We are so excited to kick off our Sponsor Spotlights this year with Named! These lovely ladies have supported Indie Pattern Month for the past 3 years and we couldn’t be happier to have them back again for 2018! Kyla caught up with Laura to find out more about their latest release – the Anni Building Block Pattern – and to see what other exciting things they’ve been working on lately (hint – have you heard?! – they are about to release a BOOK!).
**Use code SEWINDIE2018 for 15% off any Named patterns from October 1st thru October 8th!**
First, can you tell us a bit about your style and range of patterns, for people who may not have seen your brand before?
Our style is very simplistic, clean-lined and Scandinavian. We like to create clothes that suit a variety of body types and that are timeless enough to last for a long time. On top of that we usually try to focus on fun and unusual cuts, beautiful silhouettes and functionality!
We’d love to hear more about your latest release, the Anni pattern. Tell us more!
The Anni pattern is something completely different from anything that we have designed before. It’s a building block pattern, which basically means that the pattern comes with a bodice pattern, which you can choose to sew with three different neckline variations, add one of the three sleeve variations or make the garment sleeveless, and make it into a Jumpsuit, Playsuit or Dress by choosing one of the three bottom variations! This means that the sewist can actually make up to 36 different variations by using just this one pattern, by mixing and matching details!
What was the inspiration behind making Anni into a “building block pattern” with so many gorgeous options?
We wanted to create something that encourages sewists to design their own, unique style. And of course something that as many sewists as possible could find tempting and suitable for their own taste.
In honor of your 5-year anniversary (congratulations, by the way!), if you had to select your top five favorite designs of all time, what would they be and why?
Thank you for the congratulations! First we would of course have to choose Kielo Wrap Dress from our second collection ‘All Things Nice’, it has been and still continues to be our most popular pattern. We are also very proud of our Gaia Coat, Tyyni Trousers and Reeta Midi Dress. Tyyni and Gaia have a lovely cut that we think quite perfectly explains what Named is all about. Reeta is a lovely and timeless dress, in which we think the details and proportions are very nicely balanced. Then last we would of course have to list the Anni pattern. Designing a pattern with so many variations, and making the pattern work was a very interesting and exciting challenge!
You’ve created a very well known and well loved pattern company over the past 5 years. What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced during that time?
Being just the two of us running the business, it has sometimes been very hard to balance all the day-to day tasks that need to be done in order to maintain the business. We really love to design and sew, and sometimes it is hard to cut styles out of the collections in order to make each collection fit into approximately ten patterns.
What is next for Named? Where do you see yourselves in the next five years?
For the past year we have been working on a book ‘Breaking the Pattern’ with Quadrille Publishing. The book is scheduled to be released in November (but you can already preorder it here!) Designing and writing the book has definitely been an inspiring and exciting project, and we can’t wait for it to be out soon. After that it is hard to estimate what will be our next step. We can just hope that we will be able to work with something pattern and sewing related also after the next five years!
The Monthly Stitch 