Zero Waste Sewing, the book

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Sewing in straight lines and basic math skills are all that’s required to achieve success with the simplest of the handmade clothing projects in a clever new book Zero Waste Sewing from South Australia’s Elizabeth Haywood.

Zero Waste Sewing is a practical and resourceful book based around 16 projects to make, wear and enjoy, with plenty of opportunity to modify and adapt them to suit your shape and preferences.

Through her ingenious patterns, Liz inspires a sustainable, resourceful approach by showing us how to use 100 per cent of the fabric, with nothing left over. Such a great goal to work towards!

The Craft of Clothes is Liz’s blog about sewing and fashion, and her earlier book The Dressmakers Companion, reflect her background and experience as a pattern maker and sewing teacher.

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Reuse to reduce textile waste

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WornOut is an annual showcase of creativity and resourcefulness organised by Reverse Garbage Queensland to showcase designers working to reduce textile waste, with the 2019 theme being The Future of Waste.

As ambassador, Jane Milburn said that future really must be for us to waste nothing – and invest creative effort to keep materials endlessly circulating. Jane and ABC Brisbane’s Rebecca Levingston co-hosted this year’s event.

Rebecca Levingston and Jane Milburn co-hosts of WornOut 2019

‘There has never been a more important time to change our thinking and actions around reuse – to fully value and appreciate our planet’s precious resources,’ Jane said.

WornOut  is now in its third year and taps into the global awakening about social and ecological impacts of the fashion industry, which contributes up to 10 percent of humanity’s carbon emissions. It is curated by Elizabeth Kingston, supported Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, and was held on November 23 at Princess Theatre with showcases of refashion, wearable art and cos play.

Jane said the purpose of the WornOut showcase is to:

  • invest human energy, skills and creativity to transform ‘waste’
  • change attitudes about when – if ever – textile resources are ‘wornout’
  • show thrift and resourcefulness thriving in the local circular economy
  • have fun with what we wear in inclusive and diverse ways

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Bring on the fashion revolution

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Brisbane slow fashion practitioners bring on the revolution

It is time for a Fashion Revolution – and Brisbane slow fashion practitioners are bringing together an immersive experience on April 26-28 to celebrate all that is local, sustainable and creative.

Brisbane makers and menders, movers and shakers – led by Naomi Huntsman, Jane Milburn, Leah Musch and Kim Bailey – are bringing you a three-day event exploring ways we can revolutionise the fashion system through our choices.

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Upcycling is on trend

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Who wants our waste, our rubbish and our cast-offs? Last year’s news was China rejecting our recycled materials, this year’s news is charity shops being so overwhelmed they called a temporary halt to donations. It is time for a serious rethink on stuff.

When we go camping or on holidays we realise how little stuff we really need. At home we may have wardrobes full of garments while studies show we only actively wear about 20 percent of them.

Marie Kondo, The Minimalists and others have turned stuff management into a profession as everyday people become overwhelmed with possessions that are ultimately of little value.

Melissa Iland and Jenny Donaldson upcycling at CWA Tambo, reviving existing natural-fibre resources for fun, creativity and as a hands-on local response to sustainability and climate change.

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Culture change is coming

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The burying and burning secrets are out. A culture shift is happening as individuals and groups respond in various ways to reducing fashion waste and creating a more sustainable clothing culture. We all have capacity to change and influence behaviours when we believe in something and are comfortable to defy convention and conditioning.

Evidence continues to mount that we are overusing resources, indulging in wasteful consumption, polluting our atmosphere and oceans with CO2 and plastic. As individuals we can influence change through more responsible purchasing decisions, while we wait (sometimes in vain) for national governments to adopt sensible policy.

Sustainable and slow clothing opportunities in three states: Jane Milburn with Ana at Parkes New South Wales workshop, speaking at Revive Brisbane in Queensland, and with La Vergne Lehmann in Victoria.

