Recommended Reading: Disney, Fibershed and Francis Marshall
A mixture of great books have arrived from the library lately, all very different but so interesting. The Art of Disney Costuming – Heroes, Villains and Spaces Between by Jeff Kurtti and the Staff of the Walt Disney Archive (2019 Disney Enterprises Inc) Everyone at home loved this book! It’s a big book, almost A3…
Read MoreFree pattern: Oven Mitt (minimal waste)
Finally! Allow me to unveil the pattern for the kitchen accessory of the year. Presenting…the minimal waste oven mitt. Streamlined, glamorous, modern and yet functional, it has restored domestic harmony to the Haywood kitchen and could do the same for you. I’ve been using it for the past week and I think I’ve found my…
Read MoreZero Waste Oven Mitts, Episode III
Like a dog after a bone, I just can’t seem to let this challenge go! Episode I: The quest for the perfect oven mitt Episode II: The oven mitt report The story so far… Faced with the prospect of no usable oven mitts in the Haywood kitchen, our hero Liz Haywood embarks on a perilous…
Read MoreThe Last Book Week
Here in Australia, it’s Children’s Book Week. Primary schools across the country are reading, visiting libraries, doing book activities, and arriving at school for one day dressed as their favourite book character. Or whatever character can be conveniently tacked together from available costumes at home. I understand that some parents loathe the dress ups part,…
Read MoreMaking the Jones Trousers
The Jones trouser pattern is a new zero/minimal waste pattern by Emily Klug of Goldfinch Textile Studios. You may remember last year I successfully made her Simone overalls. The trousers have a high waist with elastic back, inverted box pleats at the front, a slightly dropped crotch and plenty of ease throughout. There is a…
Read MoreTutorial: curving flat bias binding with an iron
Bias binding is a trim I’m very fond of using. Since I’ve been making zero waste patterns, I’ve found myself using it more, and in ways which I hadn’t previously. One of these is as a curved trim. I use 1.2cm/½” bias binding (not 2.5cm/1″ which is too wide) and pre-curve it with a steam…
Read MoreApril and May: A Year of Zero Waste Sewing
Earlier this year I started a new book project, A Year of Zero Waste Sewing, to be published in installments as a zine. The first one is complimentary – read about this project and download your free copy here. April and May are now ready, and in my shop. They’re $AU5 each (+ tax). Here’s…
Read MoreThe Oven Mitt Report
Things haven’t been going all that well in Oven Mitt Land. To recap last week, after the oven mitt situation was declared “dire”, I resolved to make some new ones using fabric we had at home. I came up with some low/zero waste ideas, and this week I tried them out. I had two ideas,…
Read MoreThe Quest for the Perfect Oven Mitt
Kitchen harmony took a dive on the weekend, when it was declared that the two (mis-matched) oven mitts currently in service were “unfit for purpose”. Maybe yours are in the same sad state as ours? I’ve been meaning to make some new ones for ages. Sure, I could buy some, but I could make some…
Read More6 Ways to Wear a Tartan Skirt
Hi Everyone, I’m back on this blog after 4+ weeks of “sick leave” with covid. Feeling tired but a lot brighter now. Sue Stoney’s blog post on her tartan skirt has given me the nudge I needed to think about tops for my own tartan skirt. The zero waste Clair skirt is my favourite-ever zero…
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