Simply Sewing - UK (2020-04)

a good read

68 WWW.GATHERED.HOW/SIMPLYSEWING

W

hatwardrobewouldbe

completewithouta bitof

denim?Whetherit’sa throw-on

jacket,casualpairofdungarees,

lightsummerdressor– the

ultimateholygrail– theperfect

pairofjeans,denimprovidestheanswerto

almostany‘whattheheckshouldI wear

today?’dilemma.Despitehowlovedthis

fabricis,it canoftenstrikefearintotheheart

ofsewerswhohaven’tworkedwithit before.

JuliaSutcliffe,thefounderandownerofThe

DenimCompany,is helpingtobreakdown

thosenervesandencouragesewers to give

thisgorgeousfabrica try.

SewinghasalwaysbeenpartofJulia’slife,

rightfromanearlyage:“I can’treallyrecall

howI learnttosew,it wasjustsomethingwe

alldidinourfamilyfromveryyoung,”she

shares. “I remember my Sindy doll had a full

WechattoJuliaSutclie,thewomanbehindTheDenimCompany,

about runninga successfulbusiness,thesisterhoodofsewing,

and why denimwillnevergoout of fashion

Written by Sarah Dawson

DENIM FOR DAYS

handmadewardrobeforeveryseasonand

eventuality– fromswimsuitstofullwedding

dress,veil,andbridesmaiddresses– thenat

schoolI learnttofollowpatternsandmaster

complextechniques,likemakingjeansand

coattailoring.”Wellandtrulybittenbythe

creativebug,Juliaexplains,“I lovedthefact

thatI couldmakesomething that just wasn’t

available in any shops.”

FRESHIDEAS

It wasbackin 2010 when,duetoherhusband

fallingill,Juliamadethedecisiontogiveup

workstraightawayandmovebacktoher

hometowninYorkshire,forsomefamily

support.“I haveworkedinbusinessandbeen

a sewerallmylife– althoughI’mprobably

a betterbusinesswomanthanseamstress,”

shesmiles.“I neededa jobthatgaveme

flexibility and incorporated my creative and

businessskills,andonethatcouldgrow

slowlyandprofitably.”Aftertestingthe

marketfora coupleofyearsonsmallstands

atsewingfairs,Juliatooktheplungeand

officiallylaunchedTheDenimCompanyin

2014.“I wantedtobuilda businessthatsold

onethingtoexcess,tocreatea styleand

a brandthatallowedpeopletotakea little

bitawayandalwayscomebackformoreto

addtotheircollection,”Juliaexplains.

TheDenimCompanydoesexactlywhatit

saysonthetin,offeringa hugerangeof

denimfabricsforallofyourdressmaking,

quiltingandsewingneeds.Fromclassicblue

tocolour-poppink,polkadottoflorals,if

you’relookingfora specificdenim,chances

areyou’llfindit righthere,alongside

coordinatingthreads,buttonsandbias

binding– nottomentionpatternstogetyou

started. “Through The Denim Company, now