Fast-fashion is destroying the planet, so Selkie Patterns are helping to get us all sewing our own

Best friends Caroline and Alexandra, and co-founders of sewing pattern and textiles company Selkie Patterns, chat to us about sustainability, combatting fast-fashion, and why making and patching up your own clothes is better than buying new garments, for you and for the planet.

Tell us the Selkie Story.

Alexandra: We both have a different sewing story, but we met at university doing costume degrees. Caroline learnt to sew on her grandmother’s lap from the age of five and is a costume maker by trade, whereas I took the route of making my own clothing as an adult, as a way of increasing my own happiness. Sewing can be so therapeutic, and many people have this experience when they first start learning – it calms and focuses the mind, whilst allowing you to make something that is entirely yours.

Caroline: The idea for Selkie Patterns came when we had both reached points in our careers where we needed a new goal. Alexandra had always wanted her own company, and although we have very different skills between us, they are very complementary. Alexandra was already part of the growing sewing community, and I was becoming increasingly fascinated by sustainability and the role of sewing and textiles companies in this. There were sustainable fabric companies out there, but we saw a gap with patterns, so we ran with it and started the first sustainable sewing pattern business.