Our Story
I have always been interested in clothing. I love simple, well made garments, ones that you can live in and wear day in day out. I enjoy getting nerdy over construction details and thinking about how features slot together to create the perfect balance in a garment. I also love thinking about how clothes make you feel and I design with this at the forefront. Garments hold memories and experiences, they clothe us while we live and grow and hold the power of making us feel good in our own skin.
I think the act of making your own clothes is powerful and positive. It feels good to use your hands to create something useful and beautiful. It’s a medicine to modern life, stepping away from your screens to spend special hours being creative. An afternoon to myself at my machine with Desert Island Disks playing in the background is pure bliss.
My journey to founding the Modern Sewing Co. started as a teenager, ferociously sewing DIY projects on our attic landing, then moving on to study at the London College of Fashion for a degree in Fashion Design & Development. I found that I loved pattern cutting and I spent time interning in London and New York, learning from the best in the industry.
In September 2016 I founded my first business, Henri London, a women’s clothing brand focussed on sustainably made causal tailoring. I opened a shop on the Hackney Road and during this time I started to teach shirt making. I was amazed at the enthusiasm from people looking to sew their own clothes and it introduced me to the world of home sewing.
When the pandemic hit in 2020 it brought an unexpected pivot to my career. I went from selling fully made clothes to selling patterns and online workshops for people to sew their own clothes at home. Trying to make sense of life post lockdown as a small business owner I knew I needed time to think, so in the summer of 2021 I enrolled on a 1 month tailoring course in the north of England.
This gave me 4 solid weeks of silently working with my hands to create a fully tailored jacket. The slow, methodical handwork allowed my brain to sift through the challenges I was up against with running a small clothing brand in London. By the time I had finished my jacket I had come to the decision to close my first business Henri and switch full time to the Modern Sewing Co.. The slow and meditative process of hand sewing gave me the space to come to this decision and it's thanks to that we're here today.
Following our launch in June 2021 I have loved running this business and connecting with makers from all over the world. Home sewing is the most thoughtful and supportive community and it's my mission to connect the next generation of sewers with patterns and workshops. I think it’s deeply valuable in today’s society to take time to learn a new craft, one which uses your hands and holds positive impact for the planet.
Hetty Adams, Founder
Our Process
Design
My design process is all about how a garment will make you feel both physically and emotionally and these two concepts must speak to each other for a design to really work. This most often means designing something that feels comfortable and practical, yet put together at the same time.
Pattern Cut
With training in pattern cutting I started this business drafting the patterns myself. My cuts are steered towards classic shapes with a touch of extra volume and a feel of casual tailoring. We now have extensive blocks that we can pattern cut from and with the business steadily growing we now also work with talented freelancers.
Sampling
Once we’ve toiled and re-toiled (that's the prototypes in layman's terms) we’re ready to sample. I absolutely love the sampling stage which sees the garment come to life. We sample with high quality fabrics and test wear the first few samples before we sign off the pattern. The pattern will then get digitally graded.
Instructions
It’s then time to work on the instructions. We spend many days and weeks writing and sketching the instructions. It’s a time consuming yet incredibly satisfying process. The instructions are then sent to pattern testers and we’ll do a final edit before launching the new pattern.
The Team
We're a small team of 2 and we do everything in house aside from digital grading. That means we work across many different fields to get things done.
This includes designing, pattern cutting, toiling, sampling, photography, videography, editing, sketching, pattern formatting, writing instructions, marketing & instagram, website development, customer service, wholesale of our printed patterns, organising distribution and accounting.
I'm very lucky to have Emily who joined in January 2024, a talented seamstress who helps me get through the above list and brings great energy to the studio.
Photographed: Emily Leonard (studio assistant) & Laura Fisher (freelance pattern cutter)
The Studio
We are a small business based in Hackney, London, working from one of the many old industrial buildings in the east end. We feel incredibly lucky to have our beautiful studio which is situated on the canal, with high ceilings and huge windows, bathed in south facing light. It makes opening the studio door each morning an absolute pleasure.
