April 2024
Reflections after A Year of Zero Waste Sewing, FREE hat pattern, and some links you'll enjoy
Hi Everyone!
Welcome to the April newsletter, and a special hello to new subscribers.
The Year of Zero Waste Sewing book is now well and truly out in the world. I must say, the past month has been stressful - it seemed like anything that could go wrong did. There was an issue at the printers which took weeks to resolve, the books for pre-sales ended up the wrong Australia Post depot (thought lost), the internet was down for 8 days and we ended up changing providers, and more. But that is now all in the past and I’m glad!
This book had an unusual publishing route, as it was experimentally published as zines over the past two years, before it became a proper book. Apart from being a very enjoyable way to publish (highly recommended!), it has made me reflect on what I really like doing and what my strengths are. In summary, I enjoy patternmaking, writing about it, sewing, and illustrating (in that order). I’m not so hot on making videos, which is why I’m not a YouTube sensation! Haha!
A Year of Zero Waste Sewing isn't having an official book launch; it’s not really compatible with my Long Covid “lifestyle”. However, my children thought I should have THIS kind of book launch - skip to the 6:21min mark to see what they’re talking about. By a crazy co-incidence, the font in my book is called Trebuchet. (That last sentence should tell you what kind of book launch.)
How to get this book: if you’re an Australian resident, you can order direct from me here and I’ll send it the same or next business day. For the rest of the world, order it in your own country via online booksellers or from your local bookshop (the distributor is Ingram).
Sunhat pattern
After over a year in the pursuit of a zero waste sunhat, I’ve managed a sunhat with less than 5% waste! By comparison, the free bucket hat pattern on my website has around 35% waste.
The sunhat comes in 5 sizes (54cm-56-58-60-62) and works fine for striped fabrics and one-way prints. Interestingly, the % of waste is less for bigger sizes, which is the opposite of conventional patterns.
If you’d like to try this pattern for FREE, I’ll be presenting it at the Making Zen Online Retreat 27th-31th May 2024. Registrations aren’t open yet but put it in your diary! This is a free event featuring 20 artists who will present video workshops over 5 days (4 artists each day) on a range of subjects such as embroidery, mending, botanical printing, fibre art, Sashiko stitching and more. If you’re home-schooling, this is a great resource for learning crafts.
My presentation is part sew-a-long and part design discussion, including a show-and-tell of the design process for this hat.
In zero waste news….
Some cool new designs.
Got a coat without a hood? Alexis of Fibr & Cloth Studio has a detachable hood which folds up into its own built-in pocket.
A very cute-looking bag from Baguettes, the bow bag is a fun sew!
Coming soon: Optimatium. This pattern was featured in issue #9 of Tauko magazine back in October, and the copyright has now reverted to me.
I’ll be offering it as a pdf pattern soon, and am currently re-grading it in 19 sizes, from a 34” bust to a 70”. It’s taking a bit of time, partly as I’ve been busy with the new book, and partly because my poor old pattern software is practically having a hernia with that many sizes. It’s not designed for making zero waste patterns, so there’s a lot of workarounds to get the tessellating pattern piece to fit back with itself.
Some things you might enjoy
An interview with Jacqueline West, costume designer for Dune. I remember there were a lot of “Wow!” costume moments in this movie.
Make a seam guide for your sewing machine using Lego (and blu tack).
AI patternmaking for anyone, using Aiclo. Watch a demonstration on YouTube (4:12mins); it looks very easy to use. Patternmaker Agnes Somogyi has tried it out (Instagram).
Further on from last month's link to grandmas using shortbread tins for sewing supplies: an article on the disappointment as a child on opening the tin to see only sewing gear.
Also last month I noted that Diane Von Furstenburg's iconic wrap dress pattern had been re-issued by Simplicity/Vogue. Martha of Buried Diamond blog, who once worked at DVF in New York, has just made one.
International Women's Day has been and gone, but I was featured in Zen Stitching’s IWD celebratory post.
Zero waste designer Birgitta Helmersson interviewed (YouTube 29mins).
Martin Greenfield, considered by many to be the best tailor in the US, has died. I read his amazing autobiography and reviewed it here.
A 200-year-old sweater in a traditional Faroese knit has been discovered in a parcel among a stash of 19th Century letters at the National Archives in London.
The white shirt worn by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice has been sold at auction for £25,000, along with other famous costumes.
Make Kathryn's zero waste bias Pythagoras dress (on my bucket list). YouTube, 4 videos.
French lawmakers have approved a bill to penalize fast fashion, aimed at helping offset their environmental impact.
On the blog lately
A roundup of the past month’s blog posts from my website, lizhaywood.com.au.
Feel free to subscribe to my blog for weekly posts direct to your inbox, however, if you don’t need more emails in your life, I always do a roundup here.
Celebrating 8 glorious years of blogging! In which I present the top 8 most popular posts.
Publishing Day for A Year of Zero Waste Sewing.
How to dress a teenager, with some great nostalgia in the comments section.
From the blog archives
We live in a wool growing area, and way back in 2016 a neighbour invited us to their shearing shed to watch sheep being shorn. I didn’t mention in the blog post that while we were there, the bale in the wool press was full and it was time to close the top and take it out. Unfortunately, one of the bag’s flaps was tucked in, and they had to pull out all the wool to fix it. There was a lot of wool! The farmers were literally thigh-deep in fleece!
Cheers!
Liz x
I just looked at the AI video for making a customised pattern. I imagine in the future you no longer browse pattern catalogues or purchase a pattern from your favourite designer but use the AI app to make a specific pattern for yourself. It boggles the mind what our children / grandchildren world will be like in the future.
You should definitely have a trebuchet book launch!