Zero Waste Underpants

Zero Waste Underpants

Yep, on the weekend I made a pair of zero waste underpants. The pattern is by Zero Waste Wardrobe; it’s a free pattern that’s part of a personal design project by clothing and costume designer Saara Jolkkonen. The mission of the project is to provide a free (creative commons licensed) collection of zero waste patterns…

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Free pattern: zero waste ruffle tank

Free pattern zero waste Ruffle tank

It’s been nearly a year since this blog offered a free pattern, so ladies and gentlemen, I give you the zero waste ruffle tank. The ruffle tank is a summer top in 15 sizes, and very simple to make. UPDATE: I’ve since made this top as a dress here. It suits lightweight fabrics such as…

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Making Holly McQuillan’s zero waste spiral trousers

Holly McQuillans spiral trousers

In the world of zero waste pattern cutting, Holly McQuillan’s spiral trousers are considered a must-do/bucket list pattern. These unusual trousers have been on my mind for some time, but I didn’t feel brave enough to try them until I saw Sue Stoney’s blog post on them and saw Holly demonstrate how they’re constructed at…

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New pattern: the zero waste Cendre Top

Cendre Top zero waste

Hello Everyone, I have a new zero waste pattern: introducing the Cendre Top. It’s in my little Etsy shop now; please enjoy 25% off during November. This pattern comes in 12 sizes, from an 87cm/34″ bust to a 142cm/56″ and can be made in bigger sizes if needed. The pattern pieces are drawn straight onto…

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The knit fabric experiment

The zero waste hoodie top pattern is almost here! Are you sick of hearing about it yet?! (No? Last week’s post is here.) The pattern is with the Editor at the moment, getting checked, wormed and vaccinated before it’s released into the world. So this is a short blog post to show you the knit…

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As it happens: designing a zero waste top (part 1)

zero waste top toile cut out

Many pattern designers and authors, including moi, like to keep their projects under wraps until it’s ready to show. Often it’s to stop someone pinching their idea before they bring it to fruition, but sometimes it’s because they aren’t sure of the outcome or how long it’s going to take. Over the next several weeks…

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New zero waste pattern: Clair Skirt

Clair skirt zero waste orange cotton drill

Hello All, Introducing my new zero waste pattern: the Clair skirt. This skirt pattern is for sale in my Etsy shop. Please enjoy 25% off for the month of July. The Clair skirt + bag, hat or apron is zero waste; the offcuts from the skirt are used to sew an accessory. It’s an example…

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Breezy wrists: revisiting the zero waste Jedi coat

Regular readers of this blog may remember the zero waste coat that looked like a Jedi costume. It was adapted from the tessellated coat + dress from Zero Waste Sewing. Here’s the coat from the book: It was one of those garments which I was very happy with and thought I’d nailed every aspect: pattern,…

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Making Danielle Elsener’s zero waste scrub top

Making Danielle Elsener's zero waste scrub top

The free scrub pattern I did last week led me to Danielle Elsener of DECODECODECODE’s zero waste scrubs, and I thought I’d give them a go. I’m fascinated that two patternmakers living on opposite sides of the Earth both endeavoured to make zero waste scrubs, took very different approaches, and produced such different-looking patterns which…

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Free pattern: scrubs

Free pattern scrubs for men and women

Folks, there’s a shortage of hospital scrubs in the world. There’s a shortage in Australia, in the UK, and no doubt in other countries too. This week I attempted to make a zero waste scrubs pattern. (The full pattern is at the end of this post – beset by technical difficulties, the only way I…

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