After yesterday’s zero-waste pattern I thought I’d better switch up the blogging schedule and show you the other two zero-waste garments that I sewed recently.

This is the Xanthea T-shirt and the Clair skirt, both designed by Liz Haywood. Liz is a South Australian who specialises in zero-waste patterns. She’s also written a couple of books; I own her Zero Waste Sewing Book, but haven’t sewn anything from it yet. However after the positive experience I’ve had with these two garments, it won’t be long until I do!

Both patterns start with an exact amount of fabric. The amount depends on the size that you are making, which you determine from your measurements. Then you just follow the instructions to make cuts in the correct places before assembly. There are no pattern pieces. I’ll talk about the Xanthea T-shirt first.

I had a remant piece of printed linen from The Cloth Shop that I really wanted to make the most of. A zero waste pattern seemed like the perfect way to use this special piece of fabric. Although I measured closer to a size 14, I chose to make size 12 because that’s the amount of fabric that I had! I figured that the boxiness of the shape, in combination with the way that the entire top ends up on the bias, would provide enough ease for the 12 to fit me. And it did.

If you look closely at the photos you can see the very interesting seaming. This top is formed by essentially folding/sewing it into an envelope, then cutting out the hole for the neck and opening the opposite end to form the hem. The sleeves are inserted into cuts made in the upper sides of the ‘envelope’. You definitely need to take things slowly and carefully as it’s constructed since it’s so different to what we are all useful – but it’s not actually difficult! There are no shoulder or side seams; all the seams are in the front. I finished the neckline with bias binding used as a facing; the binding was already in stash.

I wore this outfit yesterday on an unseasonably warm early Spring day, and I reckon that this top is the most comfortable woven tee that I have worn. I figure that the secret is in the bias!

I found a piece of linen in stash that was the right dimensions for the Clair skirt, and colour-wise it worked well with the top. The top is more blue and grey, while the skirt is more taupe, but they still ‘match’.

The skirt construction is also fascinating. It’s made of three rectangles – a narrow one for a waistband, and two wider ones that form the skirt once a semi-circle is cut out of each. One semi-circle is cut to form the waist hole and the other to form the hem, then the rectangles are joined in an offset along the straight edges. There is a centre back zip. Once again you need to have faith and just follow the instructions.

As if often the case, I had a problem with the fitted waistband. Although I cut the waistband piece and skirt opening according to my waist measurement, it didn’t really stay in place when I first tried it on. This didn’t really surprise me. My waist is not clearly defined, so as I move around the waistband also shifts up and down, trying to figure out where it wants to settle. So I did a retro fit, unpicked a little of the topstitching at each end of the waistband, and inserted some elastic.

After securing one end of the elastic with topstitching I was able to try the skirt on again and adjust the elastic length until it sat comfortably where I wanted it, without slipping around. Honestly, for people who are shaped like me with a very small waist-hip ratio, elastic waists really are your friend.

You can see that the elastic doesn’t gather the waist in all that much, but it’s enough. If I’d cut a shorter waistband/smaller waist opening to make the waistband tight enough to stay in place, it wouldn’t have been as comfortable to wear.  This is the ‘short’ version of the skirt; there are also instructions for a medium and long length.  This works well for my height.

So my final verdict?  I love both pieces!