Matchy Matchy Sewing Club on Scrap Sewing, Creativity & Beginner-Friendly Patterns

This week, Amy and Theresa from Matchy Matchy Sewing Club share their journey from passionate sewists to successful sewing pattern designers, and how they’ve built a brand centred around creativity, sustainability, and approachable garment sewing. 

In this episode, we talk about designing beginner-friendly sewing patterns, embracing experimentation, and their “scrap theory” approach to reducing waste and rethinking fabric offcuts. 

We also discuss the evolution of modern sewing culture, personal style, and their exciting plans for a new creative retail space in California.

Key takeaways: 

• Amy and Theresa discuss their journey from sewing hobbyists to independent sewing pattern designers. 
• They discuss the idea behind “scrap theory” and creative ways to reduce fabric waste in sewing. 
• Matchy Matchy Sewing Club are known for designing beginner friendly sewing patterns that encourage confidence and experimentation. 
• They are working towards building an inclusive sewing community through both online connection and an in-person creative space. 
• They also love to create cohesive fabric collections and inspire sewists to explore personal style creatively. 
• Both Amy and Theresa feel that sewing should feel approachable, playful, and free from perfectionism.

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Guest Details:

Website: www.matchymatchysewingclub.com

Instagram: @matchymatchysewingclub

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Matchy Matchy Sewing Club
00:50 The Journey into Sewing
03:32 From Hobby to Business
06:00 Designing Patterns: The Process
10:53 The Philosophy of Matchy Matchy
14:49 Sustainability and Creativity in Sewing
16:06 Understanding Scrap Theory
19:17 Encouraging Playfulness in Sewing
19:22 Introduction to Beginner-Friendly Patterns
21:59 Breaking the Rules in Sewing
25:04 Designing Fabric Collections
28:48 A Day in the Life at Matchy Matchy
31:25 Exciting Future Plans for Matchy Matchy
33:41 Fun Quickfire Game: This or That
36:07 Giveaway details

Transcript

Gemma Daly (00:10)
Amy and Theresa, welcome to the Sewing Social I'm so excited to have you on today.

Amy + Theresa (00:16)
Thank you for having us. Yeah, we're excited to chat.

Gemma Daly (00:19)
I was wondering if you could introduce yourself to the listeners.

Amy + Theresa (00:23)
Yeah, I'm Amy. ⁓ Obviously, this is Theresa and we are the co-founders of Matchy Matchy Sewing Club. So we design patterns and fabric ⁓ and notions and general things for sewing, the sewing community. we just love to sew. Yes. And make things.

Gemma Daly (00:43)
Amazing. So I was wondering if you could talk us through how sewing first entered your lives.

Amy + Theresa (00:49)
Yeah, that's a good question. So I, my mom taught me to sew when I was like in junior high. And I would do, you know, like a project randomly.

you know, once every year, once every couple years. So I knew how to sew, but I didn't do it that often. And then during the pandemic is kind of when I really picked it up again was just seeing, you know, all the fun things that people were making online. And I feel like that was kind of when

the sewing Instagram community became really robust and I discovered like, there's these indie sewing patterns that are different from the sewing patterns that I learned to sew on that seemed just like a little bit more like fun and fresh and approachable for my skill level. So I started sewing a lot more then, and then Teresa and I...

we kind of were like making similar patterns and comparing them and like saying, have you made this? Like, where are you getting your fabric? And kind of like chatting about, you know, making and all sorts of sewing stuff ⁓ during then. So I would say that was about like 20, 21. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I started sewing kind of the same experience as Amy, just like grew up with a grandma who sewed and was always just love and

making anything, so I liked all sorts of crafts. But ⁓ as I was growing up, I think I've always had the desire to sew my own clothes. And maybe because as I grew up, I always couldn't find things that fit me because I never really grew up. But I always stayed kind of little and was always shopping in my kids sections. And it didn't really work for me that well. But I had a, you know, pretty demanding.

life so I never had the time to sew and ⁓ I had the opportunity to retire actually right before the pandemic and I'm like okay this is my chance and there's a lot of stuff on YouTube so I just tried to pick up some fabric and

give it a go and I had zero fabric and within three months my entire room was just filled from top to bottom with like fabric everywhere. So it was a bit of an addiction. But yeah, I think that's how we got started.

