Welcome to Sewing With Numbers

The newsletter that will teach you how to use math to design and draft your own sewing patterns.

Hello sew-friends! I'm so excited to have you join me on this new venture—Sewing With Numbers. This Substack started with the kernel of an idea: What if I could inspire someone to LOVE math?. Radical right? Math is often thought of as boring or hard or not even necessary. But here’s the thing. Math is incredibly powerful. And it doesn’t have to be complicated. We can harness fairly simple math to draft and sew really cool stuff.

I love math. I love puzzles. And I love sewing. I love figuring out a formula for a really simple pattern. I love figuring out a technique that makes sewing more simple.

Sewing, quilting and well, most crafts, really heavily on math. It's not usually very complicated math. But it's incredibly powerful. With a few sums, we can design our own quilts and bags and garments to exactly the size and style that we desire. How freaking cool is that?

I’ve been sewing and drafting patterns for thirty years. Plus, I have bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and graphic design. I’ll be bringing all of that knowledge and practice to this newsletter.

“The essence of math is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple.”

— Stan Gudder

My goal with this newsletter is to encourage sewists (new and old) to embrace mathematics into their practice. A lot of the time, we follow patterns without really delving deeper into why or how the numbers are making things work (or not working in some cases). When we embrace math with our sewing, we open up new opportunities for designing and customizing our sewing. And it doesn’t have to be hard or scary.

In this newsletter, I will share how to design and draft a particular project over the course of 6 to 8 weeks. I'll start each project with a few posts about drafting and designing certain elements of the project. Next, I’ll share how to draft a full pattern and then conclude with design variations. Occasionally, I'll also share an essay on sewing, design and small business. And, maybe a Q&A here and there. (If you are looking for sewing, design, or even life advice, let me know. I love giving solicited advice and helping solve a problem, especially if we can do a little math.)

I’m really excited to design and make things together.

Happy sewing!

Beth