Hello, I’m Natalie. Thank you for visiting!
I’m interested in clothes, food, and gardening. These are all ways in which we establish our connection to the earth and feel centred within ourselves.
If something doesn’t feel right on or in our bodies, we feel it deep inside. We all deserve to feel comfortable in our own skin, and what we wear has a powerful impact on our wellbeing.
In the house
Clothes should serve you, not the other way around.
You alter clothes to fit you, not alter yourself to fit the clothes. This is at the heart of everything I do, and why many of my courses have a made-to-measure element. You deserve a wardrobe full of clothes that uplifts you in every way. You want to open your closet and begin your day knowing that, whatever happens, you’ll look beautiful in whatever you choose to wear.
The emotional and physical energy, money, and time you spend fidgeting, struggling to fit clothing patterns to your body, not feeling like yourself, frustrated at what’s available in the shops, is better spent elsewhere. It should be spent on people and things you love, making dreams come true – feeling happier.
Imagine how much lighter you’d feel, how much more fulfilled you’d be, if you didn’t have to give a second thought to something you do every day: Getting dressed and ready for the world.
Childhood beginnings
When this little 6-year-old was learning music, she asked her mum to make her a dress with musical notes on it. Then her grandma knitted a navy cardigan to match the colour of the notes on the white fabric. She was VERY happy with this outfit!
I took a few knocks as I got older, but I never forgot this childhood feeling. My family gave me the love and emotional security that I was fine as I was – and they taught me that clothes were not the boss of me.
When I learned that this was not the case for everyone, I realised that my family background gave me the opportunity to do something to help others. I could design clothes AND teach adults and children how to do it, too.
This is why I’ve created:
Knitting patterns that include tailoring details and plenty of scope for your personal fitting needs and alterations
A knitwear design course that places your anatomy and body shape at the heart of design development and pattern drafting
A creative pattern cutting and garment construction course that empowers you to design and make your own made-to-measure clothes
Studio Spotlights, a community space on Ko-Fi where I take you behind the scenes of live design projects so that you can learn exactly how I do what I do – and why.
You might also like…
For newbie makers
How to create space in your life for sewing and knitting, curate a wardrobe full of clothes you love, and key skills you’ll need.
Start here if you’re new to clothes making and curious about what it’s REALLY like.
My blog
Fortnightly posts about the professional practice of designing and making patterns: tools, books, philosophy and process.
Binge read here if you’re a clothes maker and interested in how design works.
My portfolio
Behind the scenes insights into my knitwear designs from 2013 to the present day, showing you how I walk the talk.
Come in here if you like storytelling and want to find out how ideas become reality.
My biography
You’ve found out why I’m passionate about what I do – this section is about my life path and how I got here.
This section is also for you if you’re interested in my professional background.
In the garden
As you can see, my love of gardens, flowers, and green spaces was encouraged from a very early age! Thank you, Grandma <3
Access to land and green space has the same restorative effect as wearing clothes that love you back. The food we eat is just as important. So little of what’s eaten today has been properly nourished by the earth.
Self-care isn’t just what you put on your body – ideally plant-based fibres and responsibly sourced animal hair like wool. It’s where you can go and what you can do to recharge and find inner peace.
Just as natural fibres allow your skin to breathe and your body to respire freely, so does being around trees, plants, flowers and growing food help your physical and mental health.
For more on this, you can:
- Read my writing in Radicle, a Substack newsletter founded by Sui Searle of @decolonisethe garden
- Follow me on Instagram @_nataliebynature
- Find out about the work of Wild South London Community (WSLC), a charity set up to facilitate foraging and nature education in south London.
Other ways to keep in touch
You can also follow me on social media here – pick your favourite channel:
Sign up for Between the Seams. This is where I share weekly design tips, learning resources, and stories from my life as a knitwear designer:
Sign up for Pattern Spotlights, an upcoming fortnightly letter dedicated to new pattern releases and clothes making:
And finally…some of my favourite things 🙂
| Thai food | Quincy Jones | Thomas the Tank Engine | Cats (esp. Suki, above) | The Addams Family |
| Twix | Mariah Carey | Roald Dahl | Semi-precious stones | Galaxy Quest |
| Cheese on toast | Nile Rodgers | Jane Austen | Walks on windy days | The Lego Movie |
| Lemon drizzle cake | Fleetwood Mac | Poirot (David Suchet) | Hats for big curly hair | A League of Their Own |
| Sticky toffee pudding | Maxwell | Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) | Thunderstorms (esp. the smell of the air afterwards) | Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe |
| Guinness | Ella Fitzgerald | The Traitors | Hidden Figures | |
| Twiglets | George and Ira Gershwin | Miss Congeniality | ||
| Stevie Wonder | Moonstruck | |||
| Chopin’s nocturnes | ||||
| Tchaikovsky (esp. ballets) |
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