Tag Archives: #dresswithstory

Sew 34 – Denim gets ripped, not

Old denim jeans are a dime a dozen and for today’s offering, I converted a pair of jeans to a skirt by cropping them at the knees, turning upside down and creating new waistline.

My year of upcycling existing clothing with Sew it Again is all about transformation – of old clothing, damaged clothing, ill-fitting clothing and myself!

I can see how my bossy left brain – the maths/science part – has inhibited my creative right brain with this conversion because it looks a bit too ‘neat’ for my liking. I started off well, upending the jeans is creative, but then tried to tame them with a neat waist and bow.

The exciting thing is that I know that if I work at it every day, my actions and commitment to creatively pursue new ways of doing old things, such skirts in future will be wilder and freer.

Denim is a fashion perennial and according to MX Style it is ripped, pale, overalls and dresses, and boyfriend denim that’s on-trend this season. And apparently rips are back big-time. Continue reading →

Sew 33 – Renewal by upcycling

This bias-cut silk skirt was shortened by cutting off the old waistline and replacing with thin elastic, then recasting the waistline offcut as a draped collar for a matching silk shirt.

My friend Robyn Sheptooha called in with a bag of surplus clothing the other day and we shared a cup of tea while she told me the story of each – how it came into her life and why it was going out – and being put to good use as garment fodder for my 365-day Sew it Again upcycling project.

We met ages ago with boys in Year 3 and meander in and out of each other’s lives, catching up when time permits.

I did so enjoy reading Nikki Gemmell’s column Swamped Again in The Weekend Australian Magazine yesterday because it took me back to those days on the whirligig, bringing up three children with little time to call your own. Continue reading →

Sew 32 – Ethical dressing

The beautiful buttons on this linen outfit are from my mother-in-law’s collection gathered over her lifetime in Cairns north Queensland and given to me in metal cake tin containers.

Quality, heritage and warmth are interwoven in my journey to revive traditional home-sewing skills and reuse natural resources for pleasure and purpose.

I’m also discovering a global ethical fashion community conscious of where clothes come from, how they are made and their ‘true cost’ to people and the environment.

Beautiful, informed people such as founder of manifeco.com Kate Black who wrote on Huff Post recently:

“Ethical fashion, also known as eco, green or sustainable fashion, can take many forms; it can be items that have been passed down (through family or from thrift and vintage shops), clothes from small-batch or local designers, even big brands are getting in the game with fair-trade certifications and using environmentally preferred fibres like organic cotton or tencel.” Continue reading →

Sew 31 – 1 of 12 months’ upcycling

This denim jeans-to-skirt conversion marks the completion of one month’s upcycling in my year-long campaign transforming discarded garments for a second life. Yippee. I’m learning, discovering and connecting with others as I demonstrate choices we have for a different way of dressing that is mindful of ecological health, Earth’s limited resources, wellbeing, ethical sourcing, creativity, thrift, resourcefulness and individual choice. At its heart, this Sew it Again campaign seeks to revive home-sewing as the enabler to wean us from dependence on others for everyday clothing which is as important to our health and wellbeing as the food we eat. Home-cooking has made a comeback, so why not home-sewing? I’m demonstrating ways of resewing existing garments at home as a quick, easy, rewarding and affordable way of dressing because there are mountains of discards stashed away in wardrobes and languishing in op shops. Continue reading →

Sew 29 – Earthy and natural

This dress had several makeovers to be what it is today, morphing from long white-collar linen, short no-collar linen, eco-dyed, re eco-dyed, and silk-scarf trimmed.

All sounds a bit time-consuming, but each stage was a quick change and eventually the garment transformed to be number 29 in my 365-day Sew it Again eco-clothing project.

I’ve bought new the few business suits I own, but the rest of my wardrobe comprises garments I’ve made, altered, salvaged from op shops or been given as cast-off from friends.

I know where my clothes come from, know they are ethically sourced and made of natural fibres (including black cashmere coat Toronto op shop and silk dress Gold Coast op shop).

There’s a growing global awareness about where clothing comes from, how it is produced and its impact on ecological health which mirrors the recent coming to consciousness about food sources and impacts on our own and the planet’s health.

Sustainable apparel consultants such as Shannon Whitehead are bringing awareness to these issues. Shannon summarised in a recent post the six things you should know about your clothes:

There are chemicals on your clothes
There are more than 27 million slaves in the world today
Big retailers are a big problem
Our old clothes (and disposable behaviour) are ruining Africa’s economy
It takes decades for your clothing to decompose in a landfill
We’re not helpless

I began researching this subject while doing leadership study last year which led to my Sew it Again project to demonstrate a different way of dressing by resewing garments from our own and others wardrobes to reuse and repurpose resources that already exist.

