While not always included in "zero waste fashion", a large part of having a low carbon footprint in your closet is appreciating second hand or thrifted clothing.

The theme was ‘Reduce Reuse Recycle’ and all nine contestants had to make three garments. The challenges included making a zero-waste pattern for a pair of trousers, upcycling tote bags into a wearable garment, and a made-to-measure outfit using secondhand crocheted blankets to fit a model. Take a look at our sewing pattern suggestions below, we’ve tried to find the exact patterns used but where we haven’t been able to we have plenty of suggestions so that you can recreate these looks at home for your handmade wardrobe. Kate also talks through her favourite pattern options from the episode on YouTube in our special mid-week sewing bee vlog. Images with automobile license plates that are prominent and easily read (pictures with license plates that have been fuzzed out or that otherwise cannot be read are acceptable). 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.

Washable Travel Sewing Projects

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. One of the things I am noticing about zero waste is how it can be more size inclusive. Although a design might be limited by the width of the material, an extra seam or two can accommodate larger sizes, which means it can be for everyone. You will see from the image above that many of the patterns are able to be made to any size. Or, it could be designing your own clothes and using patterns that leave no waste on the cutting table. Zero waste stops fabric entering landfill, but as Helen has said in the comments it’s all going end up in landfill eventually whether its as scraps or worn-out garment. This is a 'one size' pattern which comes in two size ranges. Due to the zero waste nature of this pattern some design details may change between sizes, select your size to see more. Sewing Level: Beginner

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. There’s no specialized software for making zero-waste patterns. Software for regular patterns isn’t suitable because the patternmaking, size grading, and layout functions are all separate. Some designers use CLO3D or Illustrator or, like me, make patterns manually. I do use regular patternmaking software if the zero-waste pattern only comes in one size (for example, for accessories). Fabric Yield 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.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. Working this way will help you to start building a toolbox of skills, and you will learn an alternative method of self drafting your own sewing patterns, which are super easy for beginners to understand. Zero waste is a term which has slowly percolated through the sewing community in the last few years, but it’s been around for as long as clothes themselves, with bog coats and authentic Japanese Kimonos possibly being the most common examples. Fabric was once a precious commodity and both utilitarian and luxurious garments were made with minimal waste, using squares and rectangles. Many of the modern zero waste patterns for home sewists utilise this same technique and it works well. However, once people desire more shape and therefore curves, zero waste becomes problematic and requires more creativity and lateral thinking. As mentioned before, it’s very different to think about zero and minimal waste design when creating large amounts of the same pattern at any one time. The reason being you have much more flexibility on how to use up the available fabric; large pattern pieces can be nestled against smaller pattern pieces from a different size of the garment. It’s therefore entirely possible to use a very high percentage of your available fabric (think 90%+) without changing the pattern a great deal. It’s also worth remembering that clothing factories are often using wider fabric sizes than are typically available to the domestic sewing community and so they can fit more along the same length.

Once you have your head round how zero waste works, the book by Rissanen, T., &McQuillan, H.(2016).Zero Waste Fashion Design.London; New York: Fairchild Books, becomes much more usable. 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.

That connection is tangible to those in the maker community. “When you’re wearing something you’ve made, not for one second are you not aware of that,” says d’Angelo. “Every time I look down, I think about the mistakes I made and the way I saved it and I’m filled with pride. It’s the ultimate in conscious consumption.” It might not be the most inspiring of names, but zero waste design has been around for much of humanity’s history. What it ultimately boils down to is the ability to use every last little bit of raw material to create something with. In the case of sewing, that’s using every millimetre of fabric. It’s more or less as simple as that – though it does get a little more complicated when you start thinking about the differences between mass producing clothing and making a single garment at home.