Gemma Daly (03:09)
I know the feeling.

I think a lot of us go through that. It starts slowly and then it rockets, doesn't it? It is an addiction.

Amy + Theresa (03:16)
Yeah,

it really is. it's like, yeah. A fun one though. I'm glad I got addicted to this one.

Gemma Daly (03:23)
Yeah,

I feel like it's relatively harmless as addictions go.

Amy + Theresa (03:28)
Yes,

true. You have the space for sure. Yeah.

Gemma Daly (03:32)
Yeah,

so what's the story then behind how you first met and then how you went on to set up Matchy Matchy Sewing Club?

Amy + Theresa (03:40)
Yeah, I think Amy and I have been working together for a long time. ⁓ So my husband and I had a stationary company and Amy came on as a designer. And I think together we built a really strong, strong brand. And that's how we met and learned how to, we really worked together really well for, I would say 15 years.

Maybe not, maybe almost 10 years. not that long. Okay. Not that long. Okay. Felt like a long time. Yeah, it does. So I think like when we both discovered sewing and just ⁓ independently discovered sewing, it wasn't that we did it together. We automatically started seeing designs that we loved that we didn't see in the sewing world. So we tried to figure out ways to ⁓

draft those patterns for ourselves. And I think it kind of went from there. Yeah, I feel like.

Yeah, we both kind of, so Teresa and her husband had like sold that company and I had left like independently. So we were both kind of like in this stage of, you know, figuring out what was next for us. And I think Teresa probably thought she was going to like stay retired. And I was kind of like taking a break looking for, know, whatever my next thing was. So we both had a little bit of free time, which like I had never had like, you know,

Working with Teresa was at that other company was like my first job out of grad school. So I had been working, you know, for the 15 years. And Teresa had always been working too. So it was kind of like, I think the first time I was able to like, allow my brain to like relax a little bit and think of like what maybe would be fulfilling and a good balance for me like moving forward. So that's

when I was like, oh, let's, you know, let me try like a hobby that I don't turn into a business. Right. And then it ended up turning into a business anyway. definitely was not intentional. I think just because Amy and I had worked together for so long and we learned so much in terms of business, operations, manufacturing, just stuff like that, it inevitably turned into a business. just snowballed into that.

Gemma Daly (05:40)
you

Amy + Theresa (06:00)
But it definitely wasn't something we had planned. We just planned it as a fun for us to do and a learning thing. was just highly interesting to learn how to draft patterns and just like learn different techniques. Definitely. Yeah. And like even our first pattern that we released, which was the champion field dress, which was, think, like the beginning of 2022, we kind of just thought like, oh, we'll just put this out, see what happens.

we were like, we'll be so happy if it sells 10 patterns. Like, you know, we weren't counting on it. Yeah. Blossoming into something huge. was just like, let's try it and see what happens. And I think from that point forward, we really tried listen.

watch and like absorb feedback and give the community kind of what they were asking for. So I do feel that Matchy has been strongly influenced and built on what community has wanted. So it's really been shaped by others along with us.

Gemma Daly (06:58)
I really love that. That's such a nice sort of natural evolution that you've just explained now. And I love how you've included the community in that. So do you think that initially then it was to make patterns for yourselves to wear and it sort of just snowballed from there?

Amy + Theresa (07:16)
Yeah, yeah, definitely. It was like,

I'm looking for a certain type of dress or a certain, you know, thing that I think be cool to have. But I don't quite, you know, I don't want to hack it. Nothing that I of the patterns that I see out there is exactly what I'm looking for. I was like, hey, Teresa, I texted her a picture of dress that I had seen somebody wearing. And I was like, do you think we could like design this pattern? Doesn't seem too hard, but I can't really find anything like it. Right away, she's just like, yes, we can do it. Well, keep in mind, we've.

