Turn waste into wearables
You’ve got time at home and wondering what to do … You’ve got old T-shirts, once loved … or some milk containers and plastic bottles to throw away and bubble wrap from purchases is piling up. You want to try a new look but the shops are shut … Or you just want to be creative and try something new.
We have the solution. Our online upcycling classes demonstrate creative ideas in how to breathe new life into pre-loved and discarded materials.
Why not try to make some modern contemporary jewellery out of plastic, or a macramé bag from a T-shirt?
Start today – and join us on this creative journey. In this first class we show how to turn your pre-loved T-shirt into yarn and braid it into a bracelet.
Project supported by Moray LEADER.

From pre-loved T-shirts into newly-loved Bracelets
T-shirt fabric has great upcycling potential. It’s jersey fabric, which frays very little, is easy to cut, and doesn’t need hemming. Cut into strips and stretched, it becomes a yarn-like material that you can use in varied projects. In this opening class we braid it into bracelets, with options for keyrings and headbands as well.
From pre-loved T-shirts to Macrame bag
Join us in the garden to create a macrame bag with yarn upcycled from T-shirts and the transformational power of the square knot!
From pre-loved T-shirt into triangular scarf
Don’t throw out discarded T-shirts – make them the starting-point for something new and original. Here’s how you make the transformation into a beautiful new scarf – with simple techniques that all the family can have fun trying.
Discarded Plastic into Necklace Transformation
In this online workshop we explore the transformative potential of two types of discarded plastic — HDPE and PET — into jewellery pieces.
The workshop includes creating components for jewellery with forming flowers with 3 petals out of plastic pieces, moulding them with heat to more organic shape, adding decorative elements, and finally assembling the components together into necklace design.
From Bubble Wrap to Dangly Earrings
Bubble wraps and plastic bags are excellent for recycling when manipulated with heat.
You can see in this workshop how to fuse layers of plastic together, and how from the piece of new material you can cut shapes like circles with the template. Circles are assembled into a dangly earring cluster design with jump rings, using pre-loved earrings and old broken jewellery.
From Cycle Tubes to Statement Necklace
They look like leather but they are not!
This workshop shows how to turn the material into a simple statement necklace. It's a very easy process, for beginners in particular. Inner rubber tubes are very easy to cut. And if natural charcoal black doesn’t suit, it's possible to paint them with acrylics, to add some colour.
Important safety note: The information provided here is presented for general education and information purposes and to increase overall awareness of the importance of tackling the problem of waste through upcycling. In no event shall Going Nova be liable for anything that may happen as a direct or indirect result of the use of this.
July 20, 2020
From Cycle Tubes to Statement Necklace
We round off the series of workshops by looking at how to turn cycle tubes into a simple statement necklace.
June 27, 2020
Moving on to plastic
After a successful start transforming T-shirts, our online classes moved on to plastic, to turn them into jewellery pieces.
June 2, 2020
The Land and the Sea: costumes in a transformation process
With a physical exhibition now delayed by lockdown to December, we are bringing you a preview online.
May 10, 2020
T-shirts Transformed
It was quite a change of plans for the project as we had got up to full speed on practical workshops, with excellent feedback from the various sessions and further venues and groups all ready to go.
April 18, 2020
Online upcycling classes – welcome!
A brief welcome to set the scene for online classes on the way.
March 16, 2020
Moray Reach Out workshops with trainees
We had two sessions with trainees, to introduce some of the techniques in making use of pre-loved items and everyday materials.
March 14, 2020
Open Day with drop-in workshops at Moray Reach Out
We prepared a range of activities, with a number of displays as well for inspiration, from upcycled jewellery pieces to items created from yarn from pre-loved T-shirts. We also had one of the specially created costumes with us, with its bright spring green colour.
February 16, 2020
Upcycled costumes on display
Our costumes made from waste materials are now ready for display. They will appear tomorrow (Monday 17th) late morning in one of the large windows of Moray Reach Out in Church Street, Buckie.
January 20, 2020
Busy working on upcycled costumes
When constructing an art-wearable piece of garment from pre-loved and discarded materials, the process itself flows and grows organically.
November 23, 2019
Buckie Christmas Kracker
The annual Christmas Kracker is an event to look forward to, and we were delighted to be there for a creative collaboration with Moray Reach Out at their Yarns and Crafts Centre. There was a keen interest from young people, and sometimes very young, along with their parents, to see what could be done with upcycling t-shirts.
October 25, 2019
Doodling in 3D with Moray Wellbeing Hub
We tried out 3D-printing pens, using filament recycled from used plastic (from old food packaging and old bottles), to draw the hot thin plastic by hand into simple shapes from nature - feathers, butterflies and dragonflies.
October 11, 2019
Workshops in the Phoenix Centre, Buckie
We rounded off this series of workshops in the Phoenix Centre with fabric flowers sewn together with the help of scrap fabric, leftover ribbons, old beads and buttons and re-used laces, matching favourite colours for a special day out.
Our Works
Textiles
Over the past two decades, the rhythm of fashion has accelerated towards what is known as “fast fashion”.
Plastic
Plastic seems to be everywhere in our lives, from bottles and straws to food packaging and beauty products.
Inner Tubes
They look like leather but they are not! Inner tubes are made of a material that is tough and waterproof and longlasting...