For the past 15+ years, I’ve been obsessed with a question: what if a pattern itself could eliminate waste, instead of leaving it to be dealt with after the fact?
That question has taken me through consulting work with brands like Nike, Adidas, Carhartt, and Cone Denim, through co-founding the Zero Waste Design Collective and Cut to Zero, and into the classroom at FIT, teaching the next generation of designers a completely different way of thinking about pattern making.
Along the way I built a methodology, the DECODE Pattern Master System. It’s a user focused, teachable approach to zero waste pattern drafting that allows a user to draft a zero waste pattern from scratch and make it their own.
I’ve wanted to put this into a book for a long time.
That book is now real! Zero Waste Pattern Drafting: With the DECODE Pattern Master System.
(yes, this is just a mockup, but it is still in fact “real” haha)
Why self-publish?
This book needed to move at the pace of the community it’s for, stay true to a necessary reference book format, and not get squirrelly with a traditional publishing timeline or structure. I also didn’t love the terms that were presented to me in the publishing deal. So I’m doing it myself! I chose to work through Kickstarter, with full creative control, and with a group of incredible peer reviewers shaping it along the way.
What’s actually in it?
The Pattern Master System breaks zero waste drafting down into a process you can learn, adjust, and repeat, whether you’re a student, an independent designer, or working inside a brand. It covers history and methodology of zero waste patterns, alongside drafting and sewing instructions for the ten included blocks.
This book is structured in four sections, each building to the next.
The first section, Part I: Context and History traces the origins of zero waste pattern making and systems thinking.
Part II: Methodology and Approach contains technical explanations of how the system works, how it was developed, and how to work within it.
Part III: Garment Templates and Instructions is the largest and most practical piece of the book, showcasing the ten patternmaster templates, drafting and sewing instructions, and clues on how to adapt for your own designs.
Part IV: Resources and Implementation rounds out all of the information with resources and guides of how to continue the work outside of these pages through education and dissemination. It also addresses the questions I so often get - what about grading? What about different fabric widths? How do you manufacture zero waste?
This section also includes links to downloadable pdf/dxf/jprj files.
Backing
Depending on how you back the campaign, you can get:
The physical book itself
An acrylic Pattern Master tool set, a companion to the book that can sit on your drafting table, ready at hand
Bundle options that combine both
Workshops for yourself and your team
Where things stand
The campaign launched a few days ago, and it’s already been named a Project We Love by Kickstarter, a hand-picked distinction their team gives to a small number of standout campaigns! We’re currently 44% funded and growing. As predicted, there is a slump in growth after 48 hours of a campaign launch, but I’m not giving up hope. This is the time to share with networks beyond my own, everyone you send this to seriously helps!
If you’ve been following my work, through DECODE, through teaching, or through any of the projects I’ve shared here, this book is the most complete version of everything I know about zero waste design in one place.
I’d love for you to be part of this next chapter with me!
The campaign is live now, link below
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elsener/zero-waste-pattern-drafting-book
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