This week, we had the chance to speak with Camille, the amazing designer behind the sewing pattern brand Camimade. She talks to us about creativity, her journey to becoming a pattern designer, opening her own studio and the importance of sustainability in the world of DIY. Discover her patterns on Makerist!
When did you first realise you wanted to pursue a career in pattern design?
I had always dreamt of being a fashion designer. At 5 I was drawing dresses and sewing clothes for my dolls. As a teenager, I put this dream on hold and unfortunately didn’t study fashion. However, fashion came back to me during my studies when I joined a sewing club and started sewing ball gowns. What I like about making my own clothes is deciding the shape, studying the construction and making something unique. At some point, I felt limited as the shapes I wanted were not available as sewing patterns and I became very interested in making my own patterns. In the end, I decided to learn pattern cutting at the London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins and that’s when I realised that this is exactly what I like doing and that I should do something about it.
How did you decide to open your own studio?
It took me some time to decide to leave my comfortable job but it became an obsession that I had to do something in pattern design. After 5 years as an employee in a big company, I was also aspiring for independence. So I decided to take a big leap and so I opened my own sewing pattern studio this year.
What is your favourite part about being a pattern designer?
I love everything about being a pattern designer. Being independent means I am in charge of every aspect of the process. I love imagining my next patterns, sourcing fabrics, explaining how to make them, working with testers, sewing the samples…but what I like the most is developing the patterns as collections around a personal theme.
What challenges do you face as a creative?
I face the challenge many new pattern designers and even new companies face: awareness. There are thousands of pattern designers out there and only a few are well known, so you need to double your efforts when launching your sewing patterns to make them visible. As a creative, I can easily feel overwhelmed by all the ideas I have and then feel lost. I try to stick to one direction so it can fit in my diary but it’s so frustrating to put all my other ideas to the side.
You always offer different ways for customers to make your patterns their own – is this personalisation an important element of your design process? What else is important to you when you are designing your patterns?
For now, I have tried to offer a personalisation aspect in each of my patterns, by offering different shapes (like for the Feuillage shirt/shirt dress) or different options to finish the garment (like for the Dune cami top). Although a sewing pattern is a precise guide, there are no rules. It’s important for me to show people that they are in control of what they create. I like to think that I am giving them the tools to feel free to create! Another thing that is important to me is to bring shapes that are not necessarily what you see in the shops. I want to create unique designs like fashion designers do. I don’t want my designs to be dictated by the trends, but to bring something new or at least basic. It is so difficult to find basic shapes in the shops today.
Tell us about why creativity is so important to you.
I feel at peace when I’m creating. Nothing else exists when I’m at my cutting table or my sewing machine. Sometimes, I don’t even remember when it is time to eat! Learning new stuff is my kind of food, and the creative process is full of learning. Even though it is not always easy or straightforward, it’s important to go through the pain and the headaches to reach the satisfaction at the end. There’s also incredible satisfaction in sharing what you’ve made. When I wear my own garments, it gives me a sort of secret confidence that I didn’t have when wearing ready-to-wear clothes. I feel like I own my style and that I am more myself.
How do you think the world of DIY will change now that there is a growing focus on sustainability in fashion?
I think the world of DIY is already changing: it’s reaching younger people and becoming more involved in sustainability. Having more and more small sewing pattern brands is a good sign that the DIY world is changing the rules of the fashion game. When you realise all the effort it takes to create garments, you start wondering how clothes could be so cheap and how you agreed to take part in this before. The DIY community have and will have a bigger role to play in bringing awareness to sustainability in fashion.
What impact has social media and the online DIY community had on your work?
When I joined Instagram a few years ago, I was amazed by how big the DIY community was. There are so many inspiring people you can connect with out there. I found very nice souls ready to trust an unknown pattern designer and test my patterns, which was unbelievable! I don’t think this would have happened without social media. It’s constantly inspiring to see all this content, all this creativity, people sharing their sewing projects, their art, etc. However, I try to distance myself from it as much as I can as I don’t want my creative process to depend on it.
Make sure to check out all of Camimade’s amazing patterns on Makerist and to follow her on Instagram. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and check out our Pinterest boards for more patterns and DIY inspiration!
