Quilts eInsider - Question and Answer April 2015

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Q&A: RAE HOEKSTRA, MADE BY RAE

From physics teacher to stay-at-home mom to sewing blogger to fabric designer…it’s not the most conventional career path, but it’s the one taken by Made by Rae pattern designer Rae Hoekstra.

Her practical sewing patterns and playful fabric designs have earned her quite the following—both online and in the sewing world.

For this edition of eInsider, we spoke with Hoekstra about pragmatic design and all things Made by Rae.

eINSIDER: Tell us about your personal and professional background. When did you begin sewing, and at what point did it evolve into a career?

HOEKSTRA: I learned how to sew from my mother when I was eight years old, and sewed quite a bit through high school. My sisters and I sewed doll clothes, purses, clothing…you name it. I stopped sewing while I was in college only because I didn't have access to a sewing machine anymore. And I began sewing again when I became a science teacher after college, but the job was so demanding, I didn't have much time for it.

When I quit teaching to stay home with my son, I began to sew for him, and started my blog, Made By Rae, to keep a record of what I was making. That led me to open an Etsy shop, which failed pretty early on when I realized how hard it was to try to sell handmade goods. However, I found success when I offered a free sewing pattern for a simple purse that I called the Buttercup Bag on my blog, and then began selling digital patterns.

Made by Rae, Sewing Studio

The business has continued to grow year after year. I've begun renting a separate studio for the business, and I now have three part-time employees as well as a friend who contracts for me as a seamstress.

And then there's the fabric design, which is an entirely different business altogether. But that was definitely an opportunity I would have never had if not for the blog.

The "I quit my day job to become a SAHM and then started a sewing blog" story is one I've heard from so many other sewing bloggers. And it is really interesting to me how the boredom of staying home with a newborn after a stimulating professional career prompts so many people to not only create things, but start a business as well. At least that's how it happened for me.

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eINSIDER: As a former physics teacher, are there any parts of your previous job that you feel you still use today in your designer role?

HOEKSTRA: I taught high school physics for five of my seven years as a teacher; before that I taught junior high science and math.

Anyone who hopes to write an effective sewing pattern needs to be able to think like someone who has never done it before. That is something I learned to do as a teacher. I hear repeatedly how much people appreciate my clear and careful pattern instructions, and that makes the teacher in me really happy!

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eINSIDER: In designing your sewing patterns, what aesthetic and feel do you hope to achieve?

HOEKSTRA: I don't really think much about the aesthetic of my designs. I'm really just trying to make things that I want to wear. The fact that so many other people also want to wear them—and will buy a pattern to do so—is happy coincidence.

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eINSIDER: And you design patterns for both women and children. Do you find that you have more creative freedom (or ability to be a bit more fanciful) in creating children’s designs?

HOEKSTRA: I love designing for children! But I think my motivation in designing for them is usually practical rather than fanciful. I couldn't find many great sewing patterns for boys when I was sewing for my own little boy, so I started making my own designs.

For example, the Flashback Tee and Parsley Pants are so simple because I wanted patterns that were plain templates upon which I could build. I love to be able to add fun elements to simple patterns to make them more interesting, but at the heart of most of my designs is a great deal of pragmatism. I think that's what people really love about my patterns: they are easy to vary, so they can be used over and over with different results.

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eINSIDER: Your newest fabric collection for Cloud9 is a bit like sunshine on fabric—both literally and figuratively. What was the inspiration? And for what types of projects do you see it being best suited?

HOEKSTRA: I am always thinking about what I want my own children to wear when I design fabrics, so the Small World collection really reflects this. I wanted to take things from everyday life (umbrellas, apples, houses) and turn them into fun and cheerful prints. I think these prints work fantastically well for children's garments -- jumpers, coats, pants, but could easily be used for totes and pillows as well.

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eINSIDER: And in terms of designing for Cloud9 Fabrics, is it just icing on the cake that their fabrics are completely organic, or was that one of the motivating factors for working with them in the first place?

HOEKSTRA: The fact that Cloud9's fabrics are organic is one of the reasons I wanted to work with them in the first place. The other reason is that I loved their modern aesthetic. I'm happy they felt the same way about me!