I haven’t worn a sarong in years. Used to be I’d wear them all the time in summer, so I have a quite a few. Recently I did a quick wardrobe cull and decided it was time to do something new with them.

Four are ‘pareo’ bought in Raratonga during a holiday in my early 20s. Sentimentality reigns here. Good memories.

I’ve put the mermaid one into my beach bag to continue using as a sarong. The fabric of all these is quite see-through, so if I made skirts they’d would have to be lined and a shirt would have to go over a top. But since they’re about the same weight as the cotton shawls I’ve got, I’m going to wear them as as shawls instead.

This sarong I bought for a trip to the Whitsunday Islands, though I don’t recall where. I bought two in different colour combinations, one to be a gift for my ex’s mother and one to keep, and let her choose which she preferred.

The fabric is a little thicker, so this might work as a shirt. Or a lined skirt. I’m more in favour of bright, complicated fabrics for skirts than shirts, though.

I don’t remember where I picked up the dolphin sarong, but while I’m not into pink or dolphins it’s a really generous length which is good for warding off the sun at the beach.

It’s going in the beach bag to be used as a sarong, too.

One of these dark blue ones came from an op shop, but I’m not sure about the other. I bought them intending to make a caftan dress.

They’re not so well matched as I hoped, however, so I’m thinking separates. A tunic top, perhaps. Maybe a skirt.