Meet Saara and Laura of Named: Founders of the Scandinavian Sewing Pattern Brand - Yardblox Fabrics

Meet Saara and Laura of Named: Founders of the Scandinavian Sewing Pattern Brand

We're thrilled to chat with Saara and Laura, the talented sister duo behind the scandinavian sewing pattern brand, Named.  After our recent collaboration on the Maite Raglan Dress, featuring the Yardblox Floral Lyocelle Polyester Jacquard, we loved how they are able to captures their modern and timeless style with this fabric.

Photo Credit: Named

Named was started in 2013 by sisters Saara and Laura, who turned their shared passion for making clothes into a sewing pattern brand loved by sewists worldwide. With a focus on sustainability and thoughtful design, they create sewing patterns that inspire people to sew timeless, practical wardrobes while learning new skills along the way. We spoke with Saara and Laura, who shared how Named came to be, their love for sewing, and some top tips for sewists when it comes to picking the perfect sewing fabric for their pattens.

Can you tell us a bit about how Named started? What inspired you to create sewing patterns?

In September 2012 we, Saara and Laura, sat down on bus number 72 to go and have lunch with our parents in north-eastern Helsinki. Six months earlier, Saara had completed a degree in fashion and Laura had graduated as a shoe designer around the same time. We both worked with fashion and clothing for different companies, but neither of us were excited by our career paths or felt that our work lined up with our values. On that half-hour bus journey, we immersed ourselves in talk about work. What would we do if we could do whatever we wanted?

We have dabbled in various handicrafts all our lives – from the moment our mother taught us to sew as children (she is an avid handicraft hobbyist). Sewing clothes, in particular, caught our interest. Our solution, therefore, was clear – we wanted to sew and, at the same time, make the sewing hobby, and clothes making in particular, interesting, exciting and attainable for as many people as possible!

What’s the philosophy or vision behind your sewing patterns?

We design our patterns so that they are pleasing to the eye and also offer an opportunity to learn new and different – even unusual – techniques. Our designs are timeless wardrobe staples with interesting details. To balance out the pressure to sew as much as possible as quickly as possible, we want to use our products to emphasize the fact that the most wonderful thing about sewing is the opportunity to keep developing yourself and learning new things. Quality over quantity is our motto. We have been sewing our whole lives and making clothes professionally for over ten years but we are still learning new things almost every day. We love it!

How do you approach designing a new sewing pattern? What comes first: the idea, the fabric, or the style?

We usually design our collections around a specific theme, which can be anything from children's clothing to geology! As we've been designing sewing patterns for over a decade, with each collection we try to add something new to our range: new styles, new details and new techniques. We keep trends in mind, but above all we want to create clothes that will stand the test of time.

Sustainability plays a key role for Named, can you tell us how you incorporate sustainable and eco-friendly fabrics into your pattern design process?

Sustainability is reflected in everything we do, from packaging materials to the green electricity and recycling in our office. We strive to create timeless garments that you want to love and wear until the end of their life cycle, and we also pay attention to the materials we use and fabric recommendations we give. For example, we don't recommend synthetic fibres or wool for our patterns, which have a high environmental and ethical impact. We try to choose natural fibres for our samples, although unfortunately in some cases we have to make exceptions.

Do you have a favorite type of sewing fabric that you tend to design for? If so, why?

Linen! Linen is an exceptionally wonderful fabric to sew and to wear. It is beautiful and has a much lower ecological impact than cotton, for example.

We get inspiration from fairly traditional sources: social media, magazines and keeping our eyes open wherever we go.

How do you choose which sewing fabrics work the best with your sewing patterns? What qualities do you look for in sewing fabric to complement your designs?

We try to find the most suitable fabric for each sample, which is a surprisingly difficult task when you also have to consider the collection as a whole: colours and patterns have to match and be current and interesting.

We tend to avoid fabrics that are too patterned or unusual, because we know that the pattern itself is best expressed in a simpler fabric, and we also want to use fabrics that are easy for our customers to find. The most important thing is that the fabric has the right thickness, stretch and drape for the sample, so that the customer has a good idea of what kind of a garment it is.

What’s your top tip for sewists when it comes to choosing the right sewing fabric for a pattern?

You should check the fabric recommendations for the pattern. Our fabric recommendations are usually quite simple, and we only mention how heavy, stretchy, and drapey the fabric should be, so the customer is free to choose from a wide range of fabrics within these guidelines. It is always worth investing in a good quality fabric, even if it is a little more expensive. We definitely prefer natural fibres, although in some cases it is also justified to choose artificial fibres.

Are there any “must-know” fabric properties that sewists often overlook but are crucial to a successful project?

It’s smart to follow the fabric suggestion guidelines that come with the pattern, as for example the fabric's stretch percentage and thickness may have been taken into account in the pattern, and changing these can affect the design.

It is also worth remembering that patterned fabrics are less likely to show different details, so if the pattern includes pockets or other details that you want to show, you should choose a fabric with a moderate pattern at most.

What advice would you give to someone new to sewing, especially regarding pattern and fabric pairing?

You should start with patterns that use stable and light, easy-to-sew fabrics such as linen and cotton. Very thick fabrics, such as denim, require a little more strength from the sewing machine and even the sewist, and very drapey or slippery fabrics can be quite challenging to work with, too! So, it's a good idea to get some experience with easier fabrics first.

If you could only sew with one type of fabric for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Haha, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, our favourite at the moment is linen. It just has such a lovely feel and charisma, and it really doesn't hurt that it's also more eco-friendly than many other options.

What’s the one pattern in your collection that you think every sewist should try?

Our most popular pattern is the Kielo wrap dress. It's reasonably easy to sew, but also a pattern that fits many body shapes and adapts as your weight changes. Many people have sewn Kielo as a maternity dress too!

We’re launching new collections this year for Pointelle, Waffle & Double Gauze fabric, which of your patterns pairs well with these fabrics?

Pointelle fabric would pair beautifully with our Paola, which is a lovely classic turtleneck tee and a true classic! 

Waffle, the Lahja robe, which includes both a long and short version, and can therefore be sewn to suit any gender.

Double Gauze fabric would make a dreamy soft Taimi top or dress!

Thanks to Saara and Laura for chatting with us for this interview, I hope you found it as interesting to read as we did! Check out their latest sewing Maite Raglan Tunic and Dress pattern 

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