This week’s class focussed on taking old clothing items and making them new. We were encouraged to bring in a few old garments and reimagine them into a different life.
Our old clothes might become an embellished outfit, a handy bag, a comforting toy or, in my case, a cosy scarf. The only limit was our imagination.
Behind this creative endeavour was an important message: the fashion industry, with its push for quick, disposable fashion is the second-worst polluters on the planet. In the race to look beautiful and fashionable, we’ve lost our perspective and the cost is human suffering and devastating environmental damage.
For my project, it was important that if I was not going to give my clothes to charity as I usually do, that would actually create something I would wear. So, I took an old dress of mine and a shirt of my daughter’s and created a infinity scarf. In the process, I brushed up on my very rusty skills with a sewing machine, re-learning how to thread it and wind the bobbin. I am also grateful to Stephanie for her help in getting the tension right on the machine and her advice on what type of stitch would be best for the stretchy knit fabric I had.
