New Pattern: Xanthea Zero Waste T-shirt
Hi Everyone, I have a new pattern: introducing Xanthea, a zero waste t-shirt.
It’s in my Etsy shop now; please enjoy 25% off for the next month.
The Xanthea t-shirt comes in nineteen sizes, to fit a 86cm/34″ bust to a 177cm/70″. The fit is loose and slightly boxy.
It’s designed for knit fabrics such as t-shirt knit, jersey and French terry. Knit fabric versions feature a zip in-seam pocket.
The pattern can also be made in wovens such as linen, tencel, viscose, lawn, chambray and boiled wool.
Included is a long sleeve option which isn’t zero waste; it’s low waste and designed to leave you with useable rectangular offcuts.
Xanthea has an unusual construction. The body hangs on the bias with an X-shaped seam across the front. The pattern comes with a little paper model to cut out and tape together to understand how the pattern is constructed:
I think I might have two world “firsts” with Xanthea. I believe this is the first modern zero waste sewing pattern to go up to a 177cm/70″ bust and the first to feature a plus-size model in the primary image.
Here’s a gallery of Xanthea tops:
I already knew the dimensions of the top and specifically dyed the fabric for it.
This pattern sprang from an online zero waste workshop I attended which was hosted by Zero Waste Design Online. The presenter was Danielle Elsener (who you might remember developed a zero waste scrubs pattern last year). It was worth getting up at 3am for!
I find “everyday basics” such as t-shirts, jeans etc difficult to do zero waste, because there’s an expected outcome. In the workshop we walked through a design process to identify attributes of a t-shirt, which ultimately resulted in a design brief to make something that’s recognizable to anyone as a t-shirt. The process could apply to any item.
Cheers!
UPDATE: see this pattern in stripes and as a fleecy top.
Awesome! Spread the word! Can‘t wait to try it out!
Many thanks Juliana 🙂
Lovely design. I love the narrative too 🙂 inside out police 😀
Thanks Deepa – I don’t think they knew about exposed seams 🙂
Very nice Idea. Good job work I like.
Cheers!
Love it. Off to buy the pattern !!
Thanks so much Anne 🙂
Beautiful design
Thanks Tracy 🙂 I wondered if this could be a good candidate for hand woven fabric?
Great blog today, Liz.
Well done and keep up the good work.
Photos are great.
Thanks Anthea, and thanks for all your help.
Hi
So beautiful design. I like nice job work. Nice photo.
Thanks Barkat 🙂
I’m getting ready to make this! I’m a bit concerned that the armhole opening will not be large enough for me (36 cm), though it seems to be roomy enough for those wearing it in the pics. If I need to cut the armhole larger, how do I figure out the short sleeve measurements so they will fit the larger opening?
Thanks for your help in advance.
P.S I’ve made several of your garments and love your designs!
Hi Susan, you could cut a bigger sleeve size. There’s 1/4″ (6mm) more armhole depth per size. Then you could make the armhole slit larger to suit. I hope this helps!
Hi Liz,
Thank you for responding to my question. ☺️ As it turned out, I had to read the instructions more carefully, and the measurement I was concerned about was only the initial opening of the armhole area to ease the sewing of the neck binding.
It’s all figured out, and my top looks and fits great! I’m on to making my second one. I love it!
I so appreciate your work, talent and creativity !
Excellent! So glad it worked well for you.