Gemma Daly (07:45)
I'm

Amy + Theresa (07:46)
We are not professionals in the pattern making field. We've never gone to school for this or anything. are ⁓ designers by trade, but not pattern designers. So we're like, okay, let's take a stab at it. So our beginning patterns, we definitely ⁓ try to draft ourselves and work through all the problems and things, but I think it turned out pretty good.

Gemma Daly (08:08)
can you talk us through that sort of process then that you go through when you're designing your patterns?

Amy + Theresa (08:15)
Well, right now, we ⁓ don't actually draft our own patterns anymore, but ⁓ the design process is kind of the same. Amy and I both really like fashion and we like comfort. So we.

are inspired by so many things around us. And I think for us to be able to narrow down to one pattern is actually challenging because there's so many things that we want to do and we like. So we'll kind of ⁓ be influenced by ready to wear things that we see other, you know, people styling up and try to like create it to be our own. And ⁓ we always strip things down to be very

Basic and straightforward. So all of our patterns you will see that they don't have complex shapes We try to have as very few pieces as we can because we are both like beginner sewists as well I think ⁓ just taking the overwhelm out of everything is a big priority for us. So not only like ⁓ the final product has to ⁓ Look good and be what we intended, but its process needs to be kind of just this nice streamline

from start to finish that doesn't have many challenges in it for now because we geared towards beginners. You'll see some of our patterns are a little bit more complex, so they do have like skill building. When you're done with one, you can try another. But we definitely try to strip down. Yeah, I think one of our main goals when we were starting out was to kind of make the process like a little bit more intuitive for beginners and make it really like

friendly and approachable and designed really nicely. So even if you come to a piece in the project that, you know, maybe is a little bit beyond your skill set, you feel like you have the resources within the pattern to make it happen because it's just like laid out clearly designed nicely. You know where to cut, you know where to pin, you know where to sew. Because I think we both have had experiences in the past, you know, with when I was learning to sew, just like being so overwhelmed by

a tissue pattern with all the different lines and all the different colors and the instructions felt like they were written in a different language. So I think with our design background, our goal was to really simplify it, make it approachable, make it fun, just so you had a really good time sewing the thing and then you had something fun to wear afterwards. think personally, I have a hard time with written directions. Just like the way I learn, it's not.

intuitive to me, ⁓ just building it as easy as possible.

Gemma Daly (10:53)
Absolutely. And I think that's really interesting about, you know, breaking down the barriers for beginners, because even the little things can put you off starting, can't they?

Amy + Theresa (11:03)
Yes, for sure. It kind of makes you not even want to go on to the next step sometimes. And we really want you to make the pattern and make it again and again and again.

Gemma Daly (11:13)
I'm intrigued about where the name Matchy Matchy came from and what it actually means to you.

Amy + Theresa (11:19)
That is such a great question. ⁓ It kind of like happened on a whim. Actually, so when we were kind of like still just like in the fun sewing phase, chatting back and forth comparing patterns, I texted Teresa and I was like, I think I'm going to start like a sewing blog to show all these things that I'm making. Do you want to like do it with me? Do you want to start?

Gemma Daly (11:23)
Hahaha

Amy + Theresa (11:44)
putting your makes up there too. And like, yeah, let's do it. What are you gonna call it? And I like just thought for five seconds and I was like, what about matchy matchy? And she's like, okay, yeah, let's do it. Because it was kind of like, I guess my thought process was maybe like.

two people coming from different perspectives, kind of like working on a similar thing. So it was kind of the same, but different. It matched, but it didn't. And we were like a little sewing club. were, you know, doing it together, but also independently. a two person blog Yeah, exactly. ⁓ And it's kind of stuck and I feel like it's grown and evolved with us.

over over time, which is fun because I feel like it really kind of the name translates into you know more than just the sewing patterns like when we decided to add on fabric and add on notions and things like that. think it's a fun way to incorporate like sewing is fun and there's rules but you don't always have to follow the rules and you can you know

make it super precise and perfect or you can kind of like throw things together and see what happens. Like there's a lot of ways to approach doing a sewing project. Yeah I think it's definitely grown with us. Like ⁓ you can definitely be matchy matchy where your top is matching your bottoms which we love a good matching set but we also love just taking what you got and making it something else and I think that matches just as well so.

