This section is all about the things you’ll need and appreciate if you’d like to make your own clothes.
These resources are especially for people new to clothes making, or who are coming back to it after being introduced to sewing and knitting during childhood.
What you’ll find here
This section covers four elements you need to build a sustainable, good wardrobe focused on you and your needs.
Sewing
Finding time and space to sew in your own home, the best sewing projects for beginners, and life skills you might not have realised were useful for sewing.
Fitting + alterations
The honest truth about altering RTW clothing, adjusting patterns for your shape, and where to go if you’d rather buy something bespoke.
Knitting
Knitting is the slowest and most relaxing of all the options. The story of how I became a knitter and the people who helped along the way will inspire you.
Wardrobe curation
Recommendations and resources for building your self-made wardrobe, and how to create a successful capsule collection that suits you and your style.
Your clothing ecosystem
Here’s how your wardrobe might look already, or how it could look, if you put your needs and your body shape first:
There’s a good mix of new, pre-loved, and made to measure – but what’s the link between them all? Getting the absolute best out of every single item of clothing you own. It’s a world away from our shopping experiences today.
A McKinsey report revealed that 70% of clothing returns to the companies surveyed were caused by poor fit or style. Of the tools and resources available for customers like us to make the best choice (or no choice), the top 3 most effective ones featured actual human contact or intervention:
- In-store clienteling tools [fitting rooms, sales assistants]
- Customer reviews specific to size
- Customer reviews (in general)
You can access the full McKinsey report here. It was published in 2019.
Further, only 20% of companies surveyed had brick and mortar locations that people could actually visit to try on clothes. Is it any wonder that so many online purchases are sent back?
You can incorporate changes to your clothing lifestyle slowly – there’s no rush at all. You could pick one of the areas in the chart to get started, refresh childhood knowledge of sewing and knitting if you have it, and these articles could help too.
Skills you didn’t know were helpful for sewing
Why you REALLY need to make a toile
The best sewing projects for beginners
You don’t need to make ALL your clothes
Pushing for change
When I first came across the McKinsey data, I knew that I could do something to help and reduce the creation of so much environmental waste. I could design courses that teach people how to design and make their own made-to-measure clothes.
This would cover 30% of the pie chart above:
- 20% DIY/made-to-measure
- 10% inherited from family – the legacy of well-made hand-me-downs is often overlooked in conversations about sustainability
I also knew that the people who needed the courses most were:
- Fed up of seeing the same fit issues crop up over and over again, no matter where they shop;
- Disappointed and frustrated when the clothes they order online are NOTHING like the website photos;
- Resentful about the time and money spent on postal returns;
- Already really good at being resourceful with their clothes;
- Keen to get the benefit of custom made clothes – “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” (or alterations);
- Excited about learning lifelong practical skills, or maybe reconnecting with sewing and knitting after being around clothes making as a child.
Does this sound like you?
If so, these design and clothes making courses were made for you!
Beginners sewing and clothes making
I offer immersive beginners sewing and clothes making courses at Streatham and Brixton Quaker Meeting House. These are on Tuesdays (subject to availability) and for up to six 3-hour sessions. You can book these weekly or more flexibly depending on your schedule.
This course is best if you already know you’ll enjoy sewing or were around it as a child. You’re committed to making it part of your sustainable wardrobe, and want to nurture a family legacy of clothes making.
Six weeks of classes is perfect for completing a dressmaking project and setting a solid foundation for the future. You won’t regreat giving yourself the gift of time to really absorb and practice what you’ll need to learn – and teach those closest to you in years to come.
How to Design Knitwear
A rich and comprehensive online course taking you through the entire design process, from visual communication and design development to pattern drafting and grading.
Design and Make Your Own Clothes
In-person courses for you to create the clothes you’ve been dreaming of – and all using blocks or slopers drafted to your personal measurements. You’ll never have to worry about fit again!
Throughout her knitwear design course, Natalie has taught me so much about all aspects of design. I love to learn and the course has been a dream come true. Natalie is a superb instructor, a gentle and supportive mentor and an inspiring designer. Learning was a joy – with and from Natalie and my amazing classmates.
Karen henderson, plot twist designs | via instagram
Have you ever let your beliefs about what you can do get in the way of the thing? I’ve never been good at drawing…or really even acceptable at producing recognizeable images. I’ve been taking a drawing class with Natalie in Stitches for the past three weeks, and I’m amazed at what I’m producing. I think the biggest hurdle has been getting past the idea that I’m not good at this.
amy snell, devious knitter, via instagram
Knitting patterns
I also incorporate tailoring details into my knitwear designs. The beauty of knitting is that it all begins with a ball of string. You can turn it into anything you like and shape or sculpt the fabric as you go. Knitting is elastic, but you can’t always stretch it to fit! Sometimes you need a pattern that includes a bit more engineering for you.
Comments like this motivate me to keep designing patterns for you!
Why make your own clothes?
Making clothes is an investment in yourself. It’s an activity that brings you long-term satisfaction as you make choices that support you and your way of life.
If your goals and dreams include:
- Feeling great in your clothes
- Choosing colours you love whenever you like, not settling nor waiting for them to trend
- Wearing fabrics that are comfortable and breathable
- Owning clothes that suit your style
- Being able to depend on clothes that are built to last
- Living in clothes that ACTUALLY fit
Then this activity will definitely suit you. Just don’t put too much pressure on yourself in the beginning!
What clothes making is NOT
You don’t have to make absolutely everything you wear; even key items that you’ve never been able to buy in the shops will do. You can make them on your terms.
There are some people who treat clothes making as a shopping fix; making new clothes every month or every time a new pattern comes out, it seems. This is crazy! Some people have more money than sense. There are definitely enough patterns around for you to do that, but ultimately it’s a very expensive way of interpreting fast fashion – and the reason why a lot of people believe that it’s an expensive hobby.
Clothes making is a lifestyle choice that’s lots of fun. It’ll bring you deep joy and pride – especially when someone asks, “Did you make that?” (I never get tired of saying “Yes!”) – but it’s very different to shopping for clothes. You’ll find yourself thinking and feeling differently about how you spend your time, spend your money, and questioning habits you didn’t realise you’d picked up.
Most of all – can you imagine how much happier you’d feel?
Natalie Warner
I design size- and shape-inclusive knitting patterns for clothes makers who want their garments to fit well. 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.
I also teach other people how to design clothes, and run two courses: an online knitwear design course, covering everything from illustration to pattern grading, and an in-person clothing design course comprising made-to-measure blocks, creative pattern cutting, and garment construction.
If you’re enjoying my content, you can get more by reading my blog, which features several articles on garment fitting, alterations, knitwear design and sewing pattern reviews, following me on Instagram or Pinterest @natalieinstitches, or signing up to my newsletter. And you can find out more about me here. Welcome!
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