About Us

WELCOME TO THE FOLD LINE


THE FOLD LINE IS AN AWARD-WINNING ONLINE SEWING PATTERN SHOP

Founded in 2015 we are the home for people who love sewing and making their own clothes. With more than 10 years of experience working with independent designers, we are the sewing pattern experts. Based in the UK we offer an extensive range of paper and digital PDF sewing patterns plus copy shop printing services, shipping worldwide.

OUR SEWING MISSION


WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND THE PERFECT PROJECT AND SEW A HANDMADE WARDROBE YOU LOVE

Let us inspire your next make with our weekly blogs and videos where we match sewing patterns that are inspired by the latest high street trends, find sewing patterns from films and TV and keep you updated with all the latest news from the sewing community.

We champion independent designers from around the world and you can use our pattern finder tool to search over 10,000 patterns and sewing pattern reviews from the community. We offering an extensive range of paper and digital PDF sewing patterns, shipping worldwide. We also offer a sewing pattern copy shop printing service, it’s the best of both worlds! You receive a PDF sewing pattern immediately plus the large scale A0 sheet version of the pattern is printed out by us and posted to you next working day. Alternatively you can upload a PDF pattern you have purchased elsewhere and we will print it for you.

One of the most wonderful things about sewing is all the possibilities of what you can make, from the choice of fabric to being able to fit clothes to our unique body shapes. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive community for all, where sewing patterns are accessible to everyone and we see ourselves reflected the designs being created.

We also love chatting about sewing, sign up to our newsletter and follow us on social media for all the latest sewing pattern releases plus join our friendly Facebook group to get advice. Be inspired to create a wardrobe you love!

 

HELLO, WE ARE KATE + RACHEL


LET US TAKE YOU ON A SEWING ADVENTURE…

We created The Fold Line in 2015 to make it easier to find sewing patterns. As avid makers, we were struggling to keep up with all the new releases from independent designers. We are now on a mission to inspire you to create a handmade wardrobe you love and provide a platform for independent designers to get discovered. It’s been amazing to see all the new indie designers launch over the last few years; there are now over 200 worldwide.

We are so thankful for all the support of our loyal customers. This has enabled our business to grow and with the help of our brilliant team, champion even more designers alongside supporting initiatives in the sewing community and donating to charities each month. We are proud to share our curated collection of modern sewing patterns with you. Whether you’re a beginner or sewing pro, you are sure to find a sewing pattern you love from our collection of over 5,000 designs!

OUR VALUES


CHAMPIONING INDEPENDENT DESIGNERS

At The Fold Line we are passionate about championing independent sewing pattern designers and this was recognised by Mollie Makes, who awarded us the Handmade Champion prize for people promoting and supporting independent businesses. With us you can learn all about pattern designers in the sewing community and discover what inspires their dressmaking designs and creative processes. Indie designers are a really creative bunch and they design a wide range of patterns for the sewing community.

CHARITY PROJECTS

Each month we make a donation from our profits to a different charity, you can find details of the charities we will be supporting in our weekly newsletter. We will be donating funds to local charities, organisations who support members of the sewing community and emergency appeals to support disaster relief efforts worldwide. Charities we have recently supported include Red Cross Beirut Emergency Appeal, Show Racism The Red Card, The Samaritans, The Black Curriculum, Fine Cell Work and Macmillan Cancer Support.

In 2020 we held our first Online Sewing Weekender, donating 100% of the profits equally between the charities NHS Charities Together, the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, Black Lives Matter and Mind. With 1,941 tickets being sold, attendees from 37 countries helped to raise £23,610 for the four charities. We both volunteer our time to grassroots charities in our local areas, from groups helping to provide food and shelter to homeless people to projects making an impact elsewhere in the world teaching vulnerable women sewing skills. We understand the vital importance of work by local charity groups and look to support them personally and through The Fold Line.

We also donate end of line stock to a charity local to us, Animal Rescue and Care, which they sell at events to raise funds.

We are always looking to support charities and regularly promote events in the sewing community that raise funds or create supplies through sewing challenges. We also provide advice to charities on accessing resources in the sewing industry and reaching out to makers.  On our website we list charities who sew and knit to support vital work in our communities in the UK and worldwide. If you volunteer or manage a charity we can help promote please get in contact [email protected].

