How to Cut a Jacket Lining When You Don’t Have a Pattern
Have you ever made a jacket and wished you could line it, but didn’t have a pattern and weren’t 100% sure what to do? Here’s a tutorial to bookmark for when you do. There are many ways to make a lining pattern, partly depending on the type of jacket. To keep it simple and give…
Read MoreMaking Cris Wood’s Cinch Belt
Cris Wood is an American pattern designer known for her beginner-friendly, paperless, low-waste patterns. Her most well-known pattern is the Envelope Dress – on Instagram, seemingly everyone in the USA was making one in the hot summer of 2020 lockdowns. I’ve never made one of her patterns (until now!) but have corresponded with her as…
Read More3 Random Tips for Colour Choices
Are you confident with colour? I think I am these days, but I never used to be. Over time I picked up ideas from people I worked with, and also my dad who was good with colours. I really started to enjoy colour to the point where I now feel free to offer my opinions,…
Read MoreSix, Wait! NINE Ways to Style Linen Trousers
The linen elastic waist trousers made for last week’s book review of Couture Zéro Chutes came out so well they deserved another post. The trousers are now the property of my younger teen, who happens to be the same height and size as me (for now…I’m sure a growth spurt is on the horizon and…
Read MoreBook Review: Couture Zéro Chutes
It’s my pleasure to review Couture Zéro Chutes by Charline Durpoix and Mylène L’Orguilloux, which was published last month. The title translates as Sewing Zero Waste, and the book is a collection of six base patterns which can be combined or modified to produce many more styles. Charline Durpoix is a sewing influencer, known in…
Read MoreThe Grey Jacket Makes Progress
To tell you the truth, I was having doubts about this jacket. I’m making a hooded modular jacket as a sew-a-long project for Zero and Zen, a course I’m co-hosting with Kate Ward (we are already underway, but it’s still possible to sign up HERE). The first post on this jacket is here. The jacket…
Read MoreThe Floral Trousers Revamp
On my to-do list for some…years? has been to refashion a pair of floral trousers, because I just haven’t been able to work them into my wardrobe. The trousers are the wrap trousers from Zero Waste Sewing, but these were an early prototype when I was making the pattern. Here’s what they look like in…
Read MoreStitching Away at the Zero and Zen Jacket
It’s school holidays here, and sashiko stitching has begun in earnest on the grey jacket I’m making for Zero and Zen. There’s still time to register for Zero and Zen. It’s a course I’m co-presenting with artist Kate Ward, where you’ll make your own minimal/zero waste jacket and add sashiko stitching for a beautiful and…
Read More3 Ways to Wear a Beach Towel Kaftan
The Beach Towel Kaftan is a new pattern, made in collaboration with Nicole Akong. Read the story of this pattern HERE. Nicole and I each made this kaftan, and my version is sewn from fluffy white bath towels, making it a great backdrop for all sorts of colourful accessories. Here are three ways to wear…
Read MoreZero, Zen, and the Free Hood Update
The popular modular jacket from A Year of Zero Waste Sewing now has an option for a hood. The update is free but you’ll need the original pattern, which is still available as a zine (ie booklet) for a very modest sum, or in A Year of Zero Waste Sewing. The pattern is the same…
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