Hi, I'm Lauren!

I empower aspiring and seasoned sewing pattern designers with the knowledge and tools to create modern, high-quality, marketable, digital sewing patterns so they can launch and grow their brands.

How do I do it? 30+ years of sewing experience. 20+ years of figuring out Adobe Illustrator and InDesign (think QuarkXPress). A knack for problem solving and creating systems. A master’s degree in advertising management. And just enough of a Southern accent and dry sense of humor to keep things interesting.

I founded Pattern Workshop back in 2014 when PDF patterns were just starting to take off, blog tours and linky parties were all the rage (remember those?!), and using quilting cotton for garment sewing was not only accepted but encouraged. (Thank goodness we are past all that!) I had quit my job in advertising to stay home with my (then) two young children, and in my spare time, I started following several pattern designers’ blogs and getting back into sewing.

Upon noticing that a popular sewing blogger (not pictured in any of these photos!) was giving away a free pattern that had been drawn with a Sharpie and scanned into PDF format, I knew there was a way I could contribute to the community and possibly create a little income for myself in the process. I reached out to several designers offering my digitizing services for free (I knew how to use Illustrator and InDesign from my prior career), and I soon landed a few paid gigs helping with pattern grading, pattern package design and even one-on-one teaching.

A few months later, I was on vacation with my family in Bishop, California, and feeling overwhelmed with several projects. My husband said to me, “You should just create an online course instead of doing this for people.” At first, I thought it was nonsense. To be completely honest, I was learning as I went, and I had a major case of imposter syndrome. I couldn’t imagine that anyone would take a course from me on digital pattern making – much less pay for one. I was just a small-time (but tech-savvy) blogger who knew how to sew, had no following to speak of and no pattern designs of my own.

So, I did what any rational person would do. I threw up a website with a course description and tentative outline, and I offered a pre-sale to gauge interest. I didn’t think anyone would buy it, and then I could get on with my #momlife and forget about it. (Keep in mind – this was before all the online course hype! I was completely winging all of this!)

But a crazy thing happened. People bought it – 20 to be exact (and only because I had inadvertently put a cap on enrollment in my haste to set everything up). After the initial shock wore off, I realized that I now had to deliver on my promise – to teach these 20 people how to create PDF sewing patterns. I gave myself a 6-week deadline to release the course, and I worked around the clock to make it happen.

Fast forward several years, and I’ve taught over 2,000 students from 69 countries around the world to digitally draft, modify, tile, package and market their PDF sewing patterns. My courses have been licensed internationally by Burdastyle, and I was a Janome Ambassador and PellonProjects.com contributor. I even created a second course on fabric design with Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. I released four sewing patterns of my own, but let’s be honest – I’ve always said that I’m a technologist – not an artist. I get much more joy out of sharing knowledge and tools with other designers so they can bring their ideas to fruition (and give me more things to sew!).

In the summer of 2020, I had the unfortunate experience of losing my day job as a digital marketing manager (yes, I went back to work somewhere during all of that…and had two more babies) during the COVID-19 pandemic (work from home + 4 kids at home = not possible). And though the whole situation was a blow to my self-esteem, it was also just the kick in the pants I needed to completely overhaul and re-release my flagship course on digital pattern making. So, here we are!

A page about me would not be complete without a huge shoutout to the people who have supported me through late nights writing closed captions, missed family bike rides and picnics, and my inability to let a PHP error go until it’s 100% fixed.

My kiddos – Harper, Ezra, Finnegan and Moira – keep me laughing with their witty banter, their sick dance moves and constant sloppy kisses and bear hugs. We live just outside of Asheville, North Carolina near the beautiful Pisgah National Forest.

Hi, I'm Lauren!

I empower aspiring and seasoned sewing pattern designers with the knowledge and tools to create modern, high-quality, marketable, digital sewing patterns so they can launch and grow their brands.

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