Tag Archives: recycled cotton

Sew 227 – Refashioning op-shop wool

Jane Milburn wears op shop woolNatural resources are finite and it is great to see Sweden announcing that it has created technology to recycle all materials that contain cellulose, as reported in The Guardian recently.

Apparently old cotton clothes are brought into a factory where they are shredded and mulched into porridge-like goop from which the non-recyclable pieces like zips and buttons are removed. The goop is then further broken down before being turned into a fibre substance which become threads and then rayon-like fabric. Reconstituted fabric is a mechanical way to reuse the mountain of waste clothing generated by fast fashion.

A creative way of reusing natural fibres is by individual refashion – cutting and resewing existing clothing to suit your own needs. This is what I’m doing every day this year with Sew it Again and Sew 227 is a refashion of wool garments from various op shop excursions.  Continue reading