I just got off the phone with a friend who I haven’t spoken to in a long while. We used to share a studio, so we spent hours and hours together, which makes for forming a strong friendship fast. I love those conversations with people who you share that kind of bond with. It’s like no time has passed and you can catch up on the big stuff without needing to wade through the boring small talk.
She had seen my emails and socials and knew that I had decided to close Curated, so she had questions about that and also about what is coming next. It’s funny that I can now summarise that period of time in a few sentences, when really what I went through was months of struggle and heartache, where I questioned what was next for me personally and for In the Folds as a business. Hindsight is a healer that way, especially when you come out the other side feeling positive.
And that’s where I am - out the other side and feeling positive - which I would have never believed if you told me six months ago. From considering shutting my business down all together and getting a “real” job, to everything in between, it was a very painful period to go through, but also exactly what I needed to do. As “they” say… the only way out is through.
Interestingly, this shift came at a time when my daughter had finally started sleeping better and had begun consistent daycare. My work life started to take shape properly again and I had room to think. And of course, with this newfound freedom and brain space, my partner and I decided it might be time to add a second child to the mix. It now seems quite obvious that all of this would trigger some kind of reckoning and a forced hiatus from how I was doing things. A time to pause and ask: what is it that I really want? What does work look like now? What do I need to do before the arrival of our second baby?
So with a few brief sentences about the downfall, I tried to explain to my friend what our new offering is. It is called Making, Again and it is a paid tier of this Substack that will be going live this week (you may have seen that it was actually supposed to go live last week, but we hit a bit of a hurdle). I am still in that hard part of a new creative endeavour where you are so deep in it that it’s difficult to summarise exactly what it is to someone who isn’t in it with you. I laughed and told her I was still working on my elevator pitch. It’s not just that the idea is somewhat new, it’s more that it hasn’t been released yet. Something I have learned over time is that when you release something into the world, that’s when the true beauty of it all happens.
When I look back at the pages of notes I wrote about what Curated would be before we launched it, I can see how much things shifted when it landed in the hands of our community. Our community made it into what it became. I was just the person pulling all the threads together and crafting it into some type of digestible shape. I hope Making, Again is like that too, that it takes on a life of its own. Kind of like becoming a parent. You can think you are in control and that you can shape this little being, but really so much is out of your control. Your real job is to guide that little person to become who they actually are. And that’s when it gets fun. When you take your hands off a little bit and help them follow their interests.
So I thought, seeing as though this thing is going live this week, now might be a good time to practice my elevator pitch.
Making, Again is a slow sewing experiment from us - In the Folds. It is an invitation to come back to making without being prescriptive or focusing on productivity. It’s a space for noticing, experimenting and trying things out in small, low-stakes ways. It is a container to be held and supported within, without the structure or pressure of an online course. It is the system that got me making again when I really thought I’d never be able to find joy at my sewing machine again.
There’s no set project list or ideal pace to keep up with. You don’t need to make an In the Folds pattern, or use a pattern at all. It’s a gentle, ongoing creative practice built around reflection, small experiments, community and curiosity rather than output. Think less “what should I make next?” and more “what feels right to explore now?”
What’s interesting about sharing your creative work, or anything else that makes you feel exposed or vulnerable, with others who know you well, is hearing what their takeaways are. My friend was genuinely thrilled about Making, Again. She understood that it is the culmination of all the things I have been working on and interested in to date, but she also said something that I hadn’t really thought about before or taken too much notice of. She said it’s pretty punk to say out loud, as a business owner, that we have produced enough patterns for now.
In this moment, I know that I have created enough patterns. To make any more at this point wouldn’t feel aligned with the mission and values of the business - or my own personal values.
So the question I was asking myself (ten years into running a patternmaking business) shifted from ‘What pattern should I design next?’ to ‘What else can I create that will help our community learn and feel more connected to their sewing practice, without the need for another pattern?’
This question feels liberating because, while I am a patternmaker, I am a designer at heart. My curiosity extends beyond garments to products, experiences, platforms and communities.
This is not to say that I will never release another sewing pattern again. I will. But when I do release another pattern, I want it to be intentional and thoughtful. Something that fills a gap in our archive. Something that perfectly reflects the In the Folds aesthetic I have become known for and that will make our customers squeal with excitement.
When I think about slowly piecing together a new wardrobe for myself in this season I’m in, any garment I think to make, I realise I have an In the Folds pattern for. It might not be exactly what I want, but it is the scaffold. And through some fairly simple pattern tweaks, I know it could become the thing I want it to be.
This is the part of our back catalogue of Curated projects that I am most proud of. We taught our community to do this too. That you don’t need a pattern for the exact thing that you want. What you need are the skills to visualise what you want to make and a starting point. That’s what I hope to continue supporting our community to do through Making, Again.
I won’t be saying, “this is the project you should be making right now”, but instead help you tune in to your own intuition to work out what it is that you actually need or want to wear right now. What feels good on your particular body, in this particular season of life. To learn to tune in to your wardrobe and your actual life and to become the designer of your own wardrobe through experimentation, curiosity and play.
So maybe it is a bit punk to say that I run a sewing pattern business and, for now, my focus is not on creating sewing patterns. But when I come back to my actual mission, which has never been to make sewing patterns, but to support makers to make clothes they will wear, love and cherish, then Making, Again feels just as aligned, if not more, with this mission than anything else I have ever done.
Making, Again will live as a paid space on Substack. As a subscriber, you’ll receive a new downloadable Playbook every six weeks, each one centred around a series of Making Experiments.
These Playbooks include reflections, prompts and gentle exercises designed to help you reconnect with your wardrobe and your making practice, without telling you what to make or how fast to move. You’ll also have access to a private Facebook community, a quiet place to share, reflect and connect with others moving through the same Experiment in their own way.
The first Experiment is called Noticing, and it’s about slowing down and paying attention to what you already wear, what already works, and what you’re drawn to right now. It’s a quiet starting point. One that doesn’t ask for big decisions or capsule wardrobes, just a willingness to look a little closer and begin again.
Alongside the Playbook, you’ll receive weekly emails as touch points throughout the Experiment. These are small check-ins to encourage reflection, spark ideas and invite interaction, rather than adding more to your to-do list.
My assistant, Courtney, and I will also be working through each Playbook in our own creative practices, sharing what we’re noticing, questioning and learning along the way. At the beginning and end of each Experiment, you’ll receive a podcast episode where we talk through our conversations, experiences and takeaways in more depth.
If this feels like the kind of space you’ve been craving, I’d love for you to join us. You can find more information about it here.
We will be sharing the first Playbook on Friday January 23rd, so make sure you sign-up if you’re ready to get Making, Again.
Thank you for sharing these thoughts. Reassessing is such an important part of any business, and life!