Sewing patterns are often the starting point for those of us who make our own clothes. In recent years we have witnessed an explosion in the amount and the variety of sewing patterns available to us. Plus, developments in technology and the sewing industry have resulted in patterns being available in different formats. Then, once we’ve bought a pattern in a particular format, there are options of how to use it. At CYT, our goal is to enjoy sewing whilst conserving resources and reducing potential waste where possible. So in this episode we unpick what choices we might make when buying and using sewing patterns and why.



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Sewing patterns currently come in five formats: 



1) the traditional patterns printed onto paper, 



2) as digital PDF files that require printing out, 



3) as projector files that gets projected directly onto the fabric,



4) as sets of instructions or measurements that guide you to draw the pattern directly onto fabric or



5) printed overlapping on large pattern sheets in pattern magazines and books. 



Buying and Using Paper Patterns More Sustainably:



Find out where in the world it’s produced. That might impact the retailer you choose to buy it from. 



Consider becoming a member of #teamtrace by tracing off the pieces before hand onto more paper first rather than jumping straight in and cutting out your size. On the surface it seems like you’re using double the materials, but by giving yourself space to test out fit and alterations on the practice go, you are likely to be preserving more resources overall. 



If you plan to make any alterations, or suspect you might need to make any alterations in the future, tracing first rather than cutting straight is the absolutely best choice. You can play around on the traced off pieces and always have the original version to refer to. Or if your alterations don’t go to plan, you can trace the pieces again and start over. Tracing is also necessary if you want to retain all the sizes. You may wish to make another size for yourself or someone else in the future. Plus, by tracing off your pieces and keeping the original pattern uncut, it means that when you no longer want it, it can be passed on to another person, at a sewing swap perhaps, or by donating to a charity shop or thrift store. 



If you cut into the original, and later find you need the uncut and unadulterated pattern again in the future, you’re going to have to buy the whole thing again, pattern, instructions AND packaging. Which would mean double the environmental impact of the original pattern. And if you do cut into the original you’ll be rendering it pretty much useless once you're done with it. 



Therefore, if garment sewing is a passion for you, and something you can see yourself doing for a number of years, I’d recommend buying a large roll of recycled paper suitable for pattern cutting and tracing. But if you don’t fancy investing in a roll of paper specific for the purpose, rolls of large format printer paper, wall paper and wrapping paper can also do the job. 



Using PDF Sewing Patterns More Sustainably:



Only print out a pattern when we are actually about to use it in case your plans change. You might end up not wanting to make the view you printed out, or you end up not making it at all and that will have been a waste of energy, paper and ink. 



When you do print out your PDF pattern, there’s no need to print out the instructions. Instead, view the instructions directly on your laptop, tablet or phone. 



Whether you’re using an A0 print out or A4/letter pages that have been stuck together, you can also choose to trace the size you need and retain the original printouts. As with paper patterns, this will save you the time and hassle of reprinting and sticking together pages if you wish to make alterations to the pattern and may need to refer to the original, or if you want to save the rest of the sizes for the future. 



Printing