Dress No 938 from Grasser Patterns made with FS Wildcherry Midweight Signature Finish linen

Could you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into sewing? 

My name is Antigoni and I live in a small town just outside Athens, Greece. I am an engineer by trade and I work (from home) as an AI/speech expert in a research institute.

I have always been a crafty person, mostly as an antidote to my predominantly digital computer work. The first thing I learned to hand sew was ribbons and elastic on my ballet pointe shoes. During covid, I found an old sewing machine and after some trials and errors and watching some video tutorials, I slowly got into sewing and never stopped since. I started with pouches and scrunchies, then gradually moved onto garment sewing with Burda patterns and shorty after I discovered indie patterns and projector sewing. That’s when I really fell in love with sewing. I am sharing this journey on my Instagram account.

Why do you sew?

The reasons why I sew have changed over time. I thought it was all about the clothes and making whatever I fancied wearing. But truth is it’s much more important than this. I find peace when I sew. I feel whole and happy and I forget about time and space. I am directing all my creative energy in expressing my style and personality through sewing and this is very soothing in contrast to our fast paced consumerism focused society. And of course, I end up with well fitting garments.

Dress No 938 from Grasser Patterns made with FS Wildcherry Midweight Signature Finish linen

Where is home and how does it affect your creative practice?

Home is where I feel whole, safe and free. The concept of home is essential to my well being. I need to feel that I have a base to return to, where my family, pets, friends are close and where I can be loved for just being myself. For a few years now my home is the house in the town I am living in, where I have my little sewing room waiting for me everyday after I finish work.

As a child, what was your first encounter and memory of beauty?

I am not really sure, I have a lot of memories of beautiful things that impressed me as a child, but it’s hard to isolate just one.

I remember that I was always admiring other women and among them my mother.

One of my strongest memories is my mum getting ready, with her long black shiny hair.

Has your sewing practice changed your relationship to your body image and self- acceptance? 

This topic has been on the top of my mind recently, due to a sewing/sizing failure. During the last two years I have gained some weight, which I have been noticing but didn’t immediately get round to accepting it. I wasn’t feeling great and I kept making the same sized clothes I was making before I gained this weight. I was avoiding taking new measurements because I was stuck in my previous image. As a result, I recently made a pair of pants that were too small and then I had a meltdown. I was angry and sad, mostly because of all the time I spent making something that I probably knew from the start wouldn’t fit. This was a turning point for me.

It made me think that I know how to sew with precision and can use this knowledge to make clothes that fit, and that my body doesn’t really deserve pants that make me struggle. From this point on I started accepting my new image. Long story short yes sewing has changed my relationship to my body, but I have a long way to self-acceptance.

Dress No 938 from Grasser Patterns made with FS Wildcherry Midweight Signature Finish linen

What are your seven favourite sewing patterns? 

Mulberry coat by The Pattern Line

Just my luck jeans by Forest and Thread

Hallon dress by Paradise Patterns

Ines dress by Just Patterns

Coe trousers by Daughter Judy

Freya Shirt by Michelle Design Co

Drafters grid dress by Roberts Wood

Do you have a community of makers around you or do you find you are on your own?

I have a small community of sewists physically around me and we meet up once in a while for coffee and a sewing chat, but mostly I am on my own. I have found a lot of joy meeting sewists all over the world through the Instagram sewing community. I even attended my first Frocktails event in London last October, which was so much fun and I got to meet so many people with the same interests in real life!

How important is it to make something with your hands?

It is very important to me. Working predominantly digitally, I find it soothing, grounding and peaceful to make things with my hands and detox from countless hours of screen time. I am reminded of the beauty of creation and the joy that can be found in the tiniest, simplest things. It can be very humbling and keeps you down to earth.

Dress No 938 from Grasser Patterns made with FS Wildcherry Midweight Signature Finish linen

What has been the most rewarding sewing project you’ve completed so far and why?

This is definitely my double face wool coat, the Mulberry coat sewing course hosted by The Pattern Line. It is a coat made from a very special fabric consisting of two layers of wool that separate at the edges and are then folded back onto themselves and sewn by hand, entirely hiding the raw edges without any need for lining. It’s a high end technique, very time consuming, since it is mostly sewn by hand. It took me around 100 hours to complete this coat over the span of several months. The reward I felt upon completion is unmatched. I fell in love with hand sewing, it almost felt like meditation and I learned a lot of things about myself, like patience and persistence.

What is more important to you – the process or the final product (ie your garment)?

My past self would say the final product because I was very goal oriented and I was rushing to the finishing line. Sewing has slowly made me appreciate the process equally if not more than the final product. It is through the process that you can observe, learn and evolve and I try to be more conscious about it.

What does success mean to you?

Success for me is being true and authentic to myself, having a lifestyle that aligns with my values and spending my time accordingly.

Success for me is lowering my expectations and being present and conscious whenever I am without overthinking and worrying about the future.

Dress No 938 from Grasser Patterns made with FS Wildcherry Midweight Signature Finish linen

What have you chosen to make out of FS linen and why?

I chose the IL019 All Purpose Wildcherry Signature Finish linen and made the Dress No 938 from Grasser Patterns, which also comes in a top view. I love experimenting and I was particularly intrigued by this pattern because of the beautiful details on the shoulders, but mostly because the whole dress hangs just from the collar/collar stand. There are no shoulder seams since it is a raglan dress and the sleeves also hang from the collar piece through thin straps. Instead of a hidden placket, I modified the pattern to have a regular visible button placket for some visual interest. I absolutely love how it turned out and I think linen is an ideal fabric for this pattern.

What is it like working with fabrics-store linen? (once you have completed your project)

It was my first time working with fabrics-store linen and it was an absolute dream and top notch quality! The fabric drapes so beautifully, is super soft to the touch and at the same time it is very easy to work with. I could even mark and crease it using just my hands. The color is fantastic, I was searching for a similar colorway for years and I was so excited to finally find it at fabrics-store.