Behind the scenes of The Ordinary Folk.

The Ordinary Folk was founded by Christine Camm, a home grown sewer and creative spirit. She was originally taught the basics of sewing from her mother and later developed an enthusiasm for sewing. For Christine, this began in self-drafting her own garments which began the thought process for how to break down and construct a garment. She later tried her hand at actually using sewing patterns and that experience brought a beautiful ease to sewing.

Using a sewing pattern that had been thoughtfully crafted and that gave her a great finished garment, without having to go back and forth correcting was a breath of fresh air. With a young family, the ability to create something with efficiency and ease has never been so important to her.

She also understands the beauty in creating something hand crafted, especially for your little one, and the restfulness that creative outlet brings.

Out of this place, she endeavoured to create her own line of sewing patterns for women and littles. This line of sewing patterns is an offering to other women to use their hands, make space for rest and rejuvenation and learn the skill to be able to create handmade garments that can serve you and your family, maybe even for generations to come.

See patterns →

Why we believe in sewing.

Using your hands to create something has extraordinary benefits for the body and mind. When sewing intentionally and slowly, the actual process of sewing is the most rewarding and fulfilling part of sewing. We believe in creating a ritual around your sewing practise, whatever that looks like for you, and letting it be a time of reflection, healing, rest and rejuvenation.

Healing

Sewing a beautiful garment for a loved one is such a meaningful gift. You not only gift them with something tangible but also with your time, thoughtfulness and intentionality. It is the type of gift that you truly cherish, no matter how grand or small that handmade item is.

Gifting

Sewing allows you to create your own custom wardrobe. Each garment can be tweaked with your own style, colour, shape and material preferences to truly create something that is a reflection of you. It is a wonderful creative outlet and a way to build a wardrobe that is perfectly moulded around you and will last you for years to come.

Unique

Learning a skill that can serve you and your family is a beautiful thing. Building up this skillset and knowledge of sewing techniques, methods and intricacies is incredibly satisfying. The more time you invest and the more understanding you gain the greater your options begin to be. Whatever the skill, growing in something is always incredibly rewarding.

Growing

See patterns →

FAQ

  • Yes! We provide the sewing pattern files in both an A0 or A1 size to print at a copy shop AND an A4 size that is printable at home. We provide a guide of how to do this in our pattern instructions.

  • Absolutely not.
    We do reccomend using an overlocker to level up your sewing projects to achieve a higher quality level finish. However, the zigzag stitch on your sewing machine will do the job!

  • Yes, the sewing pattern files come with size layers that can be turned on and off. You will need adobe acrobat or an equivalent program to access the layer function.

  • There are many places to purchase fabrics for our sewing patterns. We generally opt for natural fibres in our projects and that lines up with our fabric suggestions within our pattern guides.

    You can look for a local fabric store to you, where you can go in person to look and get an actual feel for what fabrics you like. Alternatively, you can shop online for fabrics. Some online fabric stores we love are:
    - wearethefabricstore.com
    - Etsy shops

    Another budget friendly way to find fabrics are marketplace and op shops! This ofcourse requires a little more effort and patience but we have definitely found some great fabrics this way.

  • Yes. Some patterns are easier than others but all come with an in depth step by step guide and really hold your hand through the project if that's what you need.

    We are also working on some youtube video tutorials of our sewing patterns for those who prefer a visual guide!

  • A great first sewing project would be our billie overalls pattern! These are actually quite an easy sew that results in a super sweet garment!

    All our sewing patterns come with step by step guides that walk you through the process to make it as easy and beginner friendly as possible!

APPLY TO BECOME A TESTER.

For each pattern that The Ordinary Folk releases we make sure to test the pattern on real people and real bodies. We gain valuable feedback from you on fit, construction and the user experience. We seek to improve our patterns with every single pattern we release and we couldn’t do this without you.

We are building a tester team and accept a reasonable amount of testers for both women’s and kids patterns. If you’d like to part of our pattern process or find out more, you can apply via the link below.

COMING SOON