Q&A with Nina of Nina Lee Patterns

When I realized that Nina Chang-Smith, the designer and founder behind her indie pattern company, Nina Lee Patterns, had moved from London to the Bay Area, I invited her to be Bay Area Sewists‘ guest speaker in September 2022. It was our first indoor, in-person event since the pandemic began. Our Meetup group had been meeting on Zoom since May 2020 and then had a couple of outdoor meetups in the summer of 2022. I’ve been the organizer for Bay Area Sewists since 2014.

The event was a Q&A with Nina Chang-Smith held in the classroom space at Lacis in Berkeley. After the Q&A, Nina also showed how you can change the closure on a pattern (i.e. from zippers to keyhole openings). I took all the photos except for the one of her in the lavender jumpsuit.

I meant to publish this post months ago but I just didn’t have time to blog. Plus I had maxed out the space on my account and I couldn’t upload anymore images. So I procrastinated, wondering if I should pay more for space, close it down, delete images, or leave it as is. So I finally made a decision this week and went ahead and added more space. If you like what you’ve read, feel free to buy me a cup of coffee and make a donation via PayPal (@chuleenan). 😉

Here are the questions I asked Nina at the event — and her answers, which she also answered for this blog post (thus the English spelling for some words). You’ll find more of my Q&As here.

Sewing experiences

When did you start sewing and who taught you to sew?

I learnt basic sewing as a child, taught by my mum. She used to make us clothes as children, as well as things for herself, whilst my grandmother would knit for us. It wasn’t until my mid-teens that I got really into dressmaking. 

What was the first garment you sewed?

It was a lilac gingham sundress when I was about fourteen, with an empire line waist and little puffy sleeves — it wouldn’t look out of place today!

What is your favorite thing to sew?

I love sewing outfits for specific occasions – a party, a wedding, a trip. Even if it’s not a grand occasion – I really get into the planning, choosing colour, fabric and design, and then sewing something imagining how much fun I’m going to have when wearing it. 

Learning clothing design

How and where did you learn clothing design?

Almost since I began to sew my own clothes I started to hack patterns, copy RTW garments and draft ideas from scratch. I never undertook any formal education in design but prior to launching Nina Lee Patterns I spent a year doing online pattern drafting courses and developing my drafting skills by making bespoke wedding wear for friends. 

What were the most useful things you learned?

How having well-fitting clothes can be quietly revolutionary – I’ve had some very emotional moments when I’ve made a custom garment for someone and seen how it’s changed the way they see themselves when they look in the mirror. Obviously, when you make a sewing pattern it won’t automatically fit everybody, but everyone sewing their own clothes already has an advantage when it comes to fit. Clothes should be working for our bodies, not the other way around.

Sewing advice

What’s the best sewing advice you’ve received?

Slow down! It’s what my mum always says to me. Once I get an idea in my head I can’t wait to make it reality, and in the past that would mean rushed garments. Now I’m still eager, but I know where I can afford to cut corners and where it’s worth taking my time to get it just right.

Also – just because you made it, doesn’t mean you have to keep it. I used to hoard clothes I’d made, whether I wore them or not, because ‘I made it, so it’s precious, right?’ Well, yes, but now I’ve realised that once I’ve made it, it’s just another garment in the world, and garments need to be worn. If I’m not using it, someone else could be. 

What garment construction books do you recommend?

Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Shaeffer; the Dorling Kindersley Complete Book of Sewing; Shirtmaking by David Page Coffin; and the Winifred Aldrich pattern cutting series. 

Nina Lee Patterns design beginnings

How did you get started designing patterns?

I was in a job I wasn’t well suited to, and my main form of escapism in breaks became reading sewing blogs. This was at the height of sewing blogging, when there still weren’t many pattern companies around. As I was already making up a lot of my own designs, I decided to quit my job and try something that was simultaneously familiar (sewing) and completely new (running a business)!

What inspires your patterns?

My designs are fashion-conscious, but not slavishly so. I spend a lot of time browsing shops, perusing magazines and generally immersing myself in what’s going on with high street fashion (well, this was in the UK before lockdown – it’s been a bit different lately!). From that ideas just emerge of garments I want in my life — usually, they’re a sort of ‘ultimate mishmash’ of lots of things I’ve seen in RTW. Then, if I want a garment to exist and I can’t find the exact pattern for it, I make one!

Design development

How long does it take you to develop a new design? Do you grade your patterns or do you have someone do that for you?

It usually takes me a week or two once the idea for a design has taken hold to draft it into something wearable. This will involve a lot of toiles and tweaking. Then I will send it off to be graded externally – this is the one aspect I don’t do myself as it’s much more efficiently done by software that I don’t own. After that, the less fun part happens – the pattern formatting, fabric requirements, cutting layouts, instructions etc. I can usually do all of that in two weeks if I don’t have other work on. Then it goes off to pattern testers for another two weeks. I usually try to release about a week after pattern testing concludes, unless (and this has happened once) the pattern testers come up with too many issues.

What software do you use to design your patterns?

I draft by hand, on paper, and then digitise using Adobe Illustrator. Everything pattern-related is then managed in Illustrator, whilst I use InDesign to put together the instructions.

Design and size range

Do you design for a particular body type? 

I design for a roughly hourglass figure in the 6-20 range, and a slightly more pear-shaped figure in the 16-28 range. 

You began expanding your size range in 2020. Now some of your patterns go up to UK size 28, which has a 54-inch bust and 57-inch hip. What is involved in expanding your size range?

I draft initially for the 6-20 range as I use my own body to test on (UK size 10). Then I employ a specialist pattern drafter who will adapt the pattern for the 16-28 range, using size 20 as the base, and grade it accordingly. I’ve got my final 3 main designs in progress at the moment. 

When did you move from London to the Bay Area?

I moved here on November 1st, 2021. We’d originally been meant to come in May 2020! We moved because of my husband’s job and I had to pause my business whilst I waited for my employment authorisation to come through here. The move also meant shutting down the physical side of the business, the printed patterns. So now I sell PDFs only.

Closure hacks

Nina brought some great examples of the variety of closures you could choose for a pattern top or dress. It was an excellent reminder that you don’t have to follow a pattern’s design. You can hack the closure!

Here are Nina’s variations on closures. She used red thread to highlight the stitches on these mock-ups.

Thank you, Nina, for sharing your designs and pattern hacks!