From top left: Lahja Unisex Dressing Gown pattern from Named Clothing; Sewing Needles from The School of Making; Sointu Tee pattern from Named Clothing; Variegated Stripe Fabric Swatch in Camel/Natural with mixed embroidery from The Geometry of Hand-Sewing; Breaking the Pattern: A Modern Way to Sew by Saara and Laura Huhta; Color Palette Bundle in Tuscany from The School of Making
Named Clothing is a small Scandinavian pattern brand that was founded by sisters Saara and Laura Huhta in 2013. The two have navigated the complicated journey that surrounds building your own business while launching nine pattern collections and one book, Breaking the Pattern: A Modern Way to Sew. Their core values include adopting and encouraging sustainable and sensible consumption and fostering curiosity, which results in truly interesting designs. Like The School of Making, they encourage people to make lasting items that they love and will last for years to come.
From top left: Left: “Town ensemble”, 1977 by Yves Saint Laurent; Right: “Estivale summer dress”, 1911 by Paul Poiret from Paris Haute Couture, 2012 by Olivier Saillard and Anne Zazzo; Double-breasted Jacket in Black with Appliqué Stripes in Verdant and Natural; Stella Raglan Shirt and Shirt Dress pattern from Named Clothing; The Faded Stripe Pencil Skirt Kit from The School of Making; The Kielo Wrap Dress and Jumpsuit pattern from Named Clothing; Variegated Stripe Fabric Swatch in Verdant/Forest with mixed embroidery from The Geometry of Hand-Sewing.
April’s Swatch of the Month design of Variegated Stripes is inspired by the dresses and tops of Named Clothing’s designs. We wanted to introduce our subscribers to a new perspective on making and new designs to explore, so we asked Laura about their philosophy and how our makers might incorporate our techniques into their patterns. This month’s Swatch of the Month newsletter includes an exclusive long-format interview with Laura and explains even more about how to adapt Named’s patterns to The School of Making style. Subscribe here.
P.S.: We’re partnering with Named Clothing to giveaway one May Swatch of the Month. The winner will receive our May swatch and notions in collaboration with Rosanne Cash, access to the subscriber-only newsletter, and discount opportunities with The School of Making.
To enter, follow @theschoolofmaking and @namedclothing on Instagram and tag two friends in the comments of the post. Share the post to stories for an extra entry. A winner will be selected and notified on Monday, April 26th.
April’s Swatch of the Month: Black/White Variegated Stripe with mixed embroidery.
AC: You’ve got so many great dress patterns. We just love the collection. Our April Swatch of the Month highlights this fabric created with our Variegated Stripe Stencil and using embroidery techniques from The Geometry of Hand-Sewing.
It’s been so inspiring to browse your patterns. The Sointu tee, Kielo wrap dress, and Anneli double front dress are some of your patterns we love and feel would combine beautifully with jersey and our embroidered Swatch of the Month for April.
How would you use the Variegated Stripe Stencil in combination with your garment designs?
Any inspiration you can give us would be great.
LH: Oh, we just love stripes, they are so fun to play with! Stripes work wonders in garments that have pieces that are attached at an angle, such as the sleeve panels in Sointu. The horizontal stripes matched with diagonal ones will create a very nice geometric yet subtle detail, and one could also choose to cut the Sointu belt along the grain to add some vertical lines to the waist, in contrast to the horizontal pattern on the waist. You could do the same with the Kielo ties, where the wrap sides alone will offer a lovely diagonal stripe design. Stripes are just great for such natural, effortless little design details!
AC: While doing research for April’s Swatch of the Month designs, we found this beautiful inspiration dress from Paris Haute Couture. I would love to make a dress inspired by the image on the left. Which of your patterns would you suggest for this project? Any tips you’d suggest?
Left: “Town ensemble”, 1977 by Yves Saint Laurent; Right: “Estivale summer dress”, 1911 by Paul Poiret from Paris Haute Couture, 2012 by Olivier Saillard and Anne Zazzo.
LH: First of all, this design is beautiful! And, I would suggest our Stella pattern, which comes with an elastic waist, puffed sleeves with elasticated sleeve-ends, and a pussy bow collar. For creating a look more similar to the Yves Saint Laurent dress, I would only replace the chunky bow with a very narrow tie made by binding the neckline and continuing the binding at the front, to form those tiny ties. And perhaps adding a belt to the waist and using beautiful trims around the neckline and sleeve-ends. With these minor adjustments, you could already reach an aesthetic very similar to the dress you were inspired by.
Learn more by visiting namedclothing.com.
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Find a copy of Paris Haute Couture and The Geometry of Hand-Sewing.
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