Today’s offering had languished in the back of my wardrobe because its button-down front was dated but I love linen and can’t throw it out. I cut the dress to knee-length and cropped off the collar with pinking sheers but found the white was dull (and noticed a small hole which I patched). I used onion and passionfruit skins to dye it – then gave it another burst with passionfruit skins because I loved the purple shades. A silk scarf from a friend complemented the colours so I stitched it on as a drape (and hem trim) to distract from the button-down front. Its earthy and natural – and will be included in Reverse Emporium’s Love Up-Cycled exhibition from February 8.

Sew 28 – Love upcycled

All credit to New York designer Michael Simon for the gorgeous heart features on this vintage top. I just added a few beads to cover age marks and teamed it with a skirt made from an inverted pink top trimmed with cream linen.

I’m thrilled to be one of 25 upcyclers contributing to the Love Up-cycled exhibition opening February 8 at the Reverse Emporium which is a great showcase for Sew it Again creations.

This is another small step to establishing the values and brand of Textile Beat as a creative, natural and unique way of dressing that is ethical and sustainable.

Reverse Emporium is at Woolloongabba and runs a quarterly series of exhibitions showcasing the work of Brisbane artists that demonstrate an awareness of sustainable practices and a devotion to reducing the impact of their craft on the environment.

It is the gallery shop front for Reverse Garbage, which says Australians generate about 14 million tonnes of garbage each year. About two-thirds of this is commercial and industrial waste – reuse of which reduces landfill and helps protect the environment from further pollution.

I’m an agricultural scientist by training, a communications consultant by practice and this year I’m on a creative journey upcycling natural fibre garments for pleasure, reward and sustainability.

Hearts are highly relevant for Love Up-cycled with Valentine’s Day just around the corner.

I had to dig deep into my stash to relocate this top gifted to me for upcycling last year by my friend Robyn, which she had been given by a friend 20 years earlier but was no longer wearing.

The quality and integrity of the top is so strong that I resisted the temptation to cut into it. Instead, I teamed it with a mod skirt which I created by turning another top upside down, adding thin elastic at the waistline before trimming it across the sleeves and adding a linen bias-cut frill.

Sew 24 – Repurpose skirt to frock

Here’s another long skirt that wasn’t being worn which I’ve turned into a dress by using part of a top which is embellished with a strip torn from the skirt hem.

At my book club last night with fabulous, feisty, feminist, professional women I’ve been gathering with for more than a decade, I was thrilled to learn several are now dusting off their sewing machines and rediscovering the freedom of sewing.

In her book Sew Retro: a stylish history of the sewing revolution, Judi Ketteler writes about feminist history and women’s role in the home in the nineteenth century when everything was sewn by hand. Then in the twentieth century, women won the right to vote, cut our hair, ditched our corsets and joined the work force in earnest.

Ketteler says sewing was on its way out during the self-indulgent 1980s but is now making a huge comeback, thanks to a third wave of feminism that folded together ideas about DIY creativity, self-reliance, and eco-awareness.

“We don’t need stats to see the role that sewing now plays in so many women’s lives. Women carry their handmade bags to the grocery store, sport ‘upcycled’ denim skirts, and proudly give their handmade creations to friends and family. It’s a long way from 1941, but we’re still ‘sewing for victory’ – a victory over mass-produced, resource-greedy, uninspired, and cheaply made products. “

“We sew to support our families, to release tension from balancing work and family, to clothe the needy, to make a political statement, to celebrate a cancer survivor, to spoil our pets, to save a little money, to make our grandmothers proud, to teach our daughters how to think and live creatively, and just for pure, sweet pleasure.”

When Ketteler wrote this book in 2010, she said “sewing is about empowerment, creativity, sustainability, and sometimes sticking it to The Man. I can’t imagine a better place for sewing to have ended up.”

My Sew it Again project is not just about sewing, it is about re-sewing and demonstrating a different way of dressing. I am repurposing existing garments that have been discarded for various reasons and giving their gorgeous natural fibres a second chance at life.

Today’s offering was a Sportscraft skirt made of pretty printed silk-blend fabric which I merged with part of a stretch knit top to become a frock by sewing them together. The skirt is about 4m circumference at the bottom, and I tore a strip off it to shorten the skirt and provide a gathered feature around the neckline. To tear the strip, you begin with a small cut and then grip your thumb and forefinger close to the edges and tear. It is a satisfying action because you keep moving your hands along the fabric until you get to the other end. I sewed a gathering thread along the middle of this strip, pulled it up and pinned then sewed the strip around the front and back of the top, using the remainder to form a flower feature at the front.

Sew 23 – Upcycle by hand-sew and knots

Upcycling can be achieved without a sewing machine as I did by turning this old cotton dress into a muumuu, hand-sewing shoulder straps and knotting the hemline to create interest.

It is empowering to take any old garment and recreate it into something more wearable – and I’m fascinated to be reading and researching others doing this around the world, including the Centre for Sustainable Fashion in London.

By actions and choices, we as individuals can make changes to reduce the burgeoning rate of textile consumption which has been increasing three times faster than the population.