Gemma Daly (13:16)
I really like that because there's lots of different meanings in there, isn't there? But all of them are really, they feel like they're really you.

Amy + Theresa (13:23)
Yeah, somehow it worked out.

Gemma Daly (13:27)
Your patterns feel really distinctive to to matchy-matchy. you sort of mentioned earlier the style of them, relaxed and comfortable. is there any other way that you'd describe your patterns as a whole?

Amy + Theresa (13:41)
Yeah, I think we definitely think of like ease and comfort first, like something that you actually want to put on and wear. And then we always are trying to like incorporate ways that you can do patchwork if you want to. So we're trying, we try to make our pattern pieces, you know, a little bit more like.

you know, a shirt might be divided into three pattern pieces where, or you could also do it in one, but there's opportunities to use up, you know, pieces of fabric. ⁓ Or you can also make it in one fabric and it'll look super cute.

So incorporating patchwork and scrapping if you want And then also just being very approachable and beginner friendly. Yeah, it has to be fun like first and foremost and I think for us like form definitely follows comfort. we definitely want to be comfy in what we wear.

Gemma Daly (14:35)
Yeah, absolutely. And you mentioned like using scraps and like incorporating patchwork. Does that come from any particular reasoning? Is it to do with sustainability or is it more of a design focus?

Amy + Theresa (14:50)
A little bit of both. Like for me personally, feel that like scraps are almost more precious to me than like the full piece of fabric because you're looking at this just pile of opportunity, I suppose. ⁓ And it's more about art and creativity when you're doing patchwork and scrapping you know you're going to get the finished product one way or the other. But I think like with scraps, it's like

kind of what you're feeling that day, what you've been inspired by in that season of your life. And when you're done, it always tells a little story. So I think patchworking is definitely something that's built into matchy-matchy. And it's just a way to ⁓ find yourself and be more creative and tell a little story about all the things you've sewn in the past.

Gemma Daly (15:38)
really love that. Yeah, it feels very distinctively you as well. you guys have such an amazing eye for colour and pattern that you just, I don't know how you do it.

Amy + Theresa (15:50)
⁓ thank you. Thank you.

Gemma Daly (15:54)
was going to talk to you a bit about the term that you coined, is scrap theory. What does that mean? And do you have any tips for listeners about how to use their own scraps to make garments?

Amy + Theresa (16:07)
So scrap theory is just kind of our shorthand for, you know, the process of, you know, choosing few items out of your big pile of scraps and making them, you know, look cohesive and look nice as a finished product. Right. Like, really

building from the scraps that you have rather than taking a new piece of fabric. So ⁓ we really like the idea of just giving it a go. So don't take yourself too seriously. Don't overthink things. And it's just an expression of creativity, like I said before, because oftentimes when you overthink it, it might stifle what's going to come next. So the magic is really creative when you're just

Just let yourself go, because life is hard and there's a lot of things around us. Just take this time for yourself. Take the things that you've got and really just be with yourself. Think about the things you want to think about and just make it. You will be surprised at what happens at the end. So I think what Amy said earlier about ⁓ it's OK to break the rules. There are no rules really in scrap theory. We give you some basic things to follow, like maybe

Choosing three to five items to start with. Kind of figuring out piles of light, medium, and dark tend to work the best and concentrating things with like balance. So you'll want to put darks in one place, mediums in one place, and lights in one place. And we like to say, just put out the scraps, cut out your pattern piece, put out your scraps, see how they're laying out, take a photograph of it.

