Category Archives: refashion

Sew 252 – Add space around waist

Being a visual person who loves texture and colour, I got a dose of creative inspiration from Barbara Stephenson’s pinterest boards – particularly the dresses and sewing possibilities which are the two I viewed this morning. Thanks Barbara (and pinterest) for gathering such fabulous pin-boards.

It is interesting how we inspire each other with just the spark of an idea, which we can then develop in our own way to suit ourselves.

I’m thrilled to see Bev Ryan writing about my Sew it Again blog in a meaningful way in her article Blogging for Social Impact. Sometimes messages can get lost within a blog particularly with daily posting, and I’m grateful to Bev for drawing out my essential messages: sustainable dressing by refashion, reuse, repair of existing clothing using simple sewing techniques – to reduce our clothing footprint and put our own stamp on the way we individually present to the world.

I’ve been thinking about how to achieve this upcycle, Sew 252, for a few months since a Sew it Again friend (Jane W) forwarded me this beautiful wool garment which had grown too tight at the waistline for her to comfortably wear. Being tall and long-limbed, she loves the style but just needs a little more room around the abdomen. (I know the feeling, hence my attachment to elastic waists!) Continue reading →

Sew 248 – Silk jacket shortened

Material World is another Voyeur magazine September story of interest that outlines where the world’s best textiles come from. It tells of silk from Varanasi in India, angora from Ankara in Turkey, merino wool from Marlborough New Zealand (Australian merino growers are up there with the best too), crocodile from Crocodylus Park in the Northern Territory and cotton from Texas in the United States.

I’m not sure of the origins of the pure silk in this Keri Craig jacket but I picked it up from a Brisbane op-shop because I love rescuing natural fibre garments in danger of being overlooked and then dumped. Although its wide lapels and long line were somewhat dated, I hand-washed it before giving it a restyle to team with a fine black and white hounds-tooth check skirt (also opshop found) to create a corporate look. Continue reading →

Sew 247 – Restyling existing garments

There’s always great reading in Virgin Australia’s Voyeur magazine. The September issue is particularly relevant considering this eco-social Sew it Again project I’m undertaking in 2014 to repurpose natural fibre clothing for sustainable and ethical reasons.

The conscious consumption article Label Conscious by Clare Press outlines the reasons why many are rethinking the way we engage with our clothes since the Bangladesh factory disaster last year exposed nasty secrets associated with cheap fast fashion.

Press writes: “By definition fashion is built on the new, but even by its own standards change has been dizzying. Over the past five years we’ve seen a revolution in the way clothes are made, marketed and sold … Designers are producing more collections more quickly and the high street is knocking them off like never before … All this adds up to greater demand for and consumption of fashion at both the luxury and budget ends.” 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 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 236 – Upcycled opshop cashmere

National Op Shop Week begins today and will bring focus to the role of opportunity shops in extending the useful life of consumer goods. By donating to, or purchasing from, op shops we tangibly make a social, ethical and sustainable contribution to society.

Most of us have much more clothing than we need in our wardrobes and It makes sense to shift things we no longer need or want – or have never worn.

I’m such a big supporter of op shops that I’ve accumulated more than I need, particularly seeking out natural-fibre clothing made of linen, wool, cashmere, silk and cotton. Only one-third of modern clothing is made from natural fibres, with the majority two-thirds being made from synthetic fibres or petroleum. Continue reading →

Sew 234 – Upcycled denim days

Sometimes I think I’m whistling in the wind with this Sew it Again project, demonstrating reuse of wasted natural fibre clothing to create refashion that is more current and wearable.

Regular responses are blank or disdainful looks and comments about no time, no interest, no motivation, no skills and no reason to bother. New clothing is so plentiful and cheap, and it is easy, convenient and more sophisticated to go with the flow.

Then new motivation arrives by looking beyond the now, reflecting on the bigger picture, knowing I am swimming against the tide – and enjoying chance meetings and opportunities. Continue reading →