This op shop skirt oozed quality so I couldn’t bring myself to chop into it and instead added dress straps cut from the legs of a pair of trousers which I’ve attached using safety pins.

Closer inspection marks the skirt as a Cappopera design made in Italy from a beautiful linen-cotton blend fabric and splendidly stitched. The previous owner must have moved on from this life, this style or this size – but either way it became a natural resource worthy of upcycling.

Finding a plethora of such beautiful garments in op shops started me on this Sew it Again year of resewing existing garments as a demonstration of what we can all do if we rediscover a few simple home-sewing skills.

In her article Exploitation is still in vogue on ABC’s The Drum, eco-entrepreneur and activist Hannah Parris says Australians are enthusiastic garment consumers.   Continue reading →