If you don't like it, you can always move something around, replace it with something else. But it's all up to you. It's going to be yours at the end. And when you're done, it's going to be amazing. And you're going to have a lovely story to tell. And I'm sure people are going to stop you on the street and be like, did you make that? Or what is that? Where did you get that? Yes. Yeah. And I think that's all like totally great. And there comes a point when I'm

kind of putting some crazy things together that I'm halfway through like, this is crazy and it's not gonna work and I don't know why I chose this. And then like sometimes I'll leave it for a couple days or forget about it or like Teresa will be making something and she'll come in and she'll be like, I stopped halfway through because it was so ugly. And always I'm like, no, you have to finish it because it's actually gonna look really good when it's finished. I don't think you can judge a scrap.

Project until it's totally done because it looks so much different when it's done Rather than halfway through and your brain is like trying to fill in the puzzle pieces So my advice is always to keep going finish it you will like it so much better when it's actually done Yeah, it's part of the magic. Yeah

Gemma Daly (18:51)
Yeah, that's some really good advice there. And I think, you know, the overall thing is that you're encouraging playfulness, isn't it? And not just, like you say, sticking to rules all the time, just have a go and play around.

Amy + Theresa (18:58)
Yes.

Yes, exactly. Yeah, we definitely think that sewing first and foremost should be fun. Like that's our goal is to just like have fun, not take it too seriously, and hopefully you have something really cute to wear at the end as well. Yeah.

Gemma Daly (19:17)
and that definitely comes across in the garments that you produce so I think you're doing a great job with that one. So let's talk about the book that you recently released which is called the mix and match sewing book if you're in the UK or the matchy matchy sewing book if you're in the US but what can people expect to find in the book.

Amy + Theresa (19:22)
Thanks. Thank you.

it's a great thing to pick up if you are a beginner because the patterns in the book are really, really simple and really easy to follow. And they definitely like follow our philosophy of being able to apply scrap theory to all those patterns because typically like the pieces of the patterns smaller and the proportions are

really nice so kind of no matter what you put together they're going to look balanced and really nice and it might be a good one too if you are like into thrifting or you know getting your fabric from different sources not just you know buying new fabric I feel like that could be a really

fun place to apply those fabrics. Yeah, like all the patterns we have already pre-divided for you. So it definitely has individual pattern pieces that are small enough to fit on something that you might want to upcycle or something that you've thrifted somewhere. So again, it really focuses on playfulness and creativity.

It's a great value because there are 12 patterns in there. Yeah, it includes 12 patterns. ⁓ Nine are garments and then there's three accessories as well. So you can start, you know, with something super easy and work your way up to something a little more complex. It's actually laid out where like the easiest projects are the very first one. So I think it starts with the Trio top, which is a really simple top that has, you know, like three panels on the front, three panels on the back. ⁓

Gemma Daly (20:46)
You

Amy + Theresa (21:12)
square neckline so there's like no bias binding even it's just super super easy and fun it's a great top for summer actually because it's very like breezy and then it kind of works its way up in difficulty from there so feel like yeah trying to make something that was like really accessible really fun and that you could work your way through the projects

Gemma Daly (21:34)
Yeah, because it's really nice when a book helps you to build on your skills as you go.

Amy + Theresa (21:39)
Mm hmm. Yeah. And I think there's a lot of techniques in there and we try to provide one way to do things, but there's many ways to do things. So we definitely encourage people to try this book and try other sewing patterns as well and find your favorite method to make your sewing experience the best that it can be.

Gemma Daly (21:41)
Lovely.

Now just carrying on with that sort of theme of like breaking the rules that you mentioned earlier, I was chatting to somebody yesterday on an interview and I wondered if there are like any things in your day-to-day sewing that you would class as like breaking the rules or doing it your way.

