Making a zero waste bra

Last week I shared my bra-making exploits which led to trying to make a zero waste bra pattern. The prototype got worn this week. The fit was fine and the pattern works – Yay! There were some problems to report though: I used an elastic that was too rough next to the skin and I…

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Brrrr! A sundress in June

Sundress in June

Yep, it’s a bit chilly for sundress wearing here in southern Australia, but I made this dress as a Sew together for Summer Instagram sewing challenge. Obviously the theme works better for the Northern Hemisphere! The idea is to sew a sundress and post a photo using #sewtogetherforsummer. If you also use #s21entry, you could…

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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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Scrapbag confessions

Scrapbag confessions

This was going to be a post about my home sewing scrap bag, and the result of doing zero waste sewing, but it turned out I couldn’t really measure the effect because I didn’t start with a clean slate. To explain: at the beginning of 2020, after dallying with zero waste for several years, I…

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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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Zero waste with hand woven fabric

Ashford spiral skirt

Last year I had a very special sewing experience: I got to sew hand woven fabric for the first time. The fabric was woven by Tracy of Knit-Spin-Weave, our local yarn shop. You may remember she made a zero waste bolero in hand woven fabric for the Zero Waste Sewing blog tour. I dropped in…

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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 Compact Backpack (zero waste)

The Compact Backpack

Hi Everyone, I have a new zero waste pattern: The Compact Backpack. It’s in my little Etsy shop now; please enjoy 25% off during February. The Compact Backpack is compact in two ways: Firstly, the pattern pieces fit exactly into a 105cm/41⅜” x 64cm/25¼” rectangle with zero waste. And, if you make the backpack in…

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Yay! It’s finished! Introducing the Sawyer Hoodie

zero waste Sawyer hoodie

Hey, it’s finally done! A new zero waste pattern. Thanks for reading each week as the project unfolded. The pattern is now in my shop – please enjoy 25% off until the end of September. The Sawyer hoodie comes in 12 sizes, from an 87cm/34″ bust/chest to a 142cm/56″. Making multiple sizes has has been…

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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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