I've always been really proud to be a pattern designer with Butterick, partly because I have a strong nostalgia for the process of pattern shopping. So I was pretty excited to see this quote:
Gretchen Hirsch, a blogger, author and pattern designer who began sewing seriously 10 years ago when she was in her 20s, said the process of picking out a McCall pattern has not changed from when she visited fabric stores with her mother as a girl in the 1980s.
“Going to a Jo-Ann’s and seeing those same old metal filing cabinets with the McCall’s and Butterick patterns inside — you know, the tissue, the instructions and the little envelope — I found it enormously comforting,” Ms. Hirsch said.Another favorite quote?
“I’ve done this long enough to know that people have it in their hearts,” said Carolyne Cafaro, the creative director. “There could be one pattern company left in the world, but I do think people will always sew.”I love that the piece conveys so much of the emotion surrounding home sewing, but it also tackles lots of other topics including the future of the industry in a digital age, the company's relationship with social media, and the DIY revolution. Not to mention a really fantastic slide show about the company archive, complete with pictures of a young Isaac Mizrahi and Charlize Theron.
In any case, it's pretty thrilling to see home sewing get such prominent media coverage. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the article!