Amy + Theresa (22:17)
⁓ boy. We were actually just talking about this yesterday because it's funny, Teresa is a very type A sewist. She follows the rules, she reads through the instructions, she researches the correct way to do things. And I'm very type B. I'm like, let's just get this done. Who cares what the inside looks like? As long as I can wear it at the end, that's totally fine. It actually, this is really embarrassing to admit, but it took me

Gemma Daly (22:20)
Hahaha!

You

Amy + Theresa (22:47)
a long time to like figure out why people use notches. I was just, just like ignored notches for a good year and a half. And I was like, I don't need these. This is just another step that had one day, Teresa was like, really should use your notches. As soon as I found that I was like, you don't use your notches? my gosh. How are you even sewing? But yeah, I feel like

Gemma Daly (22:51)
huh.

Amy + Theresa (23:10)
We all like to take shortcuts every now and then. you might skip a step here and there, but like Amy said, at the end, it all comes together into something that you made. And that's all that matters really, is that you made it. Yeah. And I think like,

Gemma Daly (23:13)
Yep.

Amy + Theresa (23:26)
Yeah, we have different sewing styles and our finished garments look a little bit different. I feel like Teresa is much more thoughtful and considered and I'm a little bit more intuitive. I have an idea and I'm like, let's just do it. I'm going to put these colors together and I'm going to see what happens and Teresa really will take her time and think about it for a couple of days. And we both have come out with the great things at the end. So I think really

your process is kind of maybe a reflection of your personality and they all turn out great. Like I don't really think that there's some things there are right way and a wrong way, but most of the time, you know, you'll figure it out along the way. Yeah. I have to admire that ⁓ skill that Amy has to just like wing it because she'll come up with, like, for example, like taking off the cuff of this thing and adding something else on looks amazing.

Gemma Daly (24:19)
like that's why you two work really well together because your personalities are different but they mould each other.

Amy + Theresa (24:25)
Yes. Yeah,

it is. And it's interesting because I feel like actually our sewing personalities are maybe opposite of our regular personalities because like in work life and in you know personal life I am a little bit more type A and I feel like Teresa is a little more relaxed. So it's really interesting that for sewing it's flipped which maybe that is

Good thing. Yeah, like my sewing table looks like a disaster zone, but I better have a straight seam and I think Amy's complete opposite. Yeah, it's true. I'm very organized, but I'm just like, let's do it. Let's let it fly.

Gemma Daly (25:02)
That is very

interesting.

Your fabric collections, now I'm very jealous of because I'm based in the UK and we can't get them over here without a lot of shipping costs, but they're absolutely gorgeous. And I was wondering whether you design the prints and the color collections yourself or do you source them? And what inspires you when you're thinking about those new collections?

Amy + Theresa (25:29)
Well, first, thank you and so sorry. Like we wish we could have our fabric worldwide, but like, yeah, shipping is just really crazy.

Gemma Daly (25:32)
You

Amy + Theresa (25:38)
Logistics is something that we're working on. So hopefully someday we'll be able to have it in the UK because that would be amazing. And it's something we want to kind of, we definitely want to expand on. yeah, we do a little bit of both. So we kind of have like a stock ⁓ collection that we order that you'll kind of you maybe will see other fabric shops stock as well. And then we

Gemma Daly (25:51)
Thank

Amy + Theresa (26:04)
design custom exclusive collections also. ⁓ And typically our exclusive ones are linen and we design that from start to finish. So Theresa and I will kind of get together. We'll decide maybe the patterns like, okay, we wanna do some ginghams, we wanna do stripes, we wanna do maybe some checks, know, kind of think about the

as a whole and like when it's being released. So we actually just got our new like spring collection that's going to come out in a couple weeks. We just like received it in-house so that's super exciting. So we'll think about the timing of when something is being released and then from there I think we think about like the color palette that we want to explore.

