Workshop on finding meaning in what we wear

Today our Simple Living Toowoomba group had the pleasure of hosting the delightful Jane Milburn, author of Slow Clothing:Finding meaning in what we wear. As our co-ordinator, Margy, wrote in the promotion for the workshop:  Slow Clothing is the antithesis of fast fashion. It is a way of thinking about, choosing and wearing clothes so they bring value, meaning and joy to everyday. We consider the substance of clothing as part of an holistic approach to living lightly on Earth.

Jane commenced the workshop with giving a little information about her background as she studied agricultural science at Uni and then became a rural reporter with the ABC. She is a country girl at heart although she lives in the city. In the Sew It Again project she upcycled garments each day in 2014  and the following year won the Social Media category winner in the Rural Press Club of Queensland's Excellence in Rural Journalism 2015 Awards.

 

Jane was wearing a skirt made from jeans which she added ruffles to. So creative! She brought along a suitcase full of the clothes she has bought at Op Shops and then upcycled into unique garments.

This pinafore was made from old jeans...

...as was this one. 

I think this is the outfit Jane is wearing in the blog post Living lightly in everyday practice. Doesn't it look fantastic in the photos? 

This dress was one of my favourites and Jane explained how she put it all together. She certainly is very creative as I am sure I wouldn't be able to put such an outfit together and make it look so pretty.

I think the bottom section was made from table cloths.

Two jumpers sewn together to make a skirt with holes made in the knit fabric and embroidered. 

Another skirt made from various knit fabrics. 

We were also shown how to make continuous Tshirt yarn....

....which looks so easy to do....

...and there are heaps of tutorials on Pinterest so I am going to give this a try soon. Watch this space. I have made continuous bias binding but not Tshirt yarn.

You can make the yarn in various thicknesses depending on what you want to construct out of it....

...like this necklace. 

We asked Jane to bring along one of her history skirts as I wanted to see how she attaches a knitted top to the woven part of the skirt as she mentioned how to make the skirts in her book. One of the skirts is featured on the front and  was made with fabric remnants her mother had saved.

I just love the colours in this one and a couple of the ladies held it up for some photos. Oh, I know why I like this fabric...on closer inspection there is a lot of pink and green together. LOL! My favourite colours for fabric.

We could have listened to Jane for much longer as the time just went so quickly. If you get a chance to read her book I am sure you will be fascinated by her story and be encouraged to consider buying clothes made from natural fibres and perhaps even buy from the Op Shops and make a unique garment for yourself. Check out this page and you might even find she will be speaking at a venue near you this year if you live in Australia.

My weekly goodies from Birdsong Market Garden. Yum yum! Good quality organically grown veggies.

We have a number of interesting workshops coming up this year including a visit to Birdsong Market Garden in April,  soapmaking, toothbrush rag rugs and in September a visit from Linda Brennan, author of A Delicious Bunch: Growing and Cooking with Edible Flowers.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!