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By Kristian Silva, Brisbane Times

Through her social enterprise Textile Beat, Jane Milburn turns old jumpers into new skirts, old jeans into rara skirts, alters men’s shirts to fit ladies, and re-works 1980s jackets with shoulder pads to suit modern tastes.
Jane will be showcasing Textile Beat’s work – and passing on a few skills of her own – during the Green Heart Fair in Carindale on Sunday October 13.
“Sewing has gone a bit by the wayside,” she said. “It’s not something people think they can do anymore. Knitting is back in vogue but sewing isn’t.”
Jane says the pieces created by Textile Beat are an example of “upcycling” – adding value to an existing piece of clothing by transforming it into something new. In some cases this means four different fabrics are stitched together to create a single item.
“It’s creative – to me it’s artistic. It’s a bit of a statement about sustainability. They do look unusual, but that’s part of their attraction,” she said.
In a consumer-driven world, Jane and her Textile Beat colleague, Ele Cook, believe their project provides an alternative.
They hope to run upcycling workshops in Queensland and New South Wales over the coming year.
“In op shops, there are a lot of garments that just need a little mend, a button replaced, or the hem altered … there is so much opportunity in op shops.”

As the fabulous Lisa Curry stepped into Blackall Cultural Centre on her Aussie road trip inspiring health and wellbeing, Textile Beat can report her attention was immediately captured by our statement 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.

Lisa’s Orange and Avocado History Skirt has a story to tell. It was handcrafted 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.

History skirts are an original design and concept by Jane Milburn and Ele Cook of Textile Beat in Brisbane, Australia in 2013. Working with integrity, creativity and purpose, Textile Beat is inspiring the upcycling of natural fibres for pleasure, reward and sustainability.

Col Jackson from Blues Country Magazine happened to capture this image of Lisa and Jane at the QRRRWN annual conference held in Blackall.

The gorgeous 2013 Queensland Great Dimity Dornan is well-recognised for her outstanding work in setting up the Hear and Say Centre.

The Centre has been so successful helping the hearing impaired that it’s outgrown its premises at Auchenflower in Brisbane and is fundraising for a bigger home nearby.

At the upcoming Hear and Say annual fundraising ball to celebrate 21 years, one of the silent auction items will be this Blue Butterfly History Skirt donated by Textile Beat.

Textile Beat is proud to support such a great cause. Find out how you can donate here.

In a finite world, we need to treasure our limited natural resources … beautiful things made from fibres, wood, leather, stone and shells.

Instead of tossing them away when they have fallen out of favour, we are exploring creative ways to repurpose them for a second life.

The mountain of textile cast-offs is growing by the year as our consumer society chases bigger, brighter, newer … rather than utilising and valuing the resource they represent.

At the TextileBeat studio, in Brisbane Australia, we are upcycling natural fibres, fabrics and found objects … and following the heart on a creative journey. In so doing, we are combining wellbeing and passion for creativity with social enterprise.