Category Archives: repair and care

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 122 – Leading with heart

The Power of Bones is the incredible story of Keelen Mailman’s life journey to date and it was a privilege to be on country at Mt Tabor for the book launch at sunset last night. Mt Tabor is a long way from the coast and about two hours from Augathella in western Queensland, but Georgie Somerset and I made the trek because we are so proud of Keelen as a fellow of the Australian Rural Leadership Program.

Keelen and I were Spiritual Travellers in the Kimberley and it was from her I learned about leading from the heart and trusting your instincts.

As the first Aboriginal women to run a cattle station in Australia, Keelen has shown incredible courage and love for her Bidjara ancestors, culture and country. I will write more on this tomorrow. Continue reading →

Sew 119 – Upcycling is endless

The theory of ‘buy once, buy well’ definitely makes a valid case for having fewer garments of better quality in your wardrobe. Yet most of us are attracted to the constant stimulation of variety and change, so it is easy to understand why cheaper fast fashion options are popular.

Upcycling existing clothing is a way of enabling a near endless array of unique choice and difference, at little financial and environmental cost. Certainly there is a time cost – that is offset with satisfaction of mindful creativity and empowerment from originality.

I love this Sunday Mail quote from fashion authority and author Marion von Adlerstein: “I don’t think great style belongs exclusively to fashion people or arty types; anyone can tap into it with a bit of thought. It’s about creating the best version of yourself you can be.” In other words, give it your best shot. Continue reading →

Sew 118 – Thrift the new black

Some people look at you sideways when you declare you’re an op-shopper while others understand the sense of discovery, salvage, revival, thrift and pleasure it represents.

There are many reasons why people throw out clothing including de-cluttering a bulging wardrobe, boredom, dated style, gain/loss of weight, doesn’t work with body shape, owner has moved on, it needs mending or they may want to help a charity.

But in a recent 1 Million Women post about the pros and cons of donating clothing to charity, Bronte Hogarth wrote: “It might feel like you’ve lifted a weight of your shoulders in cleaning out your closet and donating your clothes to charity, but everyone should be aware that your clothes don’t automatically end up in an op shop or in the hands of someone in need, if at all. The model at Lifeline, for example, shows that one third of clothes donated are considered good enough to go back into the stores to be sold, one third is packed up to be exported, and the remaining third is either cut up and sold as cleaning cloths or disposed of. This model is reflective of clothing collection charities worldwide.” Continue reading →

Sew 116 – Wool workover

The more wool the merrier I reckon. I have lost a few garments in the past to moth/silverfish damage, but now there is much more wool in my wardrobe I seem to have fewer problems. I’ve learned to take a preventive approach to caring for it – cakes of nice-smelly soaps and bags of star anise (see photo below) seem to do the trick. And of course, sponging any food or drink spills before putting away.

When you have a critical mass of wool, you can get a load together for the wool-wash cycle on the machine, adding eucalypt-based wool wash to further guard against munchies. Wool actually needs much less frequent washing than we tend to give it. A good rule of thumb is that unless it is smelling or looking dirty, don’t wash. Continue reading →

Sew 112 – History skirt revisited

It would be interesting to know how much time we spend each week attending to our clothing requirements in terms of trying, buying, preening, storing, washing and perhaps sewing, resewing or mending.

Over Easter I had a spring clean of my wool wear with southern winter approaching and was pleased to find most in good order and only two moth/silverfish munches to be found.

With Fashion Revolution Day April 24 asking Who Made Your Clothes? it is particularly interesting to look closely at the labels and reflect on who originally made the clothes I’m now upcycling.

Continue reading →

Sew 105 – Natural, found, refashioned

Every morning we dress for the day. How we chose to dress reflects who we are, influences our wellbeing and impacts our environment.

My choice is natural-fibre and op-shop found, adapted using simple home-sewing skills. My choice is deliberate, authentic, ethical and sustainable. I am upcycling clothing that already exists in the world, sharing Sew it Again ideas to inspire others to refresh what they already have rather than buy more.

Your clothes tell a story about who you are. Fashion has its own story too, and it’s turning into a force for good with Fashion Revolution Day. Here’s the Fashion Revolution story: 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 →

Sew 97 – Join the Fashion Revolution

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it, is one of my favourite Albert Einstein quotes.

Most thinking people appreciate we are consuming resources at an unsustainable rate, eating into reserves that belong to future generations and generally abusing our natural environment. Many know it, few make changes.

As with the rising interest in home cooking and food growing for improved health and wellbeing, there is a pressing need to rethink our approach to textiles and fashion for ecological health and sustainability. That’s why I’ve embarked on the 365-day Sew it Again campaign throughout 2014 to demonstrate creative ways of reusing existing garments by empowering individuals to reimagine and recreate their own wardrobe collection by resewing at home.

In so doing, I am pleased to be part of Fashion Revolution Day’s Australia & New Zealand committee bringing awareness about the reality of where clothes come from and the resources from which they are made. Continue reading →

Sew 94 – Repair rather than toss

Being mindful about consumption – of food, energy, clothing, technology, sweet stuff – leads to outcomes that are best for our selves and our world.

A recent Rabobank calculation found that every minute there are 158 new mouths to feed (and dress) in the world and that by 2050, on current trends, there will be just 0.5 hectares of land per person on the planet.

From my own research last year, this graph (below) from a FAO World Apparel Fibre Consumption Survey visually demonstrates the rate of fibre use increasing by 80 percent in two decades. The report is written from a consumption perspective on recession impacts but I interpret it as an overall warning because per capita consumption between 1992 and 2010 increased from 7 to 11kgs per person per year. Continue reading →