful life-skill for the 21st century now that it is uneconomic for women in developed nations to sew clothing from scratch. Continue reading →

Sew 289 – Refashioning at Fairholme

So exciting today to be part of the first-ever Westpac Fairholme Fashion Week in Toowoomba.

Coordinator Mrs Clare Greenhill says senior fashion and textile students focus on sustainable fashion and issues that underpin rampant consumerism in contemporary society.

As Head of Home Economics Department Mrs Greenhill invited me to present an Upcycling talk yesterday and then work with three classes – Year 10, 11 and 12 classes at Fairholme College today.

The Year 10 class this morning had a half-hour challenge to form teams and refashion four different natural fibre garments I’d gathered from various op shops over time. Continue reading →

Sew 285 – White shirt skirt

So much fun at Undress Brisbane seeing sustainable fashion showcased in a glamorous West End warehouse presented by the amazing Edda Hamar and the #undress14 team. I loved meeting refashioner Kim Bailey from East of Grey and seeing Sinerji and Melanie Childs (a New Zealand upcycler) designs on the runway.

I was wearing my white-shirt skirt created from white shirts – with the sleeves being left-over for another upcycle (in incubation). I picked up these eight shirts (most cotton, one linen, one cotton-polyester) over time from various op-shops because they were such good value and I admired their front features. Continue reading →

Sew 283 – Creating a hemline curve

The innovative Undress Runways is back in Brisbane tomorrow and I’m looking forward to seeing upcycled looks on the runway.

Undress Runways supports ethical and environmentally-friendly sustainable fashion – including ‘no-waste’ collections, ethical production, ‘food dyed’ garments, natural fibres, and unique pieces made from off-cuts.

The Undress Runways website has these simple tips on how to be sustainable:

Consume less, use what you have
Upcycle old garments you no longer wear
Choose garments of organic/recycled fabrics Continue reading →

Sew 282 – Second-life for silk

Silk is a beautiful protein fibre made from the toil of silkworms which according to the International Year of Natural Fibres (2009) is known as the queen of fibres in China where most of it is produced.

After all the effort and energy that goes into producing the fibre, it is a shame to see it go to waste. That’s why I always enjoy rescuing reject silk garments in op shops – including a pink/cream silk shift recently bought for $3.

The dress was a bit the worse for wear, with the fibres appearing torn around the arms and neck, perhaps having been put through a harsh washing cycle. Although the washing instruction labels on silk often say dry-clean only, I’ve found hand or gentle-washing to be perfectly OK (sometimes shrinkage may be an issue though). Continue reading →

Sew 281 – Simpler ways with clothes

Clothing is different to fashion, as discussed in an earlier post. Clothing is traditionally used for warmth and modesty while fashion makes a statement of individual identity or conspicuous displays of wealth and status.

With the Sew it Again project this year, my friends and I are doing clothing rather than fashion. choosing to rework existing clothing in ways that are thrifty, sustainable and ethical – as well as simple, unpretentious and individual.

It is affirming to yesterday discover the Simplicity Institute in 2012 wrote about a simpler way of dressing which – for simplicity’s sake and because the words are simply brilliant – I’ve copied verbatim below. Continue reading →

Sew 275 – Shorts with added sparkle

Playing is a valuable childhood learning activity because it is believed to create a brain that has increased flexibility and improved potential for learning later in life.

When play is carried into adulthood, It develops creative thinking, individual expression and a sense of well-being. REfashion enables play-based fun through upcycling existing clothing in affordable and adventurous ways.

Lilly B has been on the blog before (ages ago now!) wearing Sew 193 and I’m thrilled to now feature Lilly wearing one of her own upcycles based on a pair of op-shop-found cotton denim jeans. Continue reading →