Tag Archives: Warwick

Sew 208 – Easy when you see how

Interesting to see a Vinnies op-shop scarf included in the fashion pages of our local newspaper The Courier-Mail yesterday. St Vincent de Paul was Just casually listed along with the other fashion suppliers featured in the photos.

Does this suggest op-shops are going mainstream? Advertising enables publishing and commerce makes the world go around, so can’t get too excited that op-shops and upcycled clothing have more than a niche future.

Unlike the established processes for recycling glass, metal and plastic, we don’t do much with textiles beyond donating them to op shops. That’s why I am spending this year on a counter-culture Sew it Again project to demonstrate other uses for reject clothing and fabrics – building a 365-page archive of options for reuse. Continue reading →

Sew 206 – Jumper becomes jazzy skirt

Most of us have clothes we don’t wear in our wardrobes. We can give them to friends, donate them to charity, put them in the rubbish bin – or upcycle them into something else.

At our Jumper to Skirt workshop in Warwick today, Desirea converted this jumper (that was no longer being worn as such) into a jazzy skirt with two scarf options.

It is also exciting that Desirea hasn’t sewn before (she has always called on her mother to do that) so this simple project was a good way for her to get quick results and hopefully be inspired to sew more in future. Continue reading →

Sew 203 – Where clothes come from

During the past decade there has been growing interest and awareness in where food comes from, how it is grown and what are its nutritional and sustainable values. We’re alive to fact that we are what we eat.

In a similar way, there now is growing interest in where clothes come from, who made them, what they are made of and whether they are ethical and sustainable – because we are what we wear.

Skin is our body’s largest organ, so the clothing we wrap it in influences feel, comfort and interactions by osmosis. Natural-fibre clothing free from contaminants and toxins must be best. The benefits of natural fibres are eloquently summarised by Wildfibres UK. Continue reading →

Sew 191 – Beach beanie + jumper skirt

Lots of laughter with this wool jumper upcycle as the beanie attracted comparisons to attire worthy of a Dr Seuss character. It was created from the sleeve of a hand-knitted wool jumper, which I unpicked from the body of the jumper and simply tied a knot at the end.

The body of the jumper was then turned upside down to become the skirt after the sleeve opening was hand-stitched together. I harvested strips of fabric from a dated blue silk dress – one strip was used to form a narrow waistband, others were used to trim the bottom of the skirt, while the long bottom frill of the dress was knotted to become an elongated scarf. There were several holes in the body of jumper (probably the reason it ended up in the opshop for me to salvage) which I darned with grey wool and they are barely visible in the complex patterned knit. See photos below. Continue reading →

Sew 189 – Jumper to jazzy skirt

Tradition and convention tend to keep us locked into established patterns – be that of behaviour, processes and possessions. A jumper is a jumper – until you turn it on its head.

Transforming old reject jumpers/sweaters into skirts is one of my favorite and easiest upcycles – and it’s the focus of an upcoming workshop on July 25 at the Jumpers and Jazz Festival in Warwick. If you’d like to join us, at the Abbey of the Roses activity, you can book here.

I love wearing long wool skirts with tights for winter warmth so I’ll be making more in coming days to demonstrate creative ways to reuse old wool jumpers with holes in them. Continue reading →

Sew 55 – Wool jumper to skirt

Refashion a jumper to become a skirt and scarf that utilises the beautiful drape of wool knits.

I’m excited to now have the Jumpers and Jazz Festival at Warwick Queensland in my calendar for July as this event aligns so well with what I’m doing. Stay tuned for info on the Jumper-to-skirt garment surgery workshop at Abbey of the Roses.

This quirky country Queensland festival is now in its 10^th year and my connection with it was brought about by Sue Hamlet of Fledge Designs, who creates its brochures and is a regular Sew it Again supporter – thanks Sue for ongoing encouragement!

My 365-day Sew it Again project to demonstrate a different way of dressing by refashioning existing clothing emerged from study last year for a Graduate Certificate of Australian Rural Leadership. This James Cook University course run with the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation. Continue reading →