We'll kind of come up with a general color palette and then like apply those to patterns and think about like, okay, what would we actually want to wear with these colors and with these styles that we've designed and we'll kind of like play around and mix and match and apply them to a gingham, apply it to a stripe and see how they all kind of look together because we're trying to make something that's cohesive and I think like the goal

is within a collection. Like you can either take one of the fabrics and make something and it looks amazing or you can put three of them together, put five of them together, pull different you know textures and colors and they'll all look good together even if they weren't meant to be together. So kind of trying to keep it overall cohesive and nice looking at the end together. Yeah I think once Amy starts by

pulling the color palette together and that just needs to work together no matter what. And then when we start saying like this color needs to be a gingham, a big gingham, a small gingham, a longated gingham, a stripe or whatever it happens to be, we try to get a good mixture and then make sure together so they can all play together but they can all be great independently obviously. since we are heavily focused on

when we come together with the collection we see them as friends and that like this is going to make a great collage gather top let's say. So we definitely try to also pair the fabric with a pattern that we're doing.

Gemma Daly (28:25)
Amazing and they definitely do, it is a cohesive collection, I just look at them in awe.

Amy + Theresa (28:33)
yeah, thank you. It's been a learning process for the custom fabric for sure. Yeah, we've gotten a lot better at it.

Gemma Daly (28:39)
Yeah.

So I was wondering what does a day in the life look like for you guys working at Matchy Matchy?

Amy + Theresa (28:47)
Great question. ⁓ I do a lot of, so Amy and I have different jobs, let's say, will do a lot of the sewing. So like I do a lot of sample sewing. So we're, we're always in pattern development that like never stops for us. So either we're testing, we're developing, we're drafting, like something's going on in pattern making and it's often two or three at a time.

Gemma Daly (28:50)
You

Amy + Theresa (29:14)
⁓ so that takes up a lot of my daily work. And contrary to what people believe, like owning your business is lot of work and it's really hard and like, we work almost seven days a week. ⁓ yeah, so I'll, I'll spend most of the day, like, refining a pattern, writing directions, sewing up a sample.

getting with our grader, doing more communications like that to make sure each pattern is on point, while Amy is really more focused on design work. Yeah, I kind of take care of the website, make sure everything looks good. We have new photos, new banners, new things like that. do.

Like the initial design work for fabric, know, choosing color palettes to, you know, coming up with concepts for patterns and things like that. And then also design work for like packaging for our notions or if we're going to do a new set of garment labels, kind of come up with those concepts ⁓ and then we'll get together.

and review them together. And then I do not as much sewing as Theresa, but I do some of the sample sewing. sewing stuff for myself, testing out the patterns after they've been graded and things like that. So I guess all of these jobs are never ending. So each day kind of composes an hour of this and an hour of that. So we do get to select.

what each day looks like, but do have deadlines for ourselves. sometimes Amy will be heavily working on all of the notions packaging, or we're going to have a new collection launch, so this all requires timing. But yeah, we can split up our day however we like to, but all these things are ongoing all the time.

And we also have a team of people that helps ship out all the orders and take photos and things like that. So we are in the office together two days a week. And then the rest of the week, we're at our home studios focusing away. exactly.

Gemma Daly (31:17)
Yeah, it sounds full on. Like, you're busy all the time by the sounds of things.

Amy + Theresa (31:22)
Yeah, there's lot going on. that way.

Gemma Daly (31:25)
So what's next for Matchy Matchy? Have you got any exciting plans coming up?

Amy + Theresa (31:30)
We do. We have a big project coming up actually. We're going to be opening up a store. So yeah, there'll be a matchy matchy ⁓ retail store in like sewing school, so to speak. I think a couple months. Yeah, we're shooting for summer we don't have an exact date yet. We have a space, but kind of needs a little bit.

of renovation and you know, set up our back end, you know, to get all shipping and stuff in place first. And then we're work on making it an amazing, beautiful space that people want to come to and shop in person because I feel like

Fabric shopping. I mean, I think a lot of us do it online now, so we're a little bit more used to it. But really, it should be an in-person experience because just the tactile nature of it is so important. And we're in the Los Angeles area, and there really aren't very many independent fabric stores for such a populated area with a lot of sewists. So we really want to hopefully create a space where people want to come to, ⁓

Gemma Daly (32:08)
Mm.

