Zero Waste Project
Intro
This project stemmed from my sustainable design class. The goal was to design a pattern that used every square inch of your chosen amount of yardage… without leaving any waste behind! This method of sustainability allows the designer to account for the waste and take responsibility for it and not leave it to the manufacturer. It is a holistic method of sustainability that I’ve been thinking heavily about.
Since this was not the approach I was accustomed to for designing garments, we had to create and ideate a little out of the box. We did a lot of draping, and through my discovery process, I realized that pleats were my powerful tool to create shape and interesting details. I came up with the idea to create the entire bodice shape from pleats. Depending on how they’re sewn down and pinned, they can create almost any shape. The entire body of the final dress is one piece of fabric, and I use pleats to cinch in the waist, create a beautiful dramatic neckline, and a flouncy relaxed skirt hem.
Generating .dxf files through Python
From this project, I was inspired to do some programming. After all, 2D sewing patterns just BEG to be put into CAD. I am currently in the process of creating a python program to export a 2D dxf sewing pattern of this zero waste pattern. Utilizing dxfwrite, computational geometry and GUI libraries, I have been working towards creating a custom .dxf sewing pattern for any person or any size.
As this project is in progress, I have a list of features that I would like the final program to include, but not all have been addressed yet. Features include: GUI to input waist and bust measurements, dxf program that generates a sewing pattern, includes instructions on how to sew the garment, prints percentage of waste (0%!!!!).
Moving forward — Sewing Pattern Generator
This program can be expanded into much much more than just grading one zero waste sewing pattern. I use 3D CAD in my day to day at work, but it is extremely difficult to get your hands on expensive pattern making software. Especially when there are hobby communities for 3D printing, cnc-ing, woodworking, etc, there isn’t a fashionXtech community…. yet! My goal is to create a custom sewing pattern generator that helps you create your perfect pattern. It will take into consider your height and proportions and custom grade each pattern accordingly.