Hi, I’m Elie, I write this blog about sewing my handmade wardrobe and I am also the creator of Attie and Dora digital sewing patterns, which I sell in my Etsy shop.

My aim, when creating my digital sewing patterns, is to provide simple designs with a contemporary edge for the home sewist. Each pattern is designed with the goal of creating the ultimate between seasons capsule wardrobe.

I run my business from Shetland where I live with my partner Aaron. Shetland is a remote but very inspiring place to live and thanks to the wonders of the internet I can still be involved in the international sewing community.

How I started Attie and Dora….

I learned to hand sew and knit as a child, but only started making garments to wear in 2014 when I decided to move back to Shetland after a number of years studying chemistry at university and then working in labs.

As soon as I completed my first garment  I was hooked – the ambition to design and make clothes became a full blown passion.

I started spending all my free time and money buying patterns and fabric and reading sewing blogs. I wanted to learn everything about how beautiful clothes were made.  I started pushing myself to take on more and more difficult projects. The first garment I made for someone else was a silk velvet bridesmaid dress, which was an extremely tricky sew, but I took my time and conquered it. This achievement gave me confidence to try new fabrics and more complex garments.

To give me more creative control over what I was making I enrolled on an intensive pattern cutting course in the summer of 2015.

I returned to Shetland determined to create my own patterns for sale.  This involved immersing  myself in  books, online courses and trial and error experiments ultimately learning how to design, grade and digitise patterns.  It was really important to me that I could complete the process of creating a pattern from start to finish myself, so it took  a long time and a lot of determination.

Releasing patterns for sale is  both the end and the beginning of my sewing journey.

The  upside is that  I wake up every morning excited by what I am doing and thinking about what I will design and sew next …

SaveSave