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Helping divert textiles from landfill

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Textiles are the biggest product segment at Reverse Garbage Queensland, prompting the launch of Worn OUT as an exhibition to celebrate refashion and creative upcycling.

At the RGQ warehouse in Woolloongabba on October 28, Worn OUT showcased 35 refashioned garments made by a dozen creatives from around Australia.

Co-curators Jane Milburn, left, and Elizabeth Kingston, right with a Karen Benjamin plastic dress.

Coordinator Bill Ennals said textiles had easily become RGQ’s fastest-growing segment in the past few years with local businesses diverting excess stock to the warehouse for resale rather than sending it to landfill.  Continue Reading →

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Eco fashion rising in Australia

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You know the eco tagline is truly authentic when upcycled garments are included on the runway, as they will be at Eco Fashion Week Australia on November 23-27.

Sceptics might think eco fashion is a branding exercise, another way to sell you things you don’t really need, because fashion is by definition the latest fad or trend – ever-changing and therefore by implication unsustainable.

Eco is short for ecology, ecosystem or environment – so upcycling garments that already exist (another 100 billion* new garments are added to the supply chain each year) lends credibility to this inaugural eco fashion event in Fremantle.

ecofashion photos

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Upcycling activism – Cathy Stuart

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Cathy Stuart from Newcastle in New South Wales believes that the act of making something, particularly from reused or old stuff, can create a deep sense of satisfaction, achievement and self-worth for the maker. Resourcefulness and resilience are enhanced. Being able to re-use and re-purpose an object is, in Cathy’s view, a key skill in becoming more environmentally sustainable. It reduces our need to consume new resources as well as makes us responsible for managing our own waste.

Jasmine wears an upcycled couture creation made by her mother Cathy Stuart for The Slow Clothing Project

Jasmine wears an upcycled couture creation made by her mother Cathy Stuart for The Slow Clothing Project

Cathy is increasingly disturbed by the new ‘normal’ in how our society of planned and perceived obsolescence operates, driving totally unsustainable levels of consumption. “We are somehow lulled into believing that this is the only way our economy and therefore society can survive. I worry about the world my teenage daughters are growing up in, where cheap fashion is close to worthless one season after it is bought, and op shops are even now struggling to cope with the deluge of clothing and homewares they receive,” she said.

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Creative eco-fashion – Mariana Kirova

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Mariana Kirova is a professional upcycler, an eco-fashion educator and an agent for change. She  transforms rescued clothing into unique timeless pieces through her Perth-based business Eco Fashion Sewing which she established after studying fashion design in Western Australia.

Mariana Kirova creates an eco-fashion statement ensemble for The Slow Clothing Project.

Mariana Kirova wears an eco-fashion statement ensemble she created for The Slow Clothing Project.

Mariana said it is sad to see lots of fashion students graduating in Australia each year yet only a few stay and work in the fashion industry. “If Australian fashion brands have their production at home, this wouldn’t be happening,” she said.

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Learning by design – Genevieve Manhal

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Genevieve Manhal made a resolution to buy nothing new this year (except a few items of underwear when necessary) and she’s noticing even more the media stream of fast fashion that is in her face all the time, on television, in magazines and on social media. “No wonder there are so many people struggling with body image issues and the notion of not ‘fitting in’ when this consumerist image is constantly being shown and targeted at every age group,” said Genevieve who lives in the Bass Coast area of south Gippsland in Victoria.

Genevieve Manhal made this versatile pinafore/skirt from resources already in circulation for The Slow Clothing Project.

Genevieve Manhal from south Gippsland in Victoria made this versatile pinafore/skirt for The Slow Clothing Project.

Growing up in a household that valued being sustainable and repurposing items, building your own from scratch and thinking environmentally, the idea of fast fashion has always been an issue of concern for Genevieve. “Also studying design at TAFE it was always in your face, what was in ‘trend’, what you needed to look ‘cool’ and I have always felt, even after being out of secondary school for 10 years, that a big factor with peer pressure and fitting in is by wearing ‘correct’ fashion.

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