3 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,…

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Six, 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…

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Book 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…

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The 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…

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The 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…

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Stitching 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…

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3 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…

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Zero, 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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New Pattern: Beach Towel Kaftan

Hi All, I have a new pattern, a kaftan cut from beach towels that’s almost zero waste. It’s a collaboration with alterations styling guru Nicole Akong, who I met on Instagram. If you’re a Great British Sewing Bee watcher, Nicole was in the 6th series. The pattern can be ordered here, and there’s an option…

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Dad’s Jumper (a true story)

Today is Father’s Day here in Australia, where Dads are eating breakfast in bed and doing family stuff. An enjoyable day for many, and a reflective day for others. Father’s Day was never a big thing in our family. According to my dad, Father’s Day is a bad idea – fathers should be celebrated everyday!…

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