Patternmaker of the Month: Sasha Pfeiffer
This month, I had the pleasure of talking with CPMG alumna Sasha Pfeiffer, the designer behind the Adelphi Top and the newly released Cygnus Top (pictured above).
Q: “Hi Sasha, can you introduce yourself and tell me a little about yourself?
A: “My name is Sasha Pfeiffer (She/her). I live in Brooklyn. I work as an architect, and I think that background is probably the biggest influencer in how I approach pattern making.
I feel like there are so many parallels between studying to work as an architect and learning pattern making. Architecture is essentially just pattern-making for buildings. In pattern making, you're not making the garment; you're making the instructions for someone else to make the garment. The same thing is true in architecture, I'm making the instructions with 2D drawings for someone else to build. I think that layer of distance is really familiar because it's all about being as clear as possible in terms of diagrams, drawings, and written instructions. Because the success of the final product is not in your ability to make it. It is in someone else’s ability to understand how to create it, based on the instructions I give them.
Q: “Tell me about your sewing & patternmaking journey. How did you get started, and why did you want to make patterns?”
A: I started sewing by altering things that I was able to find at a thrift shop that didn't quite fit. I wasn't doing it according to any rules, I was just making it up as I went. Then, during the pandemic, I had a lot of extra time at home, so I decided to dig into this a little bit deeper and bought my first pattern. I started to really develop my sewing skills through buying indie patterns, and slowly built up from very simple things into actually making a pair of jeans.
I think it was my background in architecture and design where I always feel this little bit of creativity bubbling up in me. And so I started to wonder how the garments would look if I changed the pattern a little here and there to better suit what I wanted to make. I just kept having this instinct to modify patterns that I was buying. And then I learned what a bodice block was.
I feel like there is “ before” and “after” of learning the bodice block.
When I saw it for the first time and understood it, I remember feeling like ‘Oh my God, the world will never be the same!’ After learning how to make a bodice block, I started learning through Youtube videos, and following tutorials for patterns where you could plug your measurements in and create a pattern that way. That was a very big step for me, but I was still not doing it according to any official guidance. I was really just winging it.
It was then that Jess reached out, and suggested I take a look into CPMG. She mentioned that she thought I would do well in the course, and so I did. And that just opened my mind up to so much.
Q: And did you always know you wanted to sell patterns? Or was that more of a byproduct of learning this process?
A: I did want to sell patterns. I think that when you sew, people have a very natural instinct to be like, ‘Where can I buy one?’ I don't want to spend 10 hours making this for you, so pattern making was a way to share the designs without physically doing the labor of making the garment. And while pattern making is still a ton of hours, it’s all upfront, and then you have that design to share indefinitely. So I found that super appealing.
Q: “Speaking of patternmaking, I wanted to tell you a huge congrats on the Cygnus Top, which is actually coming out today on the day we are chatting! Tell me more about that pattern, what inspired you to create it, and anything else you want to share about it!”
A: I feel like that what's always behind a pattern for me is what do I feel like wearing? The first pattern I did was the Adelphi top, it’s this little tank top, and it's super cute, but sometimes I just want to disappear in the clothing, you know? But sometimes disappearing in the clothing means that it's not necessarily the most elegant. I want the clothing to have a body of its own, but I still want to feel elegant. That was kind of the starting place for this design.
N: And that’s probably why I love it so much! I wouldn’t say I dress modestly, but I do feel like if I wear a tank top or something showing a lot of skin I want a layer to cover up, so I understand what you are saying. Sometimes these styles can make you feel like you are drowning in fabric. This top is such a beautiful blend of those two things you're talking about.
Q: Tell me more about the name
A: I was walking with a few of my friends around Prospect Park, which is one of the biggest parks in Brooklyn. There's a big lake and little creeks. I had the final design pretty much done and we were talking about what the name could be. And you know, it has these big sleeves that kind of evoke wings. So they were asking me, could it be angel? Or is it dove? There were a few like that. And so I was like, okay, this really does have wings, but the sleeves aren't the only part of it’s distinctive features. The neckline is really what I think gives it its identity.
So we were walking and then we passed this little part of the lake where there were a few ducks, and then this swan came by. It was stretching out in the sun and it had its wings kind of flexed. And I was like, oh my gosh, those are the sleeves. And then I looked a little closer and you know how swans have that shape that connects their eye to their bill? It's like this very beautiful contrasting curve. And I was like, and there's the neckline! I just felt like so lucky. It wasn’t even my idea. It was almost like the universe just saying here you go.
Then, the other thing was well #swantop is taken. So thats how I landed on Cygnus. Cygnus is the swan constellation. It is also the name of the swan in a lot of Greek myths.
Q: “With the end of the year approaching, do you have any 2026 patternmaking goals?”
A: I feel addicted to pattern making. With each pattern, I learn so much more. I know I have so much room to improve, and I feel eager to demonstrate all the things that I've learned in this pattern, in the next one that I do.
