About

Hello, I’m Emily and welcome to my little corner of the internet, where I share my passion for making beautiful garments that look and feel great, by producing innovative and detail-rich sewing patterns and tutorials for the modern maker.

My journey to this point was a long time coming. My love for sewing began when I was about 9 years old, when my mum shipped me off to a school holiday sewing camp. I was the youngest by a long shot (and my lovely teacher had to sneakily stitch a few seams for me overnight, so that I could keep up with the class) but I instantly fell in love. I was enthralled by the idea that a piece of two dimensional fabric could be cut and sewn to become a three-dimensional object that could be worn and loved. I was soon teaching all my friends how to make scrunchies (yes, it was the late 90s and scrunchies were all the rage) and getting everyone I knew to enrol in sewing classes too.

I went on to study fashion and textiles at Sydney’s UTS, where I honed my skills in pattern making and construction, and after four challenging, but very rewarding years, graduated with an honours degree. Although I loved university, and saw my skills and expertise develop in leaps and bounds, I was disappointed to learn about the darker side of the global fashion industry while I was there. When I had started university I was a little naive to it all and had never once questioned how and where garments were made or the living conditions of those making them. By the end, my eyes were wide open and I couldn’t help but question the industry as a whole and my place in it. I had no desire to go and get a job in a studio that would be supporting sweatshop labour, nor did I want to work in an environment where I would just be another person in the factory line, taking care of one part of the production process and not being in a position to see the design and garment development from beginning to end.

Before making any big career decisions, I decided to take the inaugural ‘Aussie moves to London to find herself’ trip, where I hoped to see what skills, both personal and professional, I could gain. I found myself doing a number of internships in a range of different businesses and areas, and found the answer in what I thought at the time was the most unlikely place. I stumbled upon the online sewing community whilst doing an internship for an online sustainable fashion hub, and it suddenly occurred to me that there were career options available outside of the traditional fashion space.

What inspired me most about the online sewing community was that I could see real women making beautiful garments that would actually fit their body and lifestyle, without conforming to the fast fashion trends being pumped out of the high street. To me it seemed like a big step in the right direction, when thinking about more sustainable methods of garment production. As well as that, I saw that independent pattern designers were part of the community that they were serving, and that kind of business model excited me beyond belief.

I moved back to Sydney in 2015 and decided it was now or never ... and that is how In the Folds was born.

Learn more about the vision behind In the Folds.