It’s time for another theme month! This February we are exploring zero waste sewing, and we invite you to join us!
So what is zero waste sewing? In short, it’s making use of every bit of fabric in your project. It is good for the environment, and good for the wallet too!
Here’s how you can join our Zero Waste Theme Month:
- Sew a zero waste pattern! There are a growing number of free and purchasable patterns which are designed to use every inch of fabric. This Seamwork article does a good job explaining and showing some examples, and a Google search will show you more!
- Make a low waste garment! There are lots of ways to reduce the amount of waste left over from a standard garment pattern, like using secret seams or colour blocking with leftovers from other projects.
- Scrapbusting projects! Use leftovers from previous projects so that nothing is thrown away. For example, the People’s Sewing Army run by our new editor Denise asks sewists to use scraps to make little projects for the benefit of charity. Or, you could use your scraps to make undies, kid clothes, quilts, colour-blocked clothing, or as stuffing for a soft toy or pouf!
Want to do even more? We’ll be looking for a total of six volunteers to write a post about a zero/low waste sewing project. Look out for that call for contributors coming soon.
Our Zero Waste Theme Month will run all through February, and all you have to do to join is sew or refashion something using low waste techniques. Tag us #sewcialistszerowaste on Instagram if you’d like to be included in the month-end round up. We are excited to see what kind of projects you come up with, from traditional to modern, complex or simple!
Let us know below: What zero waste project are you inspired to make?
[…] mehr als in der Luft. Gerade hat z. B. der Community Blog Sewcialists als nächstes Monatsthema Zero Waste Sewing! angekündigt. In der vierten und fünften Runde von Fails! hatte ich das Thema Refashion/Upcycling […]
I’m going to make a sleeve roll stuffed with cut up pieces of my offcuts. I tend to sew with natural fibers so I think they will make a great stuffing once I’ve cut them up and compacted them. The outer fabric will be scraps from a previous project as well.
That’s such a clever project!
Over 40 years ago in a class for sewing knits I made a pressing ham. It was stuffed with cut-up bits of damp wool fabric that had been put in a mesh bag, wet & spin-dried in the washer. (Wet fabric compacts better than dry fabric.) Then the ham had to hang in a mesh bag in a warm, dry place until it, too, was dry. One side of the ham was canvas, the other wool. I use it still.
This will be the first challenge I’ve participated in – perfect time for it!
Welcome on board! Hope you have fun! Remember, rules and deadlines are made to be broken 😉. The important thing is having fun!
Ah I think I’ll finally make a tailors ham using some scraps (or cabbage as history bounders call it – coleslaw is scraps cut into stuffing! haha). I also really want to make a closet core pouf – I’ve been saving pieces from my sewing to use as the outer pieces.
That sounds perfect!!
I love this idea. I have a bunch of things I’d like to sew in the next few months but I would like to try and use all my left overs.
I recently made a dinosaur tail for my little nephew and have been using the off cuts of fabric to make embroidered Christmas tree decorations (decorations for the tree but also in the shape of Christmas trees)
Trying to think of other things I can make with small scraps. I think I can manage some cat toys and maybe some toy sculptures. They’d be too small for kids I think but should be fine to sit on my shelf.
With some of the bigger pieces of natural fiber fabrics I make hand warmers/heat packs. I have a few different shapes for these. Small square ones for hands, new ones that you can actually wear like wrist warmers/mitts. I have some for wearing around my neck & shoulders but that needs more fabric. I generally use jeans where I’ve worn through the inner thigh for that. Off cuts generally aren’t big enough.
That sounds great!
I’m always sceptical about the true value of zero waste patterns as I think it’s even more eco friendly to get a slimmer fitting garment out of the same yardage and end up with lots of useful scraps! That said, I have a few too many at the moment and desperately need to make some big floor cushions to fill. Boot stuffers are another good thing to stuff with scraps.
[…] dress was made in those magical days between Christmas and New Year. I am a bit early for the Sewcialists theme for February of zero waste […]
Hey, y’all! i use ugly scraps up by making pet quilts (animals are color-bllind) which i donate to our local SPCA shelter. They use them in the bottom of the cages to keep the inmates warmer and maybe give some comforting. The pretty scraps go into quilts for people, and are always well-received.–anne