Hi, I’m Lanita. Among my many hobbies are sewing, drawing, computer design, photography… and in 2021 they turned into a pattern business.
I learned pattern drafting from my mom, and drew up patterns for her customers, long before I was brave enough to do the fittings myself. When I moved 2 hours away from home, suddenly I was the closest pattern maker for many of my acquaintances. With big rolls of paper and a pencil that forever got lost underneath, I fixed up their patterns or drafted new ones.
Then knits became popular. The first dress I made was huge, even though I took it in here and there. The next dress was a better success, but I changed the neckline, the shoulders, the sleeve, the side seam, the waist—a half inch here, a quarter inch there—and wrote detailed notes. Finally I said, "I need a pattern with all these changes." And I drew my knit pattern. It fit!
In the spring of 2021, I was teaching English in Cambodia, until schools closed due to a Covid outbreak. I sewed for my teammates, for friends there, and also for some of my friends’ daughters back home. I used a raglan pattern that I had drafted for my nieces. It is easy to fit and quick to sew. When the dresses were delivered, I got requests for the pattern. I digitized it so I could print it out in multiples.
That September, I was quarantined in a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for two weeks, on my way back to English teaching. I set up an Etsy shop and added my raglan patterns. I wanted to add adult raglan patterns, but realized I needed a basic pattern first. I started drafting the Leia pattern while in solitary confinement in the hotel, then sent printable files to willing people to try it on. The Leia was drafted from my previous experience with sewing my own knit dresses.
With more research on stretch percentages and sizing patterns, I went full scale, from XS to 4XL. I can’t just shut my creativity off when a project is done, so I always have more design inspiration in the back corner of my mind. The round yoke pattern is another I made for myself. To make an elastic or drawstring waist, the skirt and front bodice needed to be changed, so the Emma pattern was made. I have a tutorial for the smocked waist dress. The Holly pattern was a fun challenge to put together, and the shift dress pattern with it can be hacked so many ways.
The maternity Holly is an absolute favorite. I have thoughts of adding shift tops to go along with it. A cape maternity dress is on the back burner, but ask if you want to try it. The nursing pattern is a popular add-on, only in my Etsy shop.
My newest project is a girls’ Leia pattern, almost ready to be released! It is sized for knits, with a woven version coming after. It has a narrow chest adjustment to fit those slender girls, and a wide waist adjustment for the chubby ones.