January 2023
The Summer Holidays Edition
Happy New Year, All!
Here’s to 2023!
(It will take a few weeks before I stop writing 2022 on everything and humming Christmas carols…)
It’s school holidays here in Australia, and the Haywood Household has slipped seamlessly into Holiday Mode. I've been watching movies with my children, eating Christmas chocolates, playing monopoly, Nintendo, doing a bit of sewing, and the bare minimum of housework.
Here’s my holiday project:
These are the kind of jeans you buy with “trendy rips” already done for you. I cannot stand this fashion (is that because I’m getting old? I have no aversion to naturally-occurring rips; it’s just so wrong to buy new clothes already damaged). I got these from the op shop’s reject bin - apparently they don’t like them either. However, they fit me really well and haven’t been worn much, so I’m mending them with patches and trying out some new sashiko stitches at the same time.
Progress report: A Year of Zero Waste Sewing
Yep, still going with it.
A year ago I started another book, which I’ve been publishing in instalments as e-zines. January is free, February to May can be ordered here, June & July are done and currently with the editors, and August is still happening…leaving only 4 left to do!
If you have an Ask Lizzy question, or an idea for a topic that you want to read about, I’m open to all and any suggestions. liz@lizhaywood.com.au
Zero Waste e-Learning Course
It’s almost here! Zero Waste Design Collective (formerly ZWDO) are about to launch their zero waste online course!
The course is designed for those who are interested in zero waste design, but don’t know where to start. Register for pre-sale during January and receive a discount.
New fabric shop
Readers in Essex, England, will be able to visit the Fleur et Ours new bricks-and-mortar shop (stockists of The Dressmaker’s Companion and Zero Waste Sewing). From 7th January, Saturdays, 9am till 1pm. The address is 8 Kingsway, Harwich CO12 3AG. Book a spot in a Saturday afternoon sewcial here.
Some things you might enjoy
A no-sew technique for easing sleeve caps by Kenneth King.
Pantone’s colour of the the year is Viva Magenta. It appears that everyone is jumping on the "Colour of the Year" bandwagon, including Etsy (Indigo and Honeycomb), and numerous paint companies.
An article about Claire Shaeffer.
I’m all for clothes that allow girls to feel comfortable playing sport. Netball Australia is changing its uniform for inclusivity and other reasons.
An article on sizeism in the sewing pattern industry, with some podcast conversations to listen to. As I've gotten more confident with zero waste patterncutting, I've gradually increased my size range, but, you know, I confess in the past I was totally ignorant about how hard it is to get good clothes if you're a big size. It wasn't even on my radar. Not just buying sewing patterns, but RTW in general (let alone sustainable fashion), and it's even harder if you live here in country Australia.
Some simple homemade shoes using recycled materials, based on some worn by Otzi, the ice man. (An expert has made a more faithful re-creation of the shoes, and tried them out hiking.)
An article about patternmaker Minna of Shapes of Fashion in Obscura newsletter.
Vivienne Westwood - a pictorial tribute.
The Anybag Project, cleaning up single use plastic in NYC. (3mins)
A short piece on choosing clothes: Taste vs Style
On the blog lately
A roundup of the past month’s blog posts from my website, lizhaywood.com.au.
The blog is currently on annual holidays (back late-January-ish), but there are a few posts from December…
A little vignette on how I write sewing patterns, along with some things that really helped my instruction writing.
From the blog archives
Does your machine have a ruffler attachment? I tried out mine, with success! (Funny: Mr H briefly glanced at the header picture for this post, and thought the love hearts were oil points for the ruffler!)
I tried out some ways to wear overalls, with mostly good results :)
Cheers!
Liz x