Friday Pattern Company – Sew My Style 2020 Designer Q&A

Based in northern California, Chelsea Gurnoe is the pattern designer behind Friday Pattern Company. This is one of the two featured pattern companies for February’s Sew My Style challenge.

What is Sew My Style? Check it out here!

Chelsea and Friday Pattern Company recently released the unisex Ilford Jacket and graciously offered it to our #SMS20 participants. The pattern is a bold statement piece with several different options to make it truly your own style. There is even a lining hack to boot!

And while the jacket suits all genders, it can ALSO be made into a shirt. And like all patterns that Friday Pattern Company sells, 5% of all proceeds are donated to charity. Read more about that here.

In this interview Chelsea reveals deep secrets about ice cream research and making not one but TWO wedding dresses! Enjoy!

What is your name? Chelsea

What is your company’s name and how did you come up with it? My company is called Friday Pattern Company. Friday night used to be my favorite night to sew because I could stay up all night sewing and have something amazing to wear for the weekend. 

How long has your company existed? Since 2017. 

When did you decide to become a pattern designer? I don’t think there was a moment where I decided to be a pattern designer. I have always been interested in fashion and sewing. It all just kind of came together. I did come up with the concept of my company about a year and a half before it came to fruition. 

What inspired you to start creating patterns? I had been drafting patterns for my own garments for a while and it was something that I had a lot of fun doing. 

What background do you have in pattern design (self-taught, technical schooling, etc)? I am a fashion school dropout! I grew up sewing and knew I wanted to do something with fashion or making. I went to school for fashion design and hated it. So you could say I have some technical schooling and a lot of self-teaching!

What’s your favorite flavor ice cream and do you prefer a cone or a bowl? My favorite ice cream flavor is pumpkin. I like it with chopped up bananas and hot fudge in a cup. I worked at an ice cream shop in my teens so I have done a lot of research to come to this conclusion. 

Where do you get ideas for new designs? I start by thinking about what I want the garment to be for. Like where it would be worn and how I want it to feel. When I’m trying to get inspired I put myself in situations where my mind can wander. I love people watching or going to a yoga class. 

What is your personal favorite among your patterns? My personal fave is the Wilder Gown. I felt really passionate about that design but wasn’t sure people would be into it because it is a bit of a statement. Luckily, I was wrong and it seems to resonate with people. I love that it is big and flows and that you can feel it move around you when you wear it.

What do you hope people gain from using your patterns? I hope that people have fun when they sew my patterns. I derive so much joy from sewing and I want other people to feel that. My goal is that you fall just a little more in love with sewing every project that you do. 

What has been your all time most challenging sewing project? I made my wedding dress. It was such an ordeal. Not just because of the difficulty but because of the uncertainty and fear that it wouldn’t look good. I spent weeks working on this bodice made from a beaded lace and then in the last couple days whipped up this gown out of bamboo jersey that I ended up liking more than the beaded dress. I wore them both and I love them both. 

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Are you #teamcut or #teamtrace? Historically I have always been #teamcut because I’m a no-nonsense type of person who likes to dive right in. But lately I’ve been trying to slow down and I have been tracing. It’s actually kind of meditative, it‘s a time to reflect on the pieces and think about how the pattern is going to go together. I will point out that I have a studio with a big huge table in it so that makes it easier to be #teamtrace. I think if I was still sewing in my living room and cutting things out on the kitchen floor I would be #teamcut all the way!

Thanks Chelsea! To learn more about Friday Pattern Company, check out their site!

Click here to read all the Sew My Style Designer Q&As.

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