How did we get here?

On 1st January 2016 Lydia Higginson decided to start making her entire wardrobe from scratch. By the end of that year she had made over 60 garments and given away all the clothes that she had ever bought from shops. Since the 1st January 2017 she has only worn clothes she has made.

‘What began as a personal project to make my entire wardrobe from scratch has grown into a business with a brilliant team of fashion practitioners and a textile studio in central Bristol. We teach a wide range of sewing workshops from quilts and embroidery to pattern cutting and garment construction. We design and make sewing patterns so that anybody, no matter where they are in the world, can learn to make the clothes they dream of wearing. As well as the sewing patterns and workshops, we also import sustainable fabrics and sell the best PFAFF sewing machines.’

The Team

Since starting MMW in 2016 Lydia Higginson has taught over 1000 people how to make their own clothes in workshops across the UK. When she’s not facilitating workshops, she draws on her ten years of experience as a Costume Maker and Designer for theatre and live performance. She has made costumes for companies including Sadler's Wells, Royal Opera House, Candoco, Akram Khan Company among others. In 2018 she became a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust scholar for pattern cutting. She loves demystifying the tricky bits of sewing and getting folks flying on well oiled sewing machines. She’s a big believer everyone is creative, folks just need the time and space to let it out. Activism plays a huge role in her creative practice and ranges from facilitating banner making sessions for political movements and trade unions to running sewing sessions for refugees and people seeking asylum.

Jamilla is MMW’s in-house Pattern Cutter. Jamilla’s aunty got her hooked on sewing when she was twelve years old. Since then, she has studied Fashion Atelier at University, been a Technician on the fashion course at the University of Gloucestershire, and she now runs the fashion programme for The Prince’s Foundation. She loves demystifying pattern cutting for home sewers to give them the creative freedom to sew any design they can imagine. Jamilla heads up all the Pattern Cutting workshops at MMW and specialises in helping folks get the perfect fit.

Since joining the MMW team Rachel has taken the lead on all of our quilt and banner making workshops. Whilst working in London making costumes for the National Theatre and period films (such as Little Women and Phantom Thread), Rachel always maintained a personal art/making practice including making clothes, quilts and drawing. Rachel then completed her studies in printed textiles and adult education. She is now based in Bristol and looking forward to sharing sewing skills and the love of creating clothes and objects that can become part of people's lives, alongside empowering people to nurture creative confidence.

After studying textiles at University Ana joined the Made My Wardrobe team as an intern in 2020. With her ability to turn her hand to anything from spreadsheets to photography, Ana quickly moved her way up to Studio Manager. She now leads our Open Studio Sessions and Intro to Sewing workshops. She loves getting folks started on their sewing journey and is full of tips and tricks to make sewing as therapeutic and joyful as possible.

Our newest member of the team is Jess. We are delighted to have her on board to assist the teaching of our busy sewing workshop schedule. Having studied Textiles at university, Jess went on to design accessories for a clothing brand based in the New Forest. She has recently moved back to the west country where she facilitates community textile projects and craft workshops. She loves to encourage folks to relax into the space, get creative, and adopt a playful approach to making.

Our Core Values Are…

- To give people the skills they need to make quality garments that will last and be loved

- To offer the most sustainable materials and resources possible and to share a creative alternative to fast fashion

- To reconnect people with their bodies and creative power

-  To be process led and build a creative team who feel fulfilled and energised by the work that we do