Welcome to the new Featured Company series on PatternReview. A pattern from an indie designer is more than what's in the envelope. They put a lot more of themselves in their patterns. In this episode Deepika is chatting with sisters Laura and Saara of Named Pattern company.  Learn about their ethos, their TNT patterns and what a day in their life looks like. Celebrate Named pattern week with us by posting reviews, buying their patterns and sewing with Named patterns. Scroll down to find a giveaway!  

Deepika: What is the philosophy behind your company? In other words, what is your WHY?  Why Named Patterns? 

Named: We started Named back in 2013, out of a simple passion for making clothes and sustainable fashion. We wanted to create patterns that encourage and excite more people to try sewing their own clothes and challenge them to think about their own relationship to fashion and consuming fashion.

Named’s values include sustainable and sensible consumption combined with curiosity, personal development and continuous learning. Interesting, beautiful and carefully designed patterns encourage people to create a practical wardrobe that can withstand time and use.

We design our patterns so that they are pleasing to the eye and also offer an opportunity to learn new and different – even unusual – techniques. Our designs are timeless basic clothes that nonetheless include interesting details. To balance out the pressure to sew as much as possible as quickly as possible, we want to use our products to emphasize the fact that the most wonderful thing about sewing is the opportunity to keep developing yourself and learning new things. Quality over quantity is our motto. We have been sewing our whole lives and making clothes professionally for ten years but we are still learning new things almost every day. We love it!

Our love of sewing, then, is not the only thing our brand is based on; it also includes the vision that our own personal choices can have a genuine influence on the world.

Deepika:  Do you use Named Patterns for your personal sewing? If so, which pattern do you use a lot. And which one is bestselling  (I'll share PR data as well).

Named: Yes, we mostly use our own patterns for our own sewing projects. Mainly because they are so easily available when the sewing bug strikes. Saara has sewn herself three Eloisa from our book Breaking the Pattern, but otherwise we rarely make multiple versions of the same pattern.

Laura has sewn a Syli blouse and a Hali dress in a blouse version from our FW22 collection, and they have been in heavy use for the past couple of years!

The top 3 bestselling and most reviewed patterns by Named, on The PatternReview site are: Kielo, Talvikki and Inari

Deepika: If someone is new to your patterns, which pattern would you recommend?

Named: Kielo is by far our most popular pattern, so we would probably recommend Kielo! It is reasonably easy to sew, but still looks great and is suitable for many body types.

We would also recommend to take a look at our different types of pattens, of which we have a wide range: in addition to the traditional paper pattern, most of our PDF patterns are available as a home print file, a large-scale print file, as well as a modern projector pattern, which is projected directly onto the fabric without any paper pattern at all! We also offer a print-on-demand service, which means that any of our PDF patterns can be ordered pre-printed in A0 size.

Deepika: A small business owner wears many hats. I understand that each day could be a little different for you but if I asked you to describe a day in your life running Named Patterns, what would it look like?

Named: Indeed, our work varies a lot depending on which stage of the design process is underway. Every day we deal with things like customer service, updating social media and mailing orders for the online shop customers and retailers.

When we start producing a new collection, we first draw and polish the designs for a week or two, then sew prototypes and samples for the photoshoot. The most time-consuming part of the process is working on the patterns and instructions to make them ready to be sold in their many formats.

Deepika: What are some of your other interests besides sewing?

Named: Saara loves to do all kinds of crafts in her free time, such as knitting, painting and macramé. She also enjoys dancing and aerial acrobatics.

Laura enjoys cooking, photography, reading and working out at the gym. She is also a passionate crossword puzzler.

Deepika: Can you think of a simple tip or a habit you incorporated into your life which made a big impact for you?

Named: At least what we have learned is that, although entrepreneurship is very demanding, you still have to remember to look after your own well-being. So, we know how to take breaks or even longer holidays if we need to, in order to do the work we love!

Deepika: That is great advice. Thank  you Laura and Saara for chatting with me. 

A Giveaway! 

Let us know about your favorite Named pattern in the comments below and we will enter you into a raffle to win a free Named pattern of your choice! Giveaway ends on Monday, March 11th at midnight eastern time. 

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