December 2023
The Craft of Clothes staff Christmas party, zero waste news and some great links
Hi Everyone!
Welcome to the December newsletter, and a special hello to new subscribers.
The Craft of Clothes staff Christmas party has been and gone. Being a one-woman business it’s just me, however Mr H joined me this time and one of the chickens gatecrashed.
I wore a dress version of the pleated top, the pattern in the December zine (see below), with a Christmas necklace and rubber boots to hide the forest that is my hairy legs.
The refreshments were rather dull, as I’ve cut out sugar, chocolate and booze, and was 2 days into a fast (for Long Covid) so I sipped water and Mr H supplied his own drinks, and it was a very short party, but with a lot of hilarity.
A Year of Zero Waste Sewing
The last two zines are getting their final edit and proofread, with a projected finishing date of mid-December. Yes, I know - finally!!!!! I kind of wondered if I would ever reach the end!
As well as these, I’ve done two smaller zines for the front and back matter if you want to handbind all the months together to make a book. They’ll be ready at the same time.
A Year of Zero Waste Sewing is a book I'm experimentally publishing in instalments as e-zines. It’s an eclectic mix of zero waste patternmaking, ideas for garment longevity, sewing patterns, FAQs and stories from zero waste designers. Its intention is to give practical ways of making zero waste patterns and reducing waste within a bigger picture of responsible fashion.
It will be formatted into an actual book (like you would buy in a bookshop) early in 2024, if you’re interested but don’t do zines.
"January" is complimentary - read more and download it here. [Note that this zine was updated on the 6th December 2023.]
In zero waste news…
Two new zero waste patterns have been released.
The Friend Vest is SewSoyBean’s first pattern and it’s a beauty. Huge range of sizes up to a 70” bust, collar options and reversible. Lots of great versions on Instagram.
Emily Handler of Empty Hanger patterns has released the Eccles cardigan, a free/pay what you can pattern. It’s a classic wardrobe-staple crew necked cardigan with 3/4 or long sleeves.
I want to make both of these!
Some things you might enjoy
A podcast + article about colour and dye. (50mins)
These garments spent almost 4 centuries under the sea, on a shipwreck, and are now on display in the Kaap Skil museum in the Netherlands. Click on the links in the article to see more photos of each garment.
Plastic-free sportswear. How an outdoors clothing brand switched from Gore-Tex, polyamide and polyester to high-performance merino wool and cotton.
Jackets worn by Michael Jackson (for the Pepsi ads) and George Michael (I Knew You were Waiting with Aretha Franklin) sold at auction.
Will rivets on jeans be a thing of the past? Rivets were originally used to reinforce the jeans, but modern stitching has made them purely decorative. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign Guidelines says metal rivets should be “designed out” or “reduced to a minimum”. A history of jeans rivets is here.
Some of Princess Diana's outfits, worn by her in different ways or completely remodeled. On the subject of Princess Diana, her chiffon engagement blouse is coming up for auction, expected to go for $100K.
How discarded clothes can be turned into paint. (YouTube, 3:43mins)
Are you a quilter? Zak Foster offers best tips for photographing your quilt.
The World Famous Crochet Museum in California - surely this is the cutest museum ever!
A very neat way for dealing with the yarn ends in Fair Isle knitting.
Is anyone surprised? BooHoo breaks promises on ethical overhaul. In related news, Oxfam Australia's Christmas wish list for garment workers.
In other news…
Can you assist Yvonne Zhang with her masters project? It’s a tight schedule but if you have time this week, the details are here:
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.
Are you making gifts for people? Here are 10 ideas.
A progress report on the jacket I’m making from opshop rejected jeans.
More on the jacket: adding pockets from the original jeans.
From the blog archives
Making origami ribbon trim - a tutorial.
This isn’t my final newsletter for the year - I’ll send another to mark the finish of A Year of Zero Waste Sewing. But I really want to say thank you for your support and continued engagement; it’s been a hard year for me and other small businesses and I sincerely thank you for subscribing, commenting, recommending, and ordering books and patterns.
Cheers!
Liz x