Zero Waste Patterns: 20 Projects to Sew Your Own Wardrobe

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As before, this isn’t a simple question to answer. The reality is that many clothing factories are already producing “regular” patterns in a minimal waste manner as it reduces overheads, so you could be wearing a minimal waste garment from the high street already. I am going to focus on the home sewist rather than commercial garment design as that is the target audience for this post, and examine the concept of creating clothing that is both useful and environmentally sustainable. When making a zero waste pattern, it’s important not to have set ideas or expectations about what the outcome will be (as I discovered making zero waste jeans). It’s by doing and seeing what emerges that brings the design direction. There is an added benefit of discovering interesting new design details and silhouettes which you might not have otherwise. Serendipity – making fortunate discoveries by accident – plays an important part in zero waste patternmaking. From my own zero waste experiments, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at just how economical zero waste patterns can be. I’ve found they all use less fabric, often significantly less. When we use don’t waste any fabric, we get the full use of what we do have.The designer needs to be the patternmaker as well, or have a knowledge of patternmaking, and experience with cutting layouts is also needed. Images that give a sense of the size of the product ("This refrigerator is actually 6' tall", "A cellphone the size of a credit card") The time varies depending on the speed of your Internet connection and the size of the image file. For a 400KB image, for example, you should expect 2 to 4 minutes over a 56KB modem and under 1 minute for DSL or cable modem. Zero waste will continue to grow with innovation and experimentation. It’s a small part of the bigger picture of using our resources wisely, taking care of the environment, and valuing fabric and clothes. Zero Waste Sewing Pattern Designers Reducing “fashion miles” – the distance a garment and its component parts travel through the supply chain – is also on the sewists’ agenda. The starting point for the newly opened Mend Assembly in Totnes, Devon – a two‑storey centre offering a makers’ space, dressmaking workshops, repairs and upcycling – was “clothing localism”, says its co-founder, Joss Whipple.

Do zero-waste patterns use more fabric than regular patterns? This is something often heard, and fabric yield is a subject that’s been discussed at length. Should we be trying to use less fabric? Certainly, historic zero-waste patterns (for example, kimonos, caftans, the main part of saris, etc.) aren’t necessarily economical on fabric; many are voluminous and showcase fabulous textiles, displaying the skill of the weaver. With modern zero-waste patterns, the results vary. My own experience reveals that most are very economical on fabric, some with significant savings of up to 25 percent or more, giving a very compelling reason for pursuing zero waste in the fashion industry. As mentioned earlier, my next post will look at just a few of my makes, and the patterns I have tried in the hope that I can inspire some Sewcialist readers/followers to give it a go themselves. SIZE CHART SIZE TWO: Chest/bust 105-128cm / 41-50", waist 85-110cm / 34-42", hip 109-135cm / 43-53" I think that really zero-waste is a bit of a red herring. As several people have said, clever pattern placement can result in a better item more likely to be used because of the fit. I see that many of the zero waste patterns look best on the tall and slim, often with a smaller bust. These would be unsuitable for a lot of body types.The only negative point (if you can call it that) of zero waste is that it requires an exact amount of fabric and if you are using stashed fabrics, which is my preference, you almost never have that exact amount of fabric required. Pattern Tetris is not a possibility, so you always have to select a piece of fabric that is perhaps bigger than required. This means that there will be leftover fabric, although it is generally a symmetrical shape, which is useful for other garments/makes. As I am not buying fabric I do spend an inordinate amount of time burrowing in my stash looking for the perfect fabric for my makes. I am always surprised that I can usually find something that will work. Etsy. If you're looking for one-off, unique pieces (particularly vintage), Etsy is the way to go. It's definitely more of a hunt, but if you're into that... it can be a lot of fun. Plus, as most of the patterns are made using your own personal body measurements, the garments can be whatever size you are. I hope you have enjoyed this post on where to find patterns to sew your own zero waste wardrobe. I love to post all sorts of articles about sustainable sewing. So if you have loved this, why not read about At its heart, it's an oxymoron. You can't produce new things and ever be "zero waste". But just like the zero waste movement as a whole, it's more about the spirit of attempting harm reduction toward the planet than anything else.