Amy + Theresa (32:34)
see the fabrics in person, see the patterns in person, hang out, feel like it's like a fun community space. in-person community is very important to us and being able to like join together. So we really do hope to be able to offer, ⁓ you know, weekly meetups or something like that. Again, we base a lot of our...

moves or a lot of our projects on what we hear and like feedback that we get from our customers because we think that's just the most important thing that we can do is to offer what people are asking for. ⁓ And I think in person is a big thing.

Gemma Daly (33:12)
Absolutely, that is very exciting news. it is a common theme actually that we talk about on the show is community. And I think it is so important. So well done for offering that to people because it's obviously in demand.

Amy + Theresa (33:26)
Yes, definitely. We're very excited. we love hanging out with sewists too, so we're like really excited to do this. Yeah, you'll have to come visit. Please.

Gemma Daly (33:31)
Yay!

my goodness, I would love that.

So just to tie up the interview ladies, I'd to do a quick game of this or that. Is that okay with you?

Amy + Theresa (33:48)
Yeah, let's do it.

Gemma Daly (33:49)
so first of all, woven or knits?

Amy + Theresa (33:52)
Well done. Well done.

Gemma Daly (33:54)
Classic neutrals or bold colours.

Amy + Theresa (33:57)
Classic neutral. Bold colors.

Gemma Daly (33:59)
Sweet or savory?

Amy + Theresa (34:01)
sweet, savory.

Gemma Daly (34:03)
everyday basics or a statement piece.

Amy + Theresa (34:06)
Everyday basics? I would say everyday basics also.

Gemma Daly (34:10)
your coffee.

Amy + Theresa (34:11)
Coffee. Coffee.

Gemma Daly (34:12)
stripes or checks.

Amy + Theresa (34:14)
you

Gemma Daly (34:14)
Hahaha

Amy + Theresa (34:18)
checks. I'm gonna say stripes. Yeah, I'm wearing stripes, so I think I have to say stripes.

Gemma Daly (34:24)
an all-in-one or a two-piece outfit.

Amy + Theresa (34:27)
two piece. I feel like that's hard. It depends on the time of year. going to say all in one.

Gemma Daly (34:34)
prints or solids.

Amy + Theresa (34:35)
Solids. Solids.

Gemma Daly (34:37)
an organized stash or creative chaos.

Amy + Theresa (34:41)
boy.

The desire for an organized stash but always living in chaos. Yes, I aspire to have an organized stash so I can remember what I have, but yeah, it's really hard to keep it organized, for sure.

Gemma Daly (34:56)
It really is.

And the last one, sewing a new pattern or a tried and tested.

Amy + Theresa (35:04)
I love sewing a new pattern because I like learning something new. I'm going to say tried and tested because I like knowing that I'm going to get something wearable at the end. Yeah.

Gemma Daly (35:16)
So where can people find you ladies?

Amy + Theresa (35:19)
They can find us online www.matchymatchysewingclub.com and our social media that we use most regularly is Instagram and it's also just Matchy Matchy Sewing Club.

And soon in the summer, you'll be able to find us in person. Our shop location is going to be in Monrovia, California, which is kind of just outside of Pasadena. So for all Southern California folks, or if you want to travel, it's super fun place to visit. So hopefully we'll see you in person too.

Gemma Daly (35:49)
Awesome. Well, I'll obviously link all of that in the show notes, but I just want to thank you both for joining me on the Sewing Social podcast today.

Amy + Theresa (35:57)
my gosh, thank you so much for having us. This was really fun. Yeah, this was so nice to chat. Thank you so much. Bye. ⁓

Gemma Daly (36:01)
Yay! You take care!

Bye.