As a studio, we have been considering ways to reduce our production waste. There are lots of ideas in the pipeline, but this one was a bit of a surprise success, so we thought it was time to share the journey.

In the beginning, there was a creative block.

Back in January 2021, I was stuck; it was dark, we were inside (again), and I’d lost my creative spark. So, instead of running into the brick wall (hello creative block), I decided to skirt along it and try out something new until it felt a little smaller and more manageable, and maybe I’d be able to climb over it again (too far on the wall metaphor?)

I did something I learned in my final year of university, which is a fantastic release for ideas; I sorted through my fabrics. I piled them up according to colour, folded them neatly, and put them away again. Except I didn’t put them all away, I noticed that I had begun accumulating piles of tiny scraps, trimmed from the edge of a cushion after it’s been overlocked or from a piece of cloth I’d cut slightly too generously.

I started gathering these scraps in a biscuit tin (it had just been Christmas) and noticed a colour story beginning to form. Those hot, spicy colours in different tones and hues began to pile up thanks to the ZZ quilt, commissions from Love Brownies and my general love of orange.

The joy of waste

Over the past year, I have been analysing my business's waste and production streams, looking at ways to ensure longevity through repair and new creative channels through working with waste.

This research spawned Darn It! The free mending workshops that I run every month and this Jacket. While there is only one jacket today, the ambition is that each year, there will be a jacket (or jackets) that reflects the production from the previous year, celebrating the waste and giving it new life. The intention is for these pieces to become part of the brand's heritage, a place to collaborate with new designers, and a way to celebrate the production from the previous year.

Why a jacket, I hear you ask, and not a cushion?

Excellent question. I considered making cushions. I had the panels all lined up, but they didn’t fit the brand identity or my current range plan. Also, I really wanted a quilted jacket. So I found a pattern (I modified The Ayora Jacket) and stitched together enough tiny scraps to make arms and a body. Cushions felt like a well-trodden path, a predictable space, and a project like this is about exploring the edges of my comfort zone and seeing what happens when they’re stretched.

This was a side project; I slotted it on quiet afternoons and uninspired Monday mornings. Now and again, I’d pick up a pile of scraps and try and make them fit together, a puzzle with no solution perfect for climbing over that wall (I haven’t forgotten the metaphor!). Slowly but surely, the pile of stitched pieces grew larger, and the pieces of cloth were almost large enough to create the jacket.

A confession

I have a problem with finishing projects. Those larger pieces of fabric didn’t become a jacket until six months after they were finished being stitched together; there was a moment when I thought the jacket might be too bold. (spoiler, it isn't)

When it came to quilting the layers together, I quilted the top fabric with my beloved organic wool wadding (which features in all of my quilts; it is lofty, stitches beautifully and will be incredibly cosy in the Autumn) and backed it with an acid pink linen, I kept with the studio style. I quilted the edge of each patch, a time-consuming method which created a wildly imperfect stitch pattern on the reverse but which suited the finish of the jacket perfectly.

The final hurdle

It took even more courage; it was time to cut up this cloth that I had spent so long creating. I made a toile to double-check the measurements and checked the pattern about 15 times before slicing. There was nothing to worry about, and after many metres of hand-bound edges (it’s reversible, too), I was finished and ready to celebrate my technicolour dream coat.

The good news is I love it; I’ve been wearing it in weather far too warm just because it is too good to leave at home. The bad news is the scraps are piling up again, so it’s time to find some dreary afternoons and embark on the next stage of the studio jacket journey - number 2!

Five ideas to make the most of your textile waste

Make a jacket! We all have piles of unloved textiles, old duvet covers, tea towels and t-shirts in our homes. Could they be revived to make a brand-new jacket?
Embrace mending, get yourself to a mending workshop or check out the work of Celia Pym and learn how to fix your textiles creatively. If it’s beyond repair, consider using it to create a patch for another fabric.
The tiny stuff. The smallest scrap I worked with was approximately 5 x 2cm, but what do you do with the bits too small to go through the machine? There are a few options here; you could shred them further to create your stuffing for a cushion or toy. If you're working with pure plant fibres, you could experiment with mixing them with paper pulp to make your paper.
Patch pockets. Do you have lots of plain T-shirts? Why not turn your scraps into pockets and trims and liven up your wardrobe? Most t-shirts are sturdy enough to take a trim around the sleeves and bottom edge, and a hand-stitched pocket will add great detail to any top.
Coasters. Not entirely up to a large-scale patch project? Why not try making a few drinks coasters from your scraps? It’s the perfect introductory patchwork project & you can get an up-scale cushion when you’re confident!