The zero waste eye mask quest is now complete. I’m very happy with how the mask turned out, and my teen and I have been wearing the samples for the past week. If you’d like to embark on your own quest, I’m here with the pattern, instructions and handy hints ? Read about this pattern… The post Free Pattern: Zero Waste Eye Mask, and how to sew one. appeared first on The Craft of Clothes ..read more

Following last week’s eye mask quest post, I’ve sewn a proper sample to trial. Actually, I sewed two (and was going to make a joke about a double-blind trial, reducing bias, but it all sounded funnier in my head). The reason I sewed two was to try out the suggestions in last week’s comments for… The post Testing out the new zero waste eyemask appeared first on The Craft of Clothes ..read more

In my childhood, eye masks were only worn by Americans on TV. Carol Brady wore one, so did Maxwell Smart and Holly Golightly. It was something only worn by pampered movie stars. No-one I knew wore one. After all, we’ve got eyelids haven’t we? Isn’t it dark when we go to sleep? But somehow I’m… The post The Quest for the Perfect Eye Mask appeared first on The Craft of Clothes ..read more

Amongst some work trousers Mr H brought home from the op shop was pair of mid-brown RM Williams (an iconic sort of brand here in Australia). Back when he bought them, he didn’t bother to try things on in the shop – this has since changed – and the trousers were too big and too… The post The Tale of the Gigantic Waistband appeared first on The Craft of Clothes ..read more

Continued from last week… The shirt I’ve been sewing, from the French book Couture Zéro Chute (translated: Sewing Zero Waste), is now finished. It turned out great and I’m very happy with it. After last week’s start, there was “only” the collar, hem and buttons to sew. The collar is interesting; it’s a conventional shape… The post Finished! The Shirt from Couture Zéro Chute appeared first on The Craft of Clothes ..read more

Late last year I reviewed the book Couture Zéro Chutes by Charline Durpoix and Mylène L’Orguilloux. The title translates as Sewing Zero Waste, and it’s a collection of six base patterns with many options for combining or modifying them. As part of the review, I sewed the elastic waist trousers. They were really great, and… The post Making the Shirt from Couture Zéro Chutes appeared first on The Craft of Clothes ..read more

A crownless sunhat has been on my mind for some time, but not literally…until now! I wondered if the low waste sunhat pattern I made last year (or indeed, any sunhat) could be converted to a crownless version. If a person had too much hair to fit within a hat’s crown, it could poke out… The post Three Ways to Sew a Crownless Sunhat appeared first on The Craft of Clothes ..read more

Just before Christmas, I broke my five-year zero waste sewing streak with a Burda pattern. I wanted to make my older teen a Christmas dress, as a surprise, using a spectacular wax print fabric that I already had. However, the print had a huge repeat of 80cm and really needed to be positioned symmetrically on… The post The fabric made me do it appeared first on The Craft of Clothes ..read more

Hi Everyone, welcome to the final post for 2024. The blog is now on annual leave until late January-ish. The Craft of Clothes staff Christmas party was on last week – see photo above. Normally it’s just me, being a one-woman business, but Mr Haywood and the younger Haywoods came too. They have all helped… The post Wrapping up 2024 appeared first on The Craft of Clothes ..read more

Hi Everyone, I have a new pattern. It’s a belt bag that slips onto a belt, and is a great little pattern for offcuts of denim. It’s in my shop now. Please enjoy 25% off for the next month. If I’m honest, it’s technically not a new pattern. I made it almost two years ago… The post New Pattern: Zero Waste Belt Bag appeared first on The Craft of Clothes ..read more