Posts Tagged ‘patternmaking’
Tutorial: Tessellating Pattern Pieces
Tessellating is a concept I use sometimes when making zero waste patterns. It’s one way to add curves to a pattern. In this post I’m going to show you how I do this, and some examples of tessellated sewing patterns. This is a fairly long post, so settle in 🙂 Tessellations are shapes that fit…
Read MoreFree Pattern: Zero Waste Eye Mask, and how to sew one.
The zero waste eye mask quest is now complete. I’m very happy with how the mask turned out, and my teen and I have been wearing the samples for the past week. If you’d like to embark on your own quest, I’m here with the pattern, instructions and handy hints 🙂 Read about this pattern…
Read MoreTesting out the new zero waste eyemask
Following last week’s eye mask quest post, I’ve sewn a proper sample to trial. Actually, I sewed two (and was going to make a joke about a double-blind trial, reducing bias, but it all sounded funnier in my head). The reason I sewed two was to try out the suggestions in last week’s comments for…
Read MoreThe Quest for the Perfect Eye Mask
In my childhood, eye masks were only worn by Americans on TV. Carol Brady wore one, so did Maxwell Smart and Holly Golightly. It was something only worn by pampered movie stars. No-one I knew wore one. After all, we’ve got eyelids haven’t we? Isn’t it dark when we go to sleep? But somehow I’m…
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…
Read MoreNew 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…
Read MoreCuriosity and the Two Hats
(or the boring title: An analysis of textile wastage and yield: a case study comparison of two head coverings.) Lately I wondered how much of a fabric saving the zero waste warm hat delivers, compared to a conventional pattern. The zero waste warm hat is a new pattern, and the culmination of 18 months of…
Read MoreFinished! Optimatium Denim Coat
This past week I’ve been busy sewing a coat version of the Optimatium dress. The Optimatium dress is a zero waste pattern which appeared in Tauko magazine last year, and is now a pdf pattern in extended sizes. The pattern is in my shop – please enjoy 25% off until June 26th. For the coat,…
Read MoreOptimatium in Denim (Part 1)
A conversation with my tech editor last week, combined with the happenstance of surplus-to-requirements denim in the house, let to cutting out a denim Optimatium pattern on the weekend. The Optimatium dress is a zero waste pattern which appeared in Tauko magazine last year, and is now a pdf pattern in extended sizes. The pattern…
Read MoreOn Designing a Zero Waste Hat
The Making Zen Online Retreat is coming up at the end of this month (it’s free – register here and read more). I’m presenting a sew-a-long for a low waste sunhat. The idea of a zero waste hat has been rolling around in my mind for the past year+, and I’d planned to talk about…
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