Much of this increased textile use is man-made fibres created using petroleum, coal and gas – which feeds into the whole consumption and disposal issues associated with fast-fashion trends.

NASA reported this week that high temperatures last year were part of a sustained long-term climate warming trend and in Australia, where I live, 2013 was the hottest on record. Continue reading →

Sew 21 – Skirt with a story to tell

This history skirt is upcycled from five reject garments made of silk, screen-printed cotton, linen and vintage buttons found at opportunity shops during a road trip up the Queensland coast.

History skirts are an original design and concept which I created based on a gored skirt pattern. It was inspired by a shirt I bought from the amazingly creative Mary Ede of The Skirt, who is based in Townsville north Queensland.

I wondered what could be done with all the natural fibres, fabrics and found stuff I was rescuing from op shops along the way – and the Textile Beat creative business/social enterprise and this Sew it Again project are results of that wondering.

It is rewarding when people like champion swimmer, expert trainer and stylish dresser (among other things) Lisa Curry support one’s efforts.

Last year, when Lisa Curry stepped into Blackall Cultural Centre while on her Aussie road trip inspiring health and wellbeing, her attention was immediately captured by my history skirts.

While Lisa’s eyes were drawn to its colour and creativity, her decision to purchase this upcycled natural fibre garment demonstrates support for slow fashion as one small way to boost ecological health and reduce our carbon footprint.

I posted this story of Lisa’s orange and avocado history skirt: “It was handcrafted in Brisbane by Jane Milburn from at least 10 upcycled fabric sources including an Italian linen dress, silk shirt and tie, rayon vest, cotton scarf, floral cotton from Nana’s fabric box, vintage buttons and more.”

I’ve got Col Jackson from Blues Country Magazine to thank for this photo taken at the QRRRWN annual conference, and my Australian Rural Leadership Program colleague Ele Cook from Coolah in New South Wales to thank for helping me follow my heart on this creative journey inspiring the upcycling of natural fibres for pleasure, reward and sustainability.

This chocolate swirl history skirt has several pockets for gadgets and each panel has a feature created from off-cuts. It is brought together by a stretch-knit waistband and hemmed with a border of raw silk. Because the construction is time consuming, it is a labour of love. I’ve teamed this skirt with a knit top from which I removed the roll collar and hemmed with zigzag.

Sew 20 – Inspired by junky style

This outfit is cotton trousers turned crop-top and wool jumper turned skirt – with the top inspired by Junky Styling’s wardrobe surgery and the jumper-skirt being from my own imagination.

I’ve been upcycling on-and-off for decades but became more serious two years ago when I rediscovered op shops and took to ‘rescuing’ natural fibre clothing selling for a song – some perfect some dated or damaged but all worthwhile resources.

At one stage I had 100 wool jumpers, many more than needed for Brisbane’s mild winter, so I converted some into easy, comfortable skirts with the sleeves being used as neck scarves.

Five wardrobes later and doing leadership study last year, I looked around the world via the internet and came across the wardrobe surgery being done by Annika Sanders and Kerry Seager in London.

I discovered their book Junky Styling Wardrobe Surgery which ignited fresh ideas and affirmed my commitment to upcycling natural fibre garments for pleasure, reward and sustainability.

In Junky Styling, Annika and Kerry write: “Recycling worn, discarded, second-hand clothing involves taking a garment that already has an identity and looking at it as a raw material, studying the existing form and details, then applying them to a new design – a complete reinterpretation and disregard for the existing identify of the piece. This involves a vision and an understanding of form and functionality.

“We reckon that you can recycle anything, and it’s a wonderful way to engage our imaginations. With such a vast array of materials used in clothing, we have always maintained that distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘manmade’ fabric. The quality of natural textiles has always made them first choice for our raw materials. Our first clothing creation was made from a pure wool grey pinstripe suit; the feel, strength and durability of the cloth impressed and continues to inspire us. The cloth also helped to define the identity of Junky Styling as a ‘new take on tailoring’. With no attention paid towards promoting an image or branding, the raw materials spoke for themselves and showed that Junky Styling was all about lasting quality and sustainability.

“Recycling is extending the life of an item. Nothing exceeds its ‘sell-by date’ – the date just changes and keeps changing, continually updating until the fabric falls apart.” View video clip here.

We all have unworn clothing in our wardrobes and my 365-day Sew it Again project is demonstrating how you can update yours using simple home-sewing techniques.

This jumper skirt was an old wool pullover – conversion technique shown in my Stitch in Time column October 2013 – the holes in which were covered by sewing on buttons. The black singlet was a cotton lycra off-cut with seams just zigzagged to finish. With the Country Road trousers, I cropped the legs off, cut away the inside seams and zigzagged around the bottom edges. I created armholes by cutting away the pockets and extending the opening by unpicking the side-seam until it was comfortable. I found a cord in my string box and used it to draw in the waistband/neckline.