INSPIRED by a New York artist, a West Linton woman has found a sustainable and fashionable way to raise money for Ukraine.
As museums and heritage centres closed to visitors and staff during the coronavirus pandemic, heritage consultant Wilma Bouwmeester found herself at a loose end during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.
To fill her time Wilma explored how to use her creativity to revive her wardrobe and create new outfits out of the clothes she already owned.
Inspired by the quirky designs of Katwise, a New York-based artist, Wilma transformed her existing garments into one-off creations, giving her clothes a new lease of life.
She said: “For some time, I’d wanted to become more sustainable with my clothes, buying fewer new items, and wearing my existing ones more, and at the start of 2019 decided to not buy clothes for a while.
"I managed to go an entire year without walking into a clothes shop!”
And now Wilma is using her creativity to help raise vital funds to help the humanitarian appeal for Ukraine.
Wilma makes her own version of Katwise's 'sweater coats' – upcycled jumpers felted and sewn together.
“Many of the jumpers I use come from local charity shops," Wilma said. "They get a hot soapy wash to shrink and felt them and are then combined into unique art creations.
"Some coats take up to 10 jumpers, depending on the colour combinations.
"The only bit that’s new is the thread with which they are sewn together.”
One of Wilma's creations, Lyudmila, named after the female Ukrainian here Lyudmila Pavlichenko, is available to win from The Knot in West Linton.
Lyudmila, which is blue, turquoise and lime with purple seams, and features flared sleeves and a pixie hood, is being raffled off to support the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal to support those affected by the war in Ukraine.
Raffle tickets can be bought for £5 from The Knot or online by contacting Wilma at: wilma@sustainableheritage.org.
The winner of the Lyudmila raffle will be drawn on July 22.
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