We are 4!
It's hard to believe the Modern Sewing Co. is only 4 years old. This business feels like such an integral part of who I am, it's so strange to think it only makes up 4 years of my life.
Graduating from London College of Fashion in 2015 I wouldn't have imagined I would be designing for home sewers across the world 10 years later. Home sewing wasn't on my radar until I stumbled into it in the pandemic and I'm very grateful I did. I say it a lot but it really is the most positive place on the internet, and I think we can all be grateful for that.
In the past 18 months I've gone from flying solo to building a small team and I'm truly excited for the possibilities we have with such a brilliant team evolving.
So, to reminisce and reflect, I've picked out 10 photos that sum up how we've got here.
1. Our first photoshoot, June 2021
This was our first photoshoot where we dressed up the studio to look like a living room to get across how you can learn how to sew at a professional standard in the comfort of your own home. This was before I realised that instead of bringing home into the studio, we were trying to bring studio into the home.
2. A month of tailoring, August 2021
I took a month long course to fine tune my tailoring skills, and after such an intense month of making and sewing, I made the decision to go full time with Modern Sewing Co.. Spending 4 weeks slowly hand sewing an intricately tailored jacket was truly a formative experience.
Though I had been sewing professionally for years, dedicating 1 month to solely focus on sewing one incredibly detailed piece really influenced my way of thinking. I have always been detail orientated but this took my focus to another level and encouraged me to slow down and enjoy each tiny section to get a fine tuned result, which is something that now underlies all of our workshops.
3. 100000 different studio rearrangements
Here is the chaos of a studio rearrange at it's worst point. Over the years I have always shared my studio, having 4 different studio mates in 3 years and every possible layout of furniture you could imagine. I think it's representative of how before we found our clear ethos that we had 101 different ideas of what we could be.
We've had the studio to ourselves for the past year which has been so lovely to really settle in and call it our own.
4. Once the dust settled
Creating a studio filled with light and space was so important in getting right. Much like the business, I wanted to focus on making room for sewing to the best of our abilities.
This was also the first time I had a team beyond myself for making our PDF patterns and filming - here you can see Emily and Laura working at a pattern!
5. My first time (reluctantly) modelling for our own garments
I knew that in order to share the makes, I wanted to make sewing personal and an act of expressing yourself - so that meant I had no choice but model for myself. This is one of my early attempts - let's just say, I much preferred sewing behind camera at this point.
6. Getting the hang of it
Looking back at photos, I can now see that with practice I found my style and honed in my ability to communicate through photography. It's a skill I didn't expect to be utilised so much at the start of the journey but self-photography so expansive and expressive in its own way. Here I am with the Darcy Coat - you've got to love a belt moment.
7. The Worker Trouser
If I had to think of one garment that encapsulates Modern Sewing Co., it would be our Worker Trouser which has consistently been our most popular pattern and workshop. I think its timeless design and the support that is given to tackle trousers, which are a lot more intimidating to sew from scratch compared to tops, is part of why it's been such a stronghold over the last 4 years.
8. Creating my first capsule wardrobe
This summer capsule really influenced our direction as a business. It was our first step towards making garments that would be part of a collection rather than stand-alone, allowing everyone to be their own designer as much as a maker.
Sewing as a curated collection has always been through the lens of fashion, so I tried to bring this into home-sewing in the best way I could. And now, the capsule courses have been such a source of community that I am yet to see elsewhere.
You can catch up on the story of this summer capsule here.
9. Following the thread across the world
Over 4 years, we've had over 8.3k sewists using our patterns or workshops across 76 countries. That's crazy! The thrill of seeing your makes never wears off - it's so heartwarming to know that our patterns have sparked sewing in the homes of so many people and has been a way of reconnecting with your creativity and self-expression.
10. 4 years later, we’re now a team of 4!
Alongside myself, we have Emily, Vidya and Anissa working together to get more people across the world sewing exceptional garments. As you can see, our studio has had to shift slightly for a larger team, but with that comes a new shift in our journey as we get ready for our most challenging pattern yet. I can't wait to share more.
But for now, thank you for your support. It means the world.
Hetty x
