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Billy

@billynowaste

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Sewing + growing + cooking + sowing.
❤️fabric, faith, family, food, friends, frugality, fun❤️
Making the most of everything.

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I really like a good Ladder stitch. I've used it successfully on so many items including cuddly toys.

It's so easy. The first image shows how it's done.

Ps as it is Secondhand September both these items are secondhand. #secondhandseptember

@mendsandfriends
#slowfasionmovement
#mendingismylovelanguage
#makingthemostofeverything
#makedoandmend by @billynowaste

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25 days ago

#secondhandseptember
I wanted something comfortable to wear that covers my legs while they recover from a skin condition.
This maternity dress was soft, long and 100% cotton, and it was in the charity shop sale.

I chopped it at the bodice leaving enough to make a waist band. Added some elastic and hey presto I had a comfy skirt.

The problem is I'm not a huge fan of pink!

Can my magic Dictionary of Colour Combinations help me out?

I think so - I was comfortable and didn't feel too much like a jelly.

Everything here is secondhand, even the jewellery.

@mendsandfriends
#makingthemostofeverything
#slowfashion
#savedfromlandfill
#thriftedwithpurpose by @billynowaste

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a month ago

A friend gave me a lovely bag - but I needed to change the strap.
Soooooo did I -
Sensibly wait until I could buy some webbing?
Or
Attack a perfectly functional bag like an enraged raccoon???

Yup the latter 😔🤦😢😂

So finally, years later, I actually bought some webbing for a new strap.
I couldn't get a good match for the strapless bag - but I bought one for the altered bag.

I carefully removed the original strap.
Undid the side seams so the mends would not show through.
Chose some thread and buttons.
Tried to remove the ink stain.
And got darning.
It took a few evenings but it was worth it.
I'm really pleased to have this bag back in use.

#mendingmatters
#wastenotwantnot
@mendsandfriends
#makingthemostofeverything
#makingitupasigoalong by @billynowaste

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a month ago

I have loads of this gingham - it was initially used to make a room divider out of rescued doors.
Over the years it's been re-purposed as kit bags, school costumes and bunting.
Now it's bias binding.
I'll show how I'm using it soon.
How-to instructions at the end.

#curtainstocouture (well to bias)
#makingthemostofeverything
#wastenotwantnot
#slowfashion by @billynowaste

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a month ago

Convalescent Fun
I saw @thekatieharrell (check out her account) choosing outfits using -
- A Dictionary of Color Combinations.
At the moment I am only able to wear loose fitting dresses and I have been feeling a bit blue, so with nothing else to do I decided to give it a go.

It's actually been really interesting and a lot of fun. I've come up with combinations I would not have thought of.
I think this will help with making the most of the wardrobe I already have, making different combinations out of the same old clothes.
I've been mending broken earrings and other bits of jewelry to try and get all the colors in.

#makingutupasigoalong
#makingthemostofeverything
#wastenotwantnot by @billynowaste

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2 months ago

Tell me you have rain forecast tonight without telling me you have rain forecast.
Hoping to catch as much as possible.......

#wastenotwantnot #makingthemostofeverything by @billynowaste

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2 months ago

The colander trick worked. by @billynowaste

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2 months ago

A wonderful young couple invited us to attend (and sing at) their wedding.
The church was decorated with beautiful flowers, so my thrifted but beautiful floral dress seemed like the right choice.

But what bag? I wanted something suitable, neutral, light but with enough room to actually put stuff in.
I had forgotten it was a bit broken.
But it was worth the last minute panic mend.

I could have spent a lot more time trying to find a new one.

The label gives a clue to just how long I've had this bag. I originally bought it for a wedding. Still does the job.
I still love it.

Often when we keep things, treasure things, mend things, and reuse them the payback is that these things start to tell us stories.
High days and holidays.
Lovely days.
Happy memories.
Treasured moments. by @billynowaste

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2 months ago

Our garden is not very big (you can see the wall of the house in the third picture) but we can still encourage wild life.

We have a family of frogs who live in the garden, they jump out and surprise me sometimes.
But for the first time ever we found some frogspawn!
So exciting.

This encouraged us to dig the old baby bath into the ground to make them a pond.

Now I'm looking up frog pond plants.....
Any suggestions?

Ps a happy robin came to see what we were doing in between feeding the baby robin. by @billynowaste

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5 months ago

@slowfashionchallenge - today's prompt is 'sustainable stories'.

I was packing to go away for a couple of days and here's what I've put in my very old, fairly traded, much travelled, often mended bag.

The mustard top was passed on to me, all the others and the belt were bought at charity shops or clothes swaps over many years.
I am slowly trying to make sure that anything that comes into my wardrobe is made out of natural fibres.
But I'm holding on to older ones that are made from man made fibres because they're better in my wardrobe than in landfill.

The SCARF is a lovely story.
It was a gift many years ago.
It was bought from a charity that gives work, shelter and dignity to women saved from working the streets.
It is made out of upcycled saris.
The women earn a fair wage with some money going to help rescue future women from the street.
How cool is that story!

I missed yesterday which was 'show your style' which I found tricky. I don't really have a style. I find it confusing and have settled on comfortable.

However I want to make more of my own clothes.
And I want to get it right - But you can't try them on.
So I've been looking at styling pages.

So far I've discovered that my body is maybe a rectangle/hour glass or maybe an inverted triangle.
I'm confused!!!!!!!

BUT I have found new colour combinations.
I've discovered that blue and brown work well together.
This means I now make new outfits out of old clothes - just by mixing up how I combine them.

As demonstrated by the above outfits.

@slowfashionchallenge
#sfcMay2026 by @billynowaste

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5 months ago

@slowfashionchallenge #SFCMay2026 - Today is 'Scraps'.

I spent a long time going through my fabric oddments to find a beautiful combination to turn into a gift.
This is the end result - it's a reading cushion for a book-loving friend.

Not quite a fashion statement but I think the colours work really well together.

#makingthemostofeverything by @billynowaste

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5 months ago

@slowfashionchallenge #SFCMay2026

Community.

Mending is very much a part of my slow fashion life.
Through mending I have found a lovely community of fellow menders.
They are welcoming, inspiring, encouraging, always ready to share ideas and work through conundrums, and when we get together online we have fun.

@mendsandfriends you are all just fabulous. by @billynowaste

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5 months ago