interview & giveaway with Patterns by Figgy's

I'm really happy I had a chance to interview Patterns by Figgy's and they also graciously offered up some patterns for a giveaway as well!  Read on for the interview and giveaway.

How did Patterns by Figgy's get started?

Figgy’s got started from a simple idea that came from frustration. I know that sounds terrible doesn’t it? In 2008 I decided to take my sewing to another level by opening a little Etsy shop so I could stay at home but still help pay the bills. I frequented a wonderful fabric shop (“Sew to Speak” in Ohio) that carried adorable children’s patterns. The only issue was I could never use them to help create garments for my shop. So I began drafting my own patterns.

In 2009 I met a fabulous designer through Flickr, Karen LePage. She was not only a great designer but she was also a graphic designer and that’s what I needed. She took my pencil drawings and made them “pretty” (keeping it simple, it takes a lot more work than you think). As I got to know her more and more and realized how well we work together I quickly asked her to become my business partner. Thank goodness Karen said “yes”. Because of our teamwork Karen and I became an official company in 2010. The best part is that we shared a very important belief, which is that we wanted the seamsters that purchased our patterns to use them and create garments to sell at farmers markets and online venues.

Where can we buy quality knits?

I always suggest checking the locally owned fabric shops and talk to the shop owner about what you’re looking for and perhaps they’ll have just what you need.

If that’s not possible a few terrific online outlets are: “HARTS Fabric” has terrific fashion apparel knits and “Sew Mama Sew” always has a nice selection.

Do I need to have a serger?

There’s nothing like having a serger around the house. Cuts a lot of my time in half when constructing garments but if you’re not sewing five garments a day then your sewing machine will do the trick. It’s as simple as changing your stitch to a zig zag stitch, change the width to 1.0 and the length to 3.0. There are some terrific knit tutorials out on the web if you prefer to have a visual guide. We just added a new one to our blog that was part of the “Great Knit Experience” that Jen from “Stitch Simple” began last week.

I know I hinted at patterns for adults, and you do have a larger sizing of the tee for two pattern for kids that fits adult s/m, but are there any other plans in the works?

By popular demand we have also released the “Little Woo” in teen and Small/Medium adult sizes “(Big) Little Woo”. We’ve had some requests for the “Ofelia” pattern to be sized for teens/adults so that’s something we’re taking into consideration.

What's in store for your next pattern collection this spring?

The Spring line is my very favorite line since we began the business. We have a total of 3 patterns with a total of 6 garments coming out in May to be introduced at or a little before Quilt Market this coming Spring in Salt Lake City. We are offering both boy and girl patterns that have a vintage feel but with a modern twist.

We are working with an amazing fabric designer “Happy Zombie” who is with the Lecien fabric company. I wish I could share more and I will, just as soon as we can! We’ll also have a big announcement in regards the book we just finished for Wiley publishing next month. At that time we’ll actually get to tell everyone what it’s about!

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Thanks Shelly and Karen!  I'm really excited about all your upcoming business adventures, should be fun to see what's to come!

Now on to the giveaway:

There will be 3 winners selected to each win their choice of a Patterns by Figgy's pattern!  How fun is that?!

To Enter:

• leave a comment!
• one comment per person
• leave your email address in your comment (so I can contact you when you win!)
• three winners will pick their choice of pattern from Patterns by Figgy's
• giveaway open until Friday, February 18th, 2011