Today, as part of our Stitch Social series, we are getting to know Claire! She shares details about her beautifully detailed makes on her Instagram account: @clairemadeit. We are big fans of her effortlessly chic handmade looks, and of the fact that she loves linen as much as we do. Read on to hear about how her sewing has evolved over the years and the pants pattern she has made six times!
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Friday Pattern Co. Ilford Jacket
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HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SEWING AND WHAT GOT YOU STARTED?
My mom taught me to sew by hand as an 8 year old, and then with a machine. I very vividly remember the sewing portion of “home ec” class as a 13 year old, and falling asleep at night excited to do the next steps in the pattern for my locker caddy (it was printed with frogs and lily pads, obviously). To this day, I still fall asleep excited to work on the next step of a project I’m in the process of.
- Through high school I sewed on my mom’s machine, although I did it very poorly and loosey goosey, never using a pattern and thus creating ill-fitting garments which never properly fit a human body. I blame Project Runway fever of the early 2000’s for making me think that I could just throw fabric through a sewing machine and clothes would pop out, although to be fair to myself, this early experimentation was fun and I did teach myself some fundamentals.
- For high school graduation I got a Janome Jem Platinum, which I still use today, and through college I mostly used it alter garments purchased at the thrift store. In 2013 I started to knit, and then when Stitch opened, the pattern following skills I learned from knitting kicked in and I’ve been sewing garments from the walls of Stitch ever since.
Edie Top
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HOW DID YOU FIRST FIND STITCH?
- I wandered in off the street like a lost animal in May 2016 when Stitch first opened its doors. I had already started to knit my own clothes, and Stitch reignited my love for my sewing machine, and thankfully by that point I was more patient and better at directions.
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WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT SEWING?
- My career is in graphic design, and in the past year I transitioned from a full time design job to freelancing. My favorite clients are small businesses because I love to know that I’m helping people in my community work on their dreams. Since the start of the pandemic I’ve also become a full-time care giver for my 2 year old son as my husband is a first responder and has been at work the entirety of the pandemic, and we have elected to pull our son from daycare.
- Between childcare and freelancing, most of my other creative outlets have evaporated, except funnily enough, sewing! I’ve doubled down in the past year on sewing because it’s offered an escape from reality, and the sanity that following a pattern gives cannot be emphasized enough. When so much has been out of my control over the past year, following a linear pattern (and making it my own), has been a breath of fresh air. Oh, and then when I’m not doing any of that, I’m on my Peloton daily. Share your favorite instructors with me and I’ll share mine.
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WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TYPE OF FABRIC TO WORK WITH?
- Linen. Today, tomorrow, always.
Bantam top
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TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROUDEST MAKE!
- I recently made the Thelma Boiler Suit from Merchant and Mills, and it is my sewing pride and joy. There were 50+ patten pieces, and considering how hit and miss the fit of ready-made jumpsuits can be, I am insanely proud of how well made and well fitting mine is. If I can’t brag about my flawless placket, then who’s going to?
Merchant & Mills Thelma Boiler Suit
Merchant & Mills Thelma Boiler Suit
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WHAT DO YOU DO TO GET YOURSELF OUT OF A SEWING RUT?
- I’ll look through the hashtags on Instagram of garments I’m thinking of making to see how sewers modify them to make them their own. This inspires me to think about what the garment would be like if I put my own spin on it, and before long, I’ve got my pre-washed pile of fabric all ready to go in front of me.
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DO YOU HAVE A GO-TO SEWING SNACK?
- A gin and tonic. I go into a trance when sewing and forget to eat, which as you can imagine, isn’t the wisest pairing for a G&T.
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TEAM TRACE OR TEAM CUT (FOR PAPER PATTERNS)?
- Swedish tracing paper forever, baby!
WHAT SEWING TOOL COULD YOU NEVER LIVE WITH OUT?
- My seam ripper. No shame in the rip it out game.
Anna Allen Pomona Pants
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WHAT IS YOUR SEWING SET UP LIKE? DO YOU HAVE A DESIGNATED SPACE?
- I’m very lucky to have a designated room as a home office/craft room. It has built in shelving and I have bins full of my sewing and knitting supplies. It has an antique rug on the floor that my husband and I stood on as we got married. It is perfect for the room; since it’s intricate it NEVER shows all my little sewing scraps that I throw on the floor mid-project. I’m a tidy freak, but something about sewing makes the wheels come off and I let all the thread and small clippings fall on that carpet. At the end of the project, the whole room gets a deep clean and it’s an office again.
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DO YOU HAVE A CERTAIN TYPE OF GARMENT THAT YOU LIKE TO SEW, OR A PATTERN THAT YOU HAVE MADE MANY TIMES?
I am unabashedly obsessed with the Anna Allen Pamona Pants pattern. To date, I have used it to make 2 pairs of shorts, one pair of wide leg pants, and three pairs of straight leg pants. I modify the pocket type and placement, and height of the waistband, and like magic, I have the perfect bottoms for my body.
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Anna Allen Pomona Pants
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Anna Allen Pomona Shorts
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TELL US ABOUT A FAVORITE STITCH MEMORY!
- Stitch is a happy place of mine. If I was lugging a baby stroller up and down the steps, an employee always jumped to help me carry it. If I came in and was admiring a sample on a mannequin, I’d be asked if I wanted to try it on. Walking into Stitch feels like walking into your cool fiend’s closet, except instead of clothes, you have the thrill of all the endless possibilities that making your own garments brings.
Stitch Social is a monthly interview series that features some of the members of our wonderful sewing community.