INCLUSION

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive sewing community for all. One of the most wonderful things about sewing is all the possibilities of what you can make, from the choice of fabric to being able to fit clothes to our unique body shapes. A very important part of this is sewing patterns being accessible to everyone in the sewing community and that we see ourselves reflected in the designs being created. We want everyone to feel represented, included and inspired. We do understand how important this is and we are always striving to be as inclusive as possible. To find out more, read our diversity policy.

SUSTAINABILITY

We always look to work with, support and promote other small businesses with the same values as us. We have long-standing relationships with the small businesses who help us to provide the services needed to run The Fold Line. When sourcing supplies and services we make sustainable choices. To find out more, read about our sustainability practices.

MEET OUR TEAM


We have a talented team who help us to bring you new sewing pattern releases, create exciting content, develop our website and send you parcels of goodies. Whether you are looking for advice, sewing pattern recommendations or inspiration for your next project, we are here to help. With more than ten years of experience working with pattern designers, we are the industry experts.

We are proud to have been accredited as a Living Wage Employer. This means that all our employees are paid at least the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate that is voluntarily paid by nearly 6,000 UK businesses who believe their staff deserve a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work. Find out more from the Living Wage Foundation. Our employees also work flexitime, this is a flexible way of working which allows members of our team to fit their working hours around their personal circumstances.

 

 

KATE – DIRECTOR

Having worked as a knitwear designer, Kate missed using her hands and decided to retrain as a milliner. After a very happy few years knee-deep in sequins and feathers she stumbled across the indie sewing world and has never looked back. She then worked freelance doing social media consultancy for small creative businesses. As a founder of The Fold Line, she is the creative mind behind our social media and content. Outside of work you’ll find her chasing her badly behaved dog around the park and hunting out London’s best gin martini.

 

 

 

RACHEL – DIRECTOR

Rachel worked as a science researcher before having a change of career. She went on to manage wholesale and pattern production for a sewing business alongside freelance pattern-cutting and product design for creative businesses. As a founder of The Fold Line, she oversees business operations and compliance. When she’s not working you will find her growing vegetables at her allotment, listening to podcasts and visiting exhibitions.

 

 

 

KRISTINA – ONLINE SHOP MANAGER (INDEPENDENT PATTERNS)

Kristina works with our independent designers to add all the new pattern releases to our online shop each week. She also adds new designers and keeps existing patterns up-to-date. If you’ve purchased a pattern from us before you may well have received an update from Kristina. Her hobbies (other than sewing!) include reading, knitting socks, doing crosswords and jigsaws, and drinking tea.

 

 

 

LOUISE – SOCIAL MEDIA AND CONTENT MANAGER

Louise manages all our social media platforms and creates our weekly newsletters. She also writes our blog posts, coming up with lots of ideas to inspire your next make. You can also find her hanging out in our Facebook group where she can help with your sewing queries. Her hobbies include blogging at One Cut Pair and having cuddles with her cat Maisie.

 

 

 

MEL – CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSISTANT

Mel is responsible for looking after all our customers and helping them with any queries they have. When she’s not sewing garments and quilts (Mint Button blog), she can usually be found playing hockey or badminton or pottering in the garden. She also spends a lot of time thinking about food and loves baking treats and travelling around the South East with her husband to find the best tea and cake.

 

 

 

SAMMY – WAREHOUSE

Sammy is responsible for packing all our customer orders and printing copy shop patterns using our large copy A0 printer (called Brenda!) She also receives deliveries of all our paper patterns and keeps the warehouse where we store all the designs in order. When Sammy isn’t working she enjoys spending time cooking for her family and looking after a growing number of stray cats that have taken up residence in her garden!

 

 

HELEN – COMMERICAL PATTERNS

Helen works on our range of commercial pattern brands including Vogue Patterns, McCalls, Simplicity, Butterick and New Look. She adds all the new pattern collections when they are released and keeps the online shop up to date when designs go out of print. She also works on other projects including changes we are making so that our online shop more accessible. When Helen isn’t working she enjoys spending time outdoors gardening and has a passion for nature and wildlife. She enjoys long distance coastal path walking including the south west coast path. In her previous job she worked on family history projects and is passionate about researching her own family tree. She also likes crosswords and sudoku.

 

 

RICHARD – FULL STACK DEVELOPER

Richard is the mastermind behind keeping our website up and running and adding new functions for a better customer experience. When not writing code Richard is most likely to be found wandering in a wood with his ageing springer spaniel or stuck into a good book sipping decent whiskey (life is too short for average whiskey). He might also be wondering if there’s anything that can’t be cooked in his air fryer.

 

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