A Year of Zero Waste Sewing

Liz Haywood presents an eclectic collection of zero waste patterncutting techniques, ideas for garment longevity, mythbusting and stories from zero waste designers. Discover innovative strategies for making zero waste patterns and reducing waste within a bigger picture of responsible fashion. Step-by-step instructions for five projects are included: a jacket, satchel, dress and two tops.

Australian residents can order direct from me here. For the rest of the world, it’s available to order in your own country via online booksellers or from your local bookshop (the distributor is Ingram).

Here’s a flip through:

A Year of Zero Waste Sewing contains 5 sewing projects, which are:

Modular jacket (March), to fit 20 sizes B32″-B70″. Read about this pattern here. Here’s one cut from an old army blanket. Another version used for a Cruella fancy dress costume. One cut from three pairs of old jeans which was finally finished here. UPDATE this jacket now has a hooded version with video sew-a-long.
Tiny satchel (May). Includes video sew-a-long. Read about this pattern here.
Eura dress, an historical zw pattern (July), in any size as it’s cut to your measurements. Includes video sew-a-long. Read about this pattern here. I made a winter nightdress using this pattern.
Bias cut top or dress (September), 17 sizes B30″-B62″. Includes video sew-a-long. Read about this pattern here.
Pleated top or dress (December), 19 sizes B34″-B70″. Includes video sew-a-long. Read about this pattern here. Here’s six ways to wear it.


This book was originally published experimentally in instalments as zines over 2022 and 2023. These are still available (here). January is free and can be downloaded here.

Read about this project here. Read about February and March here. Read about April and May here. Read about June, July and August here. Read about September and October here. Read about November and December here. The zines with patterns in them are March (modular jacket), May (tiny satchel), July (Eura dress), September (bias halter neck top/dress) and December (pleated top).


A few FAQs:

The book almost the same as the complete collection of zines. There are a few font changes, the sewing instructions are a little more spread out since they aren’t confined to the zine format, and some of the Zero Waste Stories have been updated.

It’s not necessary to have access to a printer to make any of the projects in the book. Some of the patterns are a drawn straight onto the fabric, some are drawn onto the fabric with the aid of included templates and others are drafted by you onto paper first. However, if you prefer pdf printables there is also that option.

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