We are pleased to bring you an insight into mum of 4 , and the lady behind Make It Perfect Patterns, Toni Coward's Life.The Oz Materials love Make it Perfect Patterns and have enjoyed working with Toni. So grab a cuppa and have a read and be sure to check out the wonderful patterns Toni has designed, we stock the entire range....Enjoy... Leave a Comment to win one of Toni's patterns
Toni says "Sewing and having a go at a variety of
other crafts provides me with a sense of “me time.” I have always enjoyed making and creating
things and always have one or two projects on the go at a time. Since becoming a Mother I have found that if
I can set myself aside a little time every day to create then I feel satisfied
that I have done something for myself during the day.
There is something special about sewing
from scratch and creating something new and unique using only the ideas I have
floating around in my own head. Although
I enjoy following other people’s sewing patterns and find it refreshing not to
have to think so hard about what I am doing, the sense of satisfaction is
greater when I have designed a pattern myself, especially if the project has
been challenging or there have been problems along the way. As I work through those problems I learn so
much and feel a greater sense of achievement when I reach the finished product.
The best two things about designing and
writing my own sewing patterns are:
- Being able to create something exactly how I want it, and
- I LOVE it when other people share their finished creations with
me, It always excites me to see
someone have success with one of my patterns and I love to see the
different mix of fabrics that they have chosen. I especially love it when someone puts
their special, creative touch into their finished project and alters or
adds to the pattern to make it unique and suit their needs/tastes better.
I am a fabric addict and proud to admit
it! I especially love collecting fabrics
from designers such as Alexander Henry, Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, just to
name a few. I find a great source of
inspiration in sorting through my fabric stash and coming up with new ideas or
themes to use for different patterns. I
am so excited about the turn the quilting market has taken in the last year or
so, encouraging more and more designers to produce fresh and funky fabrics
which cry out to younger sewers. These
modern fabrics also lend themselves perfectly to making clothing and other
accessories.
As a Mother, I find it really important to
provide my children with opportunities to be creative. I try not to give them too many restrictions
and allow them to create things using their own minds and rules. The things they think up never cease to amaze
me. Sometimes I wish I could have the
open mind of a child, as they don’t see boundaries, rules and restrictions that
may stumble us as adults.
Inspiration for my designs comes from
everywhere, but I especially like to design for practicality and purpose. An example of this can be seen in my Flipsy
skirt and Uptown Girl jacket design – by making them reversible, it only takes
the sewer a little bit of extra time and they have sewn up two skirts
together!
I do have a sewing room where I store all
of my fabric, notions and other bits and pieces, but more often than not I will
bring my sewing machine, overlocker and the current project I am working on
into the living area so that I can sew where my family is and they can be a
part of what I am doing. Most of my sewing
does take place during my children’s nap time in the day or when they are
asleep at night. I have way too many
late nights, but I don’t see them as a burden because I am doing something I
love!
When I first started to get serious about
sewing around 8 years ago, my main interest and projects included making quilts
entirely by hand. The first few quilts I
produced I didn’t even touch the sewing machine once! Although I did love this process and would
still love to be doing more hand-sewing, my time has become stretched and
precious since having children and I have learned to rely on my sewing machine
more as well as choosing projects which are going to be quite fast and
achievable. I have to confess though,
that I still have never quilted by machine – only hand! I do plan to learn the art of machine
quilting in the near future though!
Having children has also inspired me to
become more interested in sewing clothing as I can be quite picky about the
clothing offered in stores and often find it hard to buy something I am
completely happy with my children wearing.
Recently I have had success in saving money by cutting up a couple of
old pairs of pants I no longer wear and making some simple winter pants for my
daughter.
Time management is a huge part of being
about to achieve what I do. I am a
Mother of a young family – 4 year old Oscar, 2 year old Lil and baby
Tommy. I have to have a routine and
stick to it or else nothing productive will happen! I also find it important to block out sections
of time for craft work and family, this helps me to feel a sense of balance in
my life.
Make It Perfect patterns are aimed at
sewers of all skill level – from beginners to more advanced sewers. When designing and writing a pattern I always
put myself in shoes of the sewer and think “if I were to purchase this pattern,
would I be able to have it finished in a short amount of time?” I always endeavour to make them suitable for
a busy Mum or full-time worker to be able to start AND finish in a day or a few
evenings. I like sewing projects that
are achievable and have clear, easy to follow, detailed instructions. There is nothing worse than being excited
about starting a new project only to get half way through, find yourself
stumped one a step, get discouraged and put the project into the “too hard”
basket never to pick it up again because you have lost enthusiasm.
My business is run entirely from home, I
love that I can stay at home and be with my children but still do something for
myself that has flexible hours. (So if
you ever call me to talk about my patterns, please be prepared to hear the
noise of my home in the background!)
For a beginner or someone contemplating
sewing clothing, my advice is to jump in and have a go! Do a practise run on a “not so precious”
piece of fabric first, so that you make sure the sizing is correct and to help
you sort out any tricky bits, and then use your special fabric. I have learned more about sewing by just
trying things that I wasn’t so sure about and unpicking and learning from my
mistakes! If you are really lacking
confidence, contact your local quilting or sewing store and see if you can set
up a class to have someone guide you through and be there to answer your questions.
I find inspiration for my craft everywhere
I go. I am forever noticing little
details or having an idea spark in my head and scribbling it down on a notepad
or scrap of paper in my bag! I am a big
lover of blogs and find the blog world fascinating, I love admiring the
craftiness of others and always allow time each day to check on my favourite
craft blogs.