For the first in our series of guest maker sessions, we sent designer/ maker Morag Seaton one of our Upcycle Mystery Packs and asked her to transform two old garments and some fabric scraps into something beautiful for us to sell in our shop and to inspire fellow upcyclers.
In this short interview, ReMode’s guest blogger Thomas Dixon asks Morag about her design ideas and inspiration, her views on trends in sustainable fashion and how she approached our upcycle challenge.
The mystery pack
The upcycling process
“When I initially got [ the pack] I was actually quite nervous because I hadn’t done an upcycling project in a long time. I think its really difficult, upcycling, because often you have to deal with things like stains, smelly things and you are really restricted as well. But I think that also makes it more fun and challenging. But as soon as I took everything out the box, it was a case of well I’m just going to have to cut everything up and then see what’s there, just lay it out flat and work out from there what I can make out of it. … I basically just ripped [the jackets] to bits and then just decided quite quickly it was going to be a reconstructed jacket from that – just played around, cut up a pattern. There were old pockets within the original jacket as well so it was about making shapes which fit around those cut outs as well, so I wanted to make ensure it was a fusion of both, it wasn’t too much of a patchwork. There was also a couple of bits of silk as well. I make quite a lot of pocket bags, just because I like making them, having things to put your things in. So, I thought I would just add in a little pocket bag to go with it as well, a wee pop of colour.”
The finished garment
” When people start to really sit down and think about their clothes more seriously, and actually just think about the places they’ve been with them, the memories they have with their clothes and what they use them for and why they are there and think a bit more about the people behind the clothing, the processes, who’s made them. Once you start thinking about that biography of a piece of clothing, the more you are going to think about it in the future as well “
You can see more of Morag’s work on her website or instagram account.
If this has inspired you to try your hand at upcycling, you can get your very own upcycle pack via our shop pages or drop by our shop on Paisley High Street.