Schnitten Patterns have two zero waste patterns and I’m definitely going to give them a try. What seems to be different about these patterns is that you get an actual pattern and one size fits most. If you’d like to make use of a larger piece of fabric or have a hankering for a shopping excursion, you can still sew more sustainably with zero-waste garments. Some of our favorites are listed below! Zero waste sewing patterns have the potential to revolutionize the fashion industry, combining sustainability and size inclusivity in an inspiring way. By adopting these patterns, we can contribute towards reducing fabric waste and offering clothing options that cater to a diverse range of body shapes. Let’s embrace zero waste design principles and start sewing our own zero waste clothing on our way toward a more sustainable and inclusive future. Zero waste pattern cutting is a bit like a puzzle. It is a method of pattern drafting where you utilise a length of fabric end to end by strategically planning your pattern pieces so that everything is used. This pattern is ‘paperless’ meaning that no large pattern pieces are required. Instead of using full scale paper pattern pieces, you draw your pattern directly onto your fabric with the aid of a cutting plan and small templates. With the exception of some small templates, this zero waste pattern has no pattern pieces. You will draw the pattern directly onto your fabric by following the step-by-step instructions in the pattern booklet and using small templates which you can print easily on your home printer – as you’ve seen the Bees do!Zero waste pattern cutting is a bit like a puzzle. It is a method of pattern drafting where you utilise a length of fabric end to end by strategically planning your pattern pieces so that everything is used. This pattern is ‘PAPERLESS’ meaning that no printing of large pattern pieces is required. Instead of using full scale paper patterns, you draw your pattern pieces directly onto your fabric with the aid of a cutting plan and small templates. We love working with this method for 3 reasons: When talking about sustainability in the fashion industry (and, by extension, in home sewing), one of the concepts that comes up often is zero-waste design (or sewing patterns). It’s a very interesting approach, that looks at the pattern cutting process in a completely different way, resulting in shapes that are functional, simple looking, but also very cleverly assembled at the same time. The Spritz is a flattering, relaxed dress perfect for hot summer days and vacations. This very simple design can be dressed up or down, or worn as a cover-up over swimwear. Oh so comfortable, the Spritz Dress will become your go-to weekend outfit in no time. The Spritz is designed to be worn belted, with either a matching length of cord or a commercially made belt. For example, the white tie front top in the book Zero Waste Sewing is cut from a mere 112cm x 112cm of fabric for up to a size 16/42″ bust (and will also fit a 46″ bust, just with less ease). In another example, I’m doing a long sleeve blouse at the moment and I think I can do it in 160cm x 112cm. These are significant fabric savings which make zero waste worth pursuing in the interests of using less of our resources in the first place. Companies or designers who may use recovered materials, work reduce waste, and take responsibility for their clothing's end-of-life;

We are sharing every reusable sewing pattern we could find for you. The beauty of no waste sewing patterns like these is that it will save money over time while allowing you to remove items from your shopping list. That is a very good question Christine and one that has been discussed at length: should we be paying attention to fabric yield and what is the point of the exercise if a zero waste garment uses more that a regular garment (or the same as a regular garment)? I thought I would talk about how I make a zero waste pattern and show you an example from the book. My Pattern Project dress takes a painstaking four hours to sew, although a professional could make it in an hour. The experience gives me a new appreciation of the skilled stitchwork of millions of unthanked garment workers around the world. “The more you make for yourself, the more you realise the time and effort it takes to make things – and how cheap things are on the high street, compared with how long it takes,” says Azmi. “The value people place on fashion has been diminished because of cost.” The value people place on fashion has been diminished because of cost Atia Azmi I thought I loved this pattern even before I saw @Sewlike‘s wonderful scrap-busting make. This woven dress and tank top design is fitted through the high bust and loose through the bust, waist and hips. Women’s sizes 0 to 30 are offered with two bust-cup options (A/B bust 32 inches to 56 inches, C/D bust 34 inches to 58 inches, waist 25 inches to 49 inches, hip 35 inches to 59 inches).By upcycling or reusing old fabric it reduces our carbon footprint and is so much more cost-effective. However, were you to be making garments from new fabric there are some more sustainable fabric choices for zero waste sewing: eco-friendly textiles that are suitable for zero-waste projects include organic cotton, linen and hemp. Zero waste patterns design out the waste. It takes longer to make a pattern this way but it’s very rewarding. The pattern’s curved lines nest into each other, with the concave parts matching the convex ones. My early experiments with zero-waste patterns included zero-waste jeans, shorts, leggings, pajama bottoms, a wrap skirt, and more. I got better as I went along. The more zero-waste patterns I made, the more my brain seemed to switch into the puzzle-solving mode to think of solutions. I’ve since tried out other designers’ patterns for scrubs, underpants, bras, and trousers. I hadn’t thought things like underpants were possible to make zero waste until this year!