A group of Lower Mountains mums practise a creative form of clothing recycling in Springwood every Thursday morning, transforming worn out clothing scraps into colourful rugs and fashion accessories to benefit bushfire-affected families.
The crocheting needles are drawn for a weekly two-hour session they like to call 'up-cycling' from 9.30am at Springwood Uniting Church's lower hall.
Heather Selwyn said the group formed in the aftermath of the 2013 bushfires when Springwood Uniting Church was used as a collection centre for donated clothing and goods.
"We noticed at the time that there was a lot of donated clothing that was not quite in good enough condition for people to wear," she said.
"So some local mums got together to see if they could crochet bits of T-shirts and rags together to make useable items that could be sold at local events like markets, with all proceeds going to help the bushfire recovery effort.
"One year on and we have grown to about 15 members who come along on Thursday mornings, so we are in a kind of second wave with this group and it will definitely be an ongoing thing.
"We even plan on introducing a Tuesday evening session once a fortnight starting on October 21, just to try it out.
"We always welcome new members."
The Yarn Group is busy making items, including bedside rugs, handbags, buntings, beanies and lots of other items for their big end-of-year Christmas raffle and sale, with funds raised going towards a local bushfire recovery project targeting young families, run through the neighbourhood centres.
People will be able to have a sneak peek at their recently finished items and have a go at crocheting when the group runs a display stall at Winmalee High School's family fun day on October 18, an event planned to celebrate community spirit one year on from the bushfires.
Liz Murphy from Springwood Neighbourhood Centre said the Yarn Group is going from strength to strength but could do with more donations of unwearable clothing items like old T-shirts or stretchy, shrunken or misshaped jumpers.
"I think the best things that work from a community point of view always come from the community itself and that's what's so great about this group," she said.
Donations of suitable materials can be dropped off at the counter at either Springwood or Winmalee Neighbourhood Centres in bags marked "for the Yarn Group" or can be delivered to the group directly when it meets on Thursday mornings.