Patternmaker of the Month: Jordan Edwards/Sister Faye Studio
This month I had the chance to catch up with CPMG Alumni Jordan Edwards, creator of the Luna top & dress, and owner of Sister Faye studio.
N: “Hi Jordan, can you tell me a little about yourself?”
J: “Hi! I’m Jordan Edwards, I use she/her pronouns, and I'll be 39 in a couple weeks, which is crazy.
I do admin and billing for a telecom company right now, which is weird, but they're selling the company, so I don't know if I'll have a job, soon, so I might actually have to become a full-time pattern maker.
But right now it's just like a hobby/side business.
I don't even know if I would call it a business because I'm not really trying to promote my patterns or anything. I'm just doing it for fun.
I was an interior designer for about 15 years. My husband was in the Navy, and we moved all the time, so I had to do a lot of work online. And then we moved to Virginia. We’ve been here for, I don't know, 5 years, 6 years, which is crazy because we moved like 7 times in 8 years previously.
And then we moved out to the country during COVID, you know, everybody's getting away from apartment life, and I quit my interior design job and was like, I need to get away from the computer, so then I worked as a farmhand at a flower farm for 2 years.
And, oh my God, it's so, so hard on your body. I was older, you know, than everybody else.
And I was like, how are you guys doing this? But it really sparked my love for gardening.
We have 2.5 acres and a huge garden, which is like my real joy. I'd much rather be outside than stuck at my computer, which would be nice if I, you know, did decide (to do patternmaking fulltime), if I do get fired, this could be my next chapter in life, and I could lean into being able to set my own hours and all of that.
But it wasn't all it cracked up to be, between all of the moves, you know, that was really hard.
But then moving here, I worked for a high-end design firm and I was like, you know, these people have like million dollar budgets, and they were picking the most boring thing you possibly could imagine! So that's when I decided if I'm doing interior design, I either have to be my own boss or just be happy doing something else.
So now, I'm working at an admin telecom, but I'm happy because I can sew on the side.
I am fulfilled through my hobby; rather than my work.
N: I think that's a really common story. I went to school for fashion design and all of my friends work in corporate fashion. I did my internship in corporate and immediately I was just like, I don't know how I would do this. It is sucking the joy out of my life. So , I totally relate to that.
N: “When did you take CPMG, and what have you been doing since then?”
J: “ I started last January. I had just quit the farm job and was like, I've got this month between, quitting the farm job and starting at this new thing. So I was like, maybe I'll get to sewing again.
I got my associate's in fashion design, but there was nothing about pattern making. So I had no idea what I was doing.
I'm broad-shouldered, but I have a small bust, and I was sewing patterns from the big four company, so nothing ever fit!
I don't even know how I found it, honestly, cause I'm not on social media that much, but I got targeted somehow.
And yeah, I did that for 3 months, and then I was like, oh my God, I can actually make sewing patterns now.
So I've just been experimenting really and making things that I might not always necessarily wear every day, but just to see if I can make it. I like the technical challenge, cause mostly if it was possible I would just be wearing a tank top and pleated pants at all the time.
I launched my first pattern in December, and it took me a lot longer than I thought it would. , Everybody probably thinks get this done in 2-3 months, no problem. And then it's like 6 months later you're like, I guess it's finished?
I don't know.
At some point you just have to say like done is better than perfect, And yeah, my second patterns in testing now.
And it's going much better than the first time. I try to remind myself, this is just your hobby, so don't get too stressed out about it, it's all going to be fine!
So yeah, that's what I've been doing, just experimenting.
N: Congrats on getting your, your second pattern into testing! That's really, really exciting.
J: “It was scary for me because it's really fitted and I was like, Oh, I'll never do something tight fitting, because everybody's busts are so different. But so far it's going well.
N: “Could tell me a little bit about what is your favorite and least favorite part of the pattern making process.”
J: My favorite part is being able to see something and figure out how to pattern it.
I know that was like one of Victoria's spiels and I was like, this lady is crazy, like that's not accurate, like I won't be able to see something and then figure out how to pattern it, but oh my God, you can, like she wasn't lying.
Least favorite is putting something into testing and that you have to make like 6 or 7 like finished samples of it and then by the end of it, I'm so sick of it. I think just like having to do that over and over when you just want to work on something else, is the least favorite part.
N: “Who, or what would you say inspires you?”
J: “ I love going to art museums.
We're just like an hour and a half outside of DC, so every couple of months, I try to go to the city and go to art museums.
I think just being in like a creative atmosphere and not always necessarily pertaining to fashion, is better for me because then I'll be like, oh, how can I recreate that exactly if I'm like looking at an outfit, which isn't the point of creativity.
But I do follow a few, I don't know, fashion stylists and influencers, whatever you call them.
Beth Jones, she puts together like the funkiest outfits, things I would never wear, but I kind of secretly want to just like strut around in my country town.
I'm already the fashionista, and I'm like, you guys, I'm just wearing like pleated pants and a tank top.
So they would die if I had like one of those cute little pillbox hats. I like to look at people who have an elevated style and are outside of my comfort zone. I did the same thing I did for interior design, for clients. I would reference architectural digest and things that I can't afford, but you can take that and whittle it down and get the same feeling and style.
I like do to do the same thing with sewing and pattern design.
N: “ What is one piece of advice you have to give to beginner sewists and patternmakers?”
J: “Practice. Just practice.
Just like with anything, you're gonna suck at the beginning, and, and it's fine.
I'm one of those people who likes to be good at something immediately.
So learning a new skill is hard and it's really good for like adults to try and fail because we're not used to doing that anymore.
It’s good for your spirit to fail at something.
N: “Can you share some of your current favorites (one sewing related, and one personal)”
J: “For sewing, I just bought a tube turner set.
Oh my God, I love that thing because I've got farmer hands. They're not, they're not meant for like delicate work.
These things are a lifesaver.
N: I feel like there are 101 different hacks for turning a tube on the internet, and none of them work.
I don't know why I don’t have one yet! I need to buy one.
J: You have to! It's like $10.
For my favorite personal thing right now, it would have to be my flowers.
We're at like the point where the garden is just maintenance now. You have to weed maybe an hour every week, but that's nothing.
N: “Finally, where can people find you?”
J: “You can find my patterns at sisterfayestudio.com. I am also on Etsy and Instagram at Sister Faye Studio.
I sell sewing patterns and dried flowers you can use for natural dying.
If this interview inspired you, check out our Confident Patternmaking & Grading Program where you can learn how to draft sewing patterns, and join our network of incredible alumni creating beautiful size-inclusive sewing patterns for all people.
Nat Della Selva
