Happy Birthday Love Sewing!
Love Sewing first hit the shelves in April 2014, and we’re thrilled to have been by your side in your sewing rooms ever since! For those of you who have been reading the magazine since the very first issue, we’ve come a long way and brought you thousands of must-make projects, step-by-step techniques and pages of inspiration to keep your sewing machines whirring and your creative juices flowing!
We’ve been lucky enough to work with some amazing writers, designers and inspiring people over the years, and have asked some of our fantastic contributors to share their highlights from the past 100 issues. But, of course, we would be nothing without you, our fantastic readers! I just want to take a moment to thank you all for your support and passion. Love Sewing readers are the most inspiring, talented and dedicated readers around and we couldn’t be prouder of our community of caring sewists.
So, from myself and the team,
Thank you!
Bethany, Senior Editor
Meet the team
"It's something of a treat to be part of the Love Sewing team, and even more so to be celebrating the magazine's centenary issue this month. I never fail to be inspired and spurred on by the designers, writers, experts, creators and makers that fill our pages with the joy and promise of sewing. Happy 100th issue Love Sewing, here's to another 100!"
Ruth Brown, Consultant Editor
"It’s a real pleasure to work on Love Sewing magazine, as no two issues are ever the same! The covers are my favourite, working with Bethany to make sure we have just the right balance of great projects and headlines to make you want to dive straight in!"
Ian Danby, Senior Designer
"One of my favourite days at work is when we have model photoshoot days for “Love sewing”. The beautiful dresses and other garments are so inspiring. The studio is alive with people getting ready, steaming clothes, styling outfits and the satisfaction of getting that perfect shot makes all hard work worth it."
Renata Stonyte, Studio Manager/ Lifestyle and Fashion Photographer
"Happy birthday Love Sewing, such a wonderful achievement! The sewing community is always amazing but I think last year all our wonderful readers excelled themselves with their incredible generosity during a really difficult time. Our magazine is privileged to be part of such an incredible community. Here’s to the next 100 issues!"
Ruth Walker, Head of Publishing
We’re proud to bring you gorgeous McCall’s Pattern Co. patterns every month!
Don’t miss!
Amy joins us as our issue 101 Reader Reviewer
We definitely started out as a magazine for beginners but that’s the wonderful thing about sewing… the journey from beginner to experienced sewist is pretty quick. So we decided to start focusing on improving skills with tutorials and projects that shared expertise and excited our readers. Personally, it was a thrill to find more techniques and new pattern designers to feature in the pages.
For me the turning point was when we decided to really embrace the sewing community and invite them into the pages of our magazine. Reader reviews was the best thing we could have done! Having readers hear from other readers how they found sewing our patterns and showcasing their own style is the best inspiration. Plus we got to reward readers with a photoshoot celebrating them! Fashion comes in all shapes and sizes and every one we had over to our studio was beautiful inside and out. And there’s nothing quite like someone’s utter joy and appearing in the magazine to remind you why your job was so great.
Inclusivity was a big theme for the time I was at the magazine. It was something to work on daily, to try and think is my unconscious bias creeping in. How many models over size 14 am I showing? How many people of colour? We had a voice with the magazine and needed to better to reflect the diversity of the audience. Inviting the Sew Over 50 collective to collaborate on an article and inviting some of the group to HQ felt like an important moment. To discuss honestly with them what they felt when they looked at sewing brands and didn’t see themselves reflected was very eye opening. Plus seeing the group chatting happily together with such a variety of style and personality but all bonded by a love of making, reminded me why I love the sewing community.
Partnering with the McCall Pattern Company was a big moment for Love Sewing as we felt we had a brand that understood what we were trying to do with the magazine and knew our audience perfectly. Most of our readers had actually begun sewing with those brands and had a positive history with them. It felt like such a strong combination of creative forces! We were so grateful they let us try showing our versions of the garments on the envelopes for a UK spin on the patterns.
Amy Scarr, former Editor 2015-2020
www.almondrocksews.com
Meet the contributors
It was a once in a lifetime experience being featured on the cover page of a magazine for a craft that I love with all my heart. I have enjoyed writing for Love Sewing and adored connecting with the audience too.
Juliet Uzor, Designer
www.sewsonatural.com
"Love Sewing Magazine to me equates to passion. Being gifted a platform to enthuse about textile art to passionate dressmakers with the possibility of sparking a creative crossover, is thrilling!"
Stacey Chapman, Columnist
www.artseacraftsea.com
"I have loved having the opportunity to write projects for Love Sewing over the years! I really hope readers have gotten a lot of enjoyment from creating stitched treasures for their home or to give as gifts"
Chloe Redfern, Designer
www.choeredfernembroidery.weebly.com
"I've been creating patterns for Love Sewing magazine since meeting the former editor Amy at our event, The Dressmakers Ball. Working with the team at Love Sewing Magazine is always such a pleasure as they encourage me to create exciting new patterns and keep exploring new ideas. I love seeing our creations published in the magazine and seeing how Love Sewing readers make them their own way! Congratulations to the whole team on creating 100 issues of your fantastic magazine!"
Sarah Laws, Designer
www.myhandmadewardrobepatterns.com
"I love working on commissions for Love Sewing magazine, I've written projects for the magazine from the early days. I love the fresh modern approach of the magazine and the team are lovely and friendly."
Julia Claridge, Designer
"I have learnt so much from reading Love Sewing over the years. It’s wonderful to now be in a position to share my knowledge with other Love Sewing readers."
Michelle Rowley, Columnist