It is National Recycling Week – a Planet Ark initiative developed to bring focus to the environmental benefits of recycling and stimulate behaviour change by individuals and communities.

There are many recycling events planned including some clothing swap parties. It is likely that textile recycling will come further onto the radar in future as society comes to grips with the extent of waste and pollution generated by current clothing habits.

With the Sew it Again project this year, we are demonstrating ways that existing clothing can be recycled through refashion. 

Today’s upcycle was a dated turquoise cotton skirt and viscose/cotton shirt which I’ve merged to become a high-waisted dress.  The skirt had a side zip which works just as well as a front zip, where it can then line up with the buttons on the shirt front. It was just a matter of sewing the two garments together – top-stitching the skirt waistband directly to the shirt and making a tuck at each side of shirt to accommodate it having slightly wider circumference than the skirt, see photos below for an idea of the process. After the two were joined, I trimmed the bottom from the shirt and sewed it together to become a ribbon tie.