Well, what a month it’s been in February! We launched Zero Waste month, with the hashtag #sewcialistszerowaste on Instagram, and are so excited with the way that the community has embraced this theme; it’s been so heartening that so many of you share our concern for the environment and sustainability and the enthusiasm for the creativity that comes from trying to not waste a scrap of fabric.
We’ve had a series of blog posts, podcasts with SewOrganisedStyle, and a plethora of instagram posts. We’ve loved how you’ve embraced the theme, got as excited as we are and discovered so many new zero waste patterns. We have well over 100 instagram posts tagged with the #sewcialistszerowaste which relate directly to our themes of zero/minimal waste, scrap busting and repurposing. That is so inspiring! Let’s have a look at some of the aspects covered:
- We had a blog post on a textile recycling project.
- Several posts featuring scrap busting; check out this one with Ziggysplayhouse.
- Size inclusivity is a major consideration and Kim McBrien Evans wrote an excellent article about how changing the orientation of the fabric or joining the fabric can increase the size range of many zero waste patterns. Kim made Liz Haywood’s Smith Pinafore.
- We had a wonderful introduction to zero waste sewing across the cultures by Cris Wood, a zero/minimal waste pattern designer.
- We discovered a whole new area of recycling called “Trashion”. This made our hearts beat faster, and Keira shows us a blazer she made and embellished with bottles pulled from the ocean. She gives step by step instructions to turn recycled plastic bottles into flowers. Perhaps one of you could create a garment with embellishments like this — how cool is it? Some of the Sewcialists team are definitely going to try it!
This is just a small sample of the blog posts on Zero/Minimal Waste sewing, by both designers and sewists. Go and check out the others! We are sure you’ll love the innovation and creativity.
Instagram threw up a vast array of zero waste makes, and again, only a very small sample can be included here, but we loved each and every one of them.
@naaiatelierkrul made the Liz Haywood blouson top from Zero Waste Sewing.
This lovely dress is an open source (read free) pattern from Tissuni. This one is by @alifeofitsewn. This pattern just made it on to my queue!
@goldfinch.limited called for pattern testers for her new zero waste pattern, with a good range of sizes.
@mimiandmacca has been making the Elbe Textiles Maynard dress from recycled fabric, and enjoying the struggle!
@annapikadiy has made the Brumer dress from @milan_avjc, who is part of the @zwdo_collective, a group of designers who are exploring zero waste both commercially and for home sewists.
Pattern Union gave us a sneak peak of a new pattern to be released soon. This one includes optional extra skills such as embroidery and smocking
And finally @Sagner_by_kristen showed us how to play pattern Tetris to minimise fabric waste.
That leads nicely into the whole concept of scrap busting, and there are so many wonderful examples on both the Sewcialists blog and Instagram.
This lovely coat by @bashfulleo is made completely from scraps. Those scraps are so beautifully placed.
Tricia of @morrissews made a dress completely from scraps she had. The dress is also zero waste, again from Liz Haywood’s Zero Waste Sewing. Does this make it zero waste squared?!
Then there was the story-telling by Denise Archer on her Made with Love and Total Domination series, which I loved. Check out her dolls and the story behind them!
I also did a post on scrap busting, showing a variety of items from a dog’s snuffle (olfactory) rug, to puzzle balls for children, as well as posts on Zero Waste makes and Zero Waste sewing.
On Instagram, the posts just kept coming in and included this lovely jacket made from scraps by @nataliecsews, who embellished with flowers inspired by local cherry blossom. Sigh!
It was nice to see that the family pets aren’t left out of the scrap busting — here is @annetteart1, who made a beautiful jacket for her pup from a padded sleeve cut off a coat, a sample piece of tweed and remnant bits of a fleece blanket. I want one!
And finally, how good are these slippers by @diypatterns? These could be made for large and small people and would be fabulous for those small scraps of fabric. Off to investigate!
Then we had the podcasts that went with the theme. Maria from SewOrganisedStyle did a marvellous job interviewing Liz Haywood and Denise Archer, as well as an interview with Anniemieke about her sustainable weaving mill.
Finally, I was contacted by Emily Handler to say that she’s been compiling a list of zero waste patterns, which is such a useful resource. She has identified 100 patterns so far — let’s help her to find more. This is such a great initiative! She’s identified sizes, garment type, fabric type, price and type of pattern, which is so useful for filtering. Thank you so much for letting me know, Emily, and congratulations!
Sue lives in beautiful Western Australia where the weather is most conducive to making easy to wear zero waste garments. She is retired (so has lots of time) and blogs at Fadanista.com and is on Instagram @suestoney.
Great round up post about Zero Waste Sue. There is always something we can do to contribute to reducing waste.
Thank you Maria, I agree!