Shoulders are really hard for me. And so setting myself up to do a pattern that doesn't necessarily corner me into really challenging designs to accommodate all different bodies.
I'm gonna give myself an easy one to do next. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it'll be like the most basic style. I still hope to make something that is unique and hopefully eye-catching, but something that can more naturally fit on many bodies.
And that's been such a big part of pattern making for me, too. Once I understood how flawed the sizing is in buying clothes. I was able to stop being so self-critical when I would go shopping and try something on. That was actually one of the biggest reasons that I started sewing because trying on clothes was always disappointing. It made me feel like there was wrong with my body. If I tried on the size that I thought was mine, it would feel too tight somewhere and so I would size up, but then it would be too loose everywhere else. It made me feel like something was wrong with me. And so turning that around and realizing that something's not appropriate in this pattern for my body, that was very liberating.
N: Yeah, for sure. I teach sewing lessons, and I have so many students who come to me saying “nothing fits because I just have this super weird body shape.” And I always tell my students, nobody’s body is distinctively weird, we are all equally distinctly weird.
S: An eye-opening moment in CPMG was when I was taking my measurements. I put on a pair of black leggings and a tight black t -t-shirt. Then, I took some white masking tape and I taped around my bust, waist and hips. The standard of course is that the waist is halfway between the bust and the hips, but mine is more like one third down from my bust and two thirds up from the hips. And so that visual of being able to see it on my body and then being able to look at all my ready-to-wear dresses, I was able to realize why they never fit right.
It really translated directly into being able to embrace my body in the way that it varies from the standard, which is actually the flawed thing, not my body.
Q: “What is your favorite part of the patternmaking process?”
A: My favorite part is the designing. I love iterating again and again and again, and just seeing the direct relationship between changes I make flat on the pattern, and how that changes the shape entirely. Arriving at that is so fun for me.
Q: When you design, what is your process? Do you do that by hand, sketching out the style, or digitially on an ipad?..”
A: I sketch by hand, and then I go back and forth between digital and physical constantly. I feel like one thing that was a little bit challenging for me in CPMG was that the emphasis was on digital. It was great because it really pushed those skills forward, but I think for me, I really need to have whatever work I'm doing in the digital be grounded in the physical. I always try to the best of my ability to eliminate the boundary between digital and physical when I am designing.
Some of the ways I do that is by introducing a grid on my pattern pieces in Illustrator. So I'll put a 1cm grid in the background. I'll print that. And that will be like the very first look into how does this physically relate to my body?
The grid makes it so I can very easily see like, oh, this is within three centimeters of way too big, or I just need to add one or two to make this really wrap around me perfectly. And for my first mockup I actually just tape the paper together to try it on. Then, once that is within the realm of a reasonable shape, I make it in fabric.
I also, like to make quarter scale mockups in paper. That was the first thing I did for Cygnus. I was able to see what does a dart here do? To be able to actually like visualize and see that come from the 2D to 3D.
Q: “What is your least favorite part of the patternmaking process?”
A: Social media is really hard for me. I don't have Instagram on my phone. I only have it on an iPad that I keep at home. I know that it’s an incredibly powerful tool and connector, and there've been really great things that have come from it for me, but it’s also just hard on my mental health.
And then I wouldn't say that this other part is my least favorite, but it is something that I will do differently next time, which is the pattern testing. This recent pattern test was amazing. I got so much incredibly helpful feedback for improving the pattern and making more adjustments available. But I get so overwhelmed having 30 people on a Discord chat that moves so quickly. And it's like when one person makes a discovery, I feel like I have to spend all of my time improving, and addressing it before somebody else starts to make it again. I'm thinking about how next time I might try to do something where I do a few smaller rounds of testing. That way it's fewer people to manage. It might be at the end of the day, the same amount of time, but just instead, having little cohorts of maybe five people for the first round, five people for the next round, and so on. And at the end of it, everyone will get the updated pattern. I just I feel really bad if someone makes the pattern and there is an error. I feel like I am wasting people's time. But also, I need to remind myself that that's the point of the pattern test. It isn’t meant to be perfect yet.
Q: “Who, or what would you say inspires you?”
A: Just people watching in the city. There are so many amazing styles of people walking down the street, or in the subway. I am constantly inspired by this energy in others I see, and I’m always wondering how can I capture that in a piece? It’s not about copying a specific garment, rather it’s about translating the confidence and feeling of the overall look.
Q: “ Favorites - 1 sewing/patternmaking, and 1 personal/life”
A: “Sewing Favorite: My magnetic pin bracelet. It is a game-changer! I'm no longer constantly rummaging around my studio in search of my pins.
General Favorite: My new camera lens! It is compatible with my digital camera, but it's essentially the exact same type of lens that's in a disposable camera. It gives the photos this dreamy glowy quality that I love :)
Q: “Finally, where can people find you?”
A: You can find me on Instagram. My handle is @sa_sews. And you can shop my patterns, the Adelphi top and Cygnus top on Etsy, my shop is called Sasews.
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
