Tag Archives: Upcycled

Sew 210 – Collar wrap adds interest

This long black 100% cashmere coat is a favourite found on a freezing day out in Toronto op-shopping with son Max a few years ago. It is total quality as a Birger Christensen and a testament for natural fibres and superior design.

The coat was in perfect condition when I purchased it (for $120) but this winter when I got it out of the airtight winter suitcase, I noticed the fleece on the cuffs and collars had a couple of small bare spots. Not insect damage, perhaps age. I used a permanent marker to blacken the spots and that camouflaged them effectively.

While in Warwick last week, I couldn’t resist a quick visit to the op shop and found two pieces of wool fabric for $3 each. This red and charcoal herringbone weave square metre was ideal to turn into a wrap collar, which was an easy way to add interest to the plain back coat without interfering with its integrity. This combination was nice and warm to wear to the Night Noodle Markets at Southbank in Brisbane. Continue reading →

Sew 187 – Individual, comfortable, unique

Those who do it, know. They know how satisfying it is to magic something out of not much, in a style that pleases, and is comfortable on yourself.

Pamela knows. She created this outfit from a black cashmere sweater (her husband’s) that had seen better days and was about to be consigned to the reject pile, combined with a two-metre piece of hand-printed silk purchased at a market in Udiapur, Rajasthan when living overseas in a previous life.

Pamela has been making clothes since she was about 10-years-old, so she has sewing skills. But in the same way Pamela doesn’t follow a recipe when cooking, she doesn’t follow a pattern when sewing. I get where she is coming from – and we had fun together upcycling and experimenting with what was to hand. Continue reading →

Sew 147 – Resewing at embryonic stage

Forecasting social-cultural trends is something European trendsetter Lidewij Edelkoort learned to do by trusting her instincts and she now travels the world presenting at events such as Designex coming soon to Sydney Australia.

In a recent article, Edelkoort reflects on the current move towards nature, organics and the traditional. “We’re seeing the dawning of an embryonic age, where the social mood is shifting to a climate of community, care and compassion. A new epoch with different and more wholesome, localised options … Twenty years ago we craved imported goods. Now we’re turning our attention to things that are local and locally made … We went very quickly into the desire for global things and I think we will also unglobalise rapidly which I think is positive because transportation is taking its toll on society, financially and ecologically. So if we can do less of that, the better it is.” Continue reading →

Sew 131 – Quick fix for waistband

There is no end to the potential of upcycling existing clothing for a second life – you are limited only by your imagination, skills, time and willingness to work.

It was great to help five keen upcyclers along the way today at a workshop as part of my Upcycled exhibition in Coolah.

Georgina worked on a quilt incorporating knitted items (scarf, balaclava, glove, booty), Ele sewed white linen shirts into a bedspread, Janelle turned a knitted dress into a skirt, Lindy turned jeans into a skirt, and Jacki turned tops into skirts.

Once you open your eyes to the untapped potential of clothing that is not being worn as it is, you liberate yourself with new options and opportunities. Continue reading →

Sew 129 – Putting it out there

The most common reason we hesitate when given a chance to express ourselves creatively is our fear of other people’s negative opinions, says Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer.

In her book On Becoming an Artist, Dr Langer says it is hard to try something without knowing the outcome but from a creative perspective, not knowing the outcome is actually preferable. And it is important to remember that the evaluations of others – both good and bad – are not really objective and needn’t shape our choices.

“Evaluation is central to the way we make sense of the our world; almost all of our thoughts are concerned with whether what we or others are doing or thinking is good or bad … If a change in our attitude about evaluation is to happen, the most important understanding we need to gain is that all behaviour makes sense from the actor’s perspective or the actor wouldn’t do it.” Continue reading →

Sew 125 – An upcycled upcycle

Uncertainty is an essential element of creativity, which in turn comes from mindful attention to your craft of choice. My craft is resewing existing clothing.

Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer says our current culture leads us to try to reduce and minimise uncertainty, leading to mindless rigid behaviour governed by rules and routines.

On the other hand, if we exploit the power of uncertainty we learn that things can become more than we previously thought possible. Mindfulness makes us sensitive to context, perspective, and changing situations.

Sew it Again is a response to changing circumstances around the way we dress. As clothing becomes cheaper, plentiful and designed with built-in obsolescence – an extraordinary amount of clothing waste has been accumulating around the world. Continue reading →

Sew 124 – Upcycled in Coolah

Very excited to have my first Upcycled exhibition now hanging in Pandora Gallery at Coolah in New South Wales as a celebration of natural fibres and (re)fashion from today until May 16.

Upcycled is an interactive exhibition about the history, origins and uses of natural fibres which explores creative ways to refashion existing clothing for a second life.

Our consumer society is using textiles at an unprecedented rate, with thousands of tonnes of waste clothing dumped in landfill or shipped to third-world countries every year.

Thanks to my ARLP leadership colleague Ele Cook and gallery coordinator Jennie Stephens, I’ve been able to mount this exhibition to showcase some of my repurposed reject garments 365-day Sew it Again creations to raise awareness of the ethical, social and environmental issues of textile waste. Continue reading →