Louisa Owen Sonstroem

Louisa Owen Sonstroem believes there is little more powerful than working with one's hands, because manual skills are enduring, egalitarian, and slow. She is a maker, illustrator, educator, and technical designer and author of Hand Sewing Clothing: A Guide. By day, Louisa works in the garment industry as a technical designer, helping to engineer the fit and construction of the clothes for brands such as Macy's and now Eileen Fisher. By night and on weekends, she cherishes the opportunity to teach, draw, and write about the wonders of making clothes. Louisa is also founder of Patternmaking in Public Places (PIPP), a project seeking to democratize access to patternmaking by removing barriers of geography, economics, age, language, intimidation, and more. PIPP declares that patterns are the shapes of our bodies and our dreams, and they should belong to all of us.