Autumn Studio Diary – The Modern Sewing Co.

The weekend long read.

It has been a creative couple of weeks in the studio with new ideas being developed while simultaneously tying up some lengthy projects. There are always a few plates spinning at any one time so I thought I'd share a bit of what we've been doing behind the scenes.

You may have seen that we launched a new website at the end of August and we also launched our Capsule Course in the first week of September. Having these deadlines to work towards was super hectic but the result has been so rewarding, with a fresh new website and 100 people signed up to the second edition of the Capsule Course!

After a busy period I find it takes me at least a week to settle back into a new rhythm and get back on track. This past week it feels like the wheels are turning again and we're in full flow with autumn projects.

Have a scroll through our autumn diary and I'm looking forward to sharing some makes in more detail soon!

Hetty

One of the main projects over the past few weeks has been developing and finalising a new waistcoat pattern.

It took me a while to figure out the shape of the neckline and what details would work on it. I pinned a lot of options and lay different buttons on top to get a feel for the piece. I'll share more on this design journey when we release the pattern!

I was so happy with the finished result!

I spent time reviewing the pattern and smoothing out the construction process for the written instructions.

Emily has been doing an incredible job of getting our paper pattern launch ready...! We'll be releasing 3 patterns to begin with and I'll be sharing more details soon.

The Capsule Course is well and truly underway and we have such an amazing group of makers taking part. When I say they’re from all over the world, they really are...

We have an architect from Barcelona, a writer from Berlin, a moving image artist from Aukland and a graduate from San Diego. We have gardeners from Minnesota and Hamburg, spinners and weavers from Vancouver and Sydney, a powerlifter from BC and a flutist from Bristol. We have new mothers, empty nesters and grandmothers. They’ve join from London, Stockholm, Germany, Helsinki, Oregan, Massachusetts, Baltimore, Netherlands, Singapore, Glasgow, rural Northern Ireland, Edmonton Alberta (CA), West Sussex, Tennessee, Copenhagen, Ohio, California, Cambridge, New York and Sweden to make their own capsule collections.

Above is a beautiful fully lined shirt made by Yvonne in Bristol. I'm looking forward to sharing more wonderful makes over the next couple of months!

Away from the studio, an exhibition I loved was Naomi in Fashion at the V&A. This made so much more sense to me having read Edward Enninful's book, A Visible Man which I highly recommend.

My favourite piece from the exhibition. I'm always drawn to the tailored pieces with re-imagined construction details.

I visited the wonderful Cloth House who sell the most beautiful selection of fabrics. If you're looking for ethically sourced fabrics (who isn't) this is such a great place to start. I'm looking forward to sewing a couple of wool pieces over the next few weeks.

A funny story for you, which will serve as a reminder to wear your glasses, especially when looking at train platforms. Excited for a weekend away to Toulouse we turned up at Liverpool Street Station to hop on the train to the airport. Thinking we were on a train to Stansted Airport, we were INFACT on a train to Southend Airport. After a dramatic turn of events and a missed flight we made it to Toulouse (via Marseille) for a weekend away. The only saving grace was that it was the best dressed flight I've ever been on.

Back to the studio...

In developing a straight leg pattern I started with an existing pattern and then pinned the sample to shape it - the leg on the left is pinned and the section at the crotch is where I removed volume in the rise.

I was very happy with the first sample of the straight leg trouser pattern. Here I'm wearing the other recent sample... the waistcoat! I'll be test wearing these trousers for a while before I do some fine tuning. I'd like to release this pattern for spring 2025.

The original green Darcy Coat has been re-homed with my sister! It suits her so well and I know it will be worn and loved for many years.

Speaking of Darcy Coats, it's truly the season for the trench version. I've been living in it.

And lastly, Emily and I are still stretching out our summer tradition of lunch on the dock. It was 21 degrees in London this week (?!?) so we enjoyed a lunch break with the geese.

In other news we're looking for a talented digital marketing manager to join our team so if you're interested please do get in touch. You can find the job description here.