Hi, I'm Kate McAuley, the owner of Pattern Emporium. 

I want everyone to experience the transition from ‘homemade’ to “Wow! Where did you get that!?”

KATE MCAULEY

KATE MCAULEY

I LOVE to design. I love to create. And I love to share (some might call it over-sharing). I love my business! Like, jump-out-of-bed-in-the-morning-excited-to-start-my-day type of love. I love the architecture of making patterns, the joy of sewing when every piece fits beautifully into the next, like a satisfying jigsaw puzzle. It fills me with glee each time. I love the two-way street of our incredible Handmade Community. It makes me proud & humbled to inspire others. It motivates me to be inspired by you.

Although I have been designing most of my adult life, life experiences forced me to dig deeper & look at what really made me happy. I completely changed my life, lifestyle & location. From that, plus a lot of encouragement from my husband, Pattern Emporium was born. Something I am always telling my kids is : find something you are passionate about, something that you love to talk about & immerse yourself in, and get yourself on the path to make it your career.

I have been sewing & creating my own patterns since I was a little girl. I’d browse through my mum’s fashion magazines picked up on her travels, and a whole world just opened up for me. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion from RMIT (Victoria University) in Melbourne & I have been working professionally in the Fashion Industry since 1989.

And whilst I have had my ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ fashion experiences, for the most part, being creative has brought me so much joy, a strong centre & a sense of accomplishment.

Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.

MELANIE HALL

MELANIE HALL

Melanie has the same passion for clothing, sewing & fashion as I do. She has an amazing knack for helping others find the right size & fit for their sews... and that's no easy feat when it's all digital.

Mel manages our Facebook Group. But I also bounce all of my ideas off her. We have very similar (okay it's like we're twins) style aesthetics & sit at either end of our size range, so for a design to go ahead, we both have to love it, look great it in & want to wear it obsessively. You'll find Mel on lots of our pattern covers

OUR TESTING TEAM

OUR TESTING TEAM

I have the most creative, amazing, generous & thorough testing team from all over the world. Whether we are testing ladies or kids designs, we not only test every size, we also make sure we include testers who cross over sizes (multi size) so that we can advise on tweaking fit for those of us who don't fit the standard measurements chart.

My fantastic testers also test every step of the sewing process outlined in each tutorial, so that we can make it as straight forward as possible for you to sew. We all love sewing so much, we want the same for you.

LEARNING STYLES:

Pattern Emporium patterns are designed to cater to as many learning styles as possible. I'm not a traditionalist by any means.
My aim with Pattern Emporium sewing patterns, is to enable you to sew fashionable pieces, quickly & easily, to create or compliment your wardrobe.

There are loads of photos, taking you step by step through each element of putting together a successful garment.

Sentences are short & to the point.

I have broken elements down into simple steps so that you can even learn to love adding a zip. Yep, you heard that right. 

There are also lots of tips, as you sew, to enable you to achieve a professional looking garment.

OUR VIDEOS

For each new pattern release I shoot a little video outlining all the option available in that pattern in styles I've sewn up. You will find them on our YouTube Channel here.
Youtube Channel