About

Hey thanks for stopping by! I'm Whitney, the designer behind Rose + Rail Patterns. I learned to sew as a kid, and my favorite project at that time was to sew patches of up-cycled fabrics onto my favorite cut-off jean shorts.

My passion for garment sewing really blossomed when my kiddos were born, and I started sewing them clothes using PDF patterns. I vividly remember the first PDF pattern I bought, from a lovely designer on Etsy called Shakalaka Patterns. It took me a week to finish my baby romper, but it turned out beautifully and I was totally hooked!!! I eventually opened up a small shop called Rose & Rail Clothier in 2017 selling linen children's clothing made using a mix of PDF patterns from other designers and my own designs.

In 2020 when Life As We Know It took a little tumble, I had to switch gears. The late nights being tied to my sewing machine on a deadline were really starting to take a toll. Uncertainties with fabric suppliers, shipping services, and all the other things were making it less and less viable for me to keep the shop running as usual. I decided to put my clothing shop on pause to reduce my stress level and focus on my family.

I'm a self-taught sewist and designer, but I'd always wanted to really learn the intricacies of pattern-making and how to do it digitally. So during this time while the shop was on pause I took some classes in order to focus on learning these skills. As time passed I realized that coming up with a new style idea, putting it to paper, testing and perfecting the pattern and ending up with a beautiful garment that I'd created from start to finish, THIS was the part of my clothing shop that I'd always loved the most. And now, with these new skills, I realized, I could KEEP doing it, even if I could no longer keep my clothing shop open. I could keep designing, I could share my patterns with you guys and hopefully become a gateway for so many more people to enter the wonderful world of sewing your own clothes (well, your kids' clothes)!

GIVING BACK

It's important to me to give back, and 5% of all pattern sales will be donated to a rotating charity, including those listed here:

Black Youth Helpline: A Canadian not-for-profit organization originally started in Manitoba, the Black Youth Helpline focuses on community development and support for Black youth across Canada.