Threadloop is bringing back the 'delight' of sharing sewing projects online

I chatted with the co-founder of the platform by and for sewists to not only catalogue and post their creations but also connect with others, no AI slop or doomscrolling involved.

I can say without a doubt that I would not have gotten into sewing if it weren’t for the internet and particularly platforms like Instagram and YouTube. When I started making my own clothes in the 2010s, it still felt like a niche hobby that I didn’t share with any of my friends. The sewists I followed on social media not only inspired me through their creations but also provided tangible help to someone still wrestling with a sewing machine and trying to decipher notoriously badly written pattern instructions. While the community of sewists and other textile artists I follow has only continued to grow as these traditions experience an unprecedented revival, I’ve found social media increasingly useless to connect with them.

As all of us are increasingly served algorithmic slop, all I want to see are what my sewing friends are making (and maybe some cute animals thrown in the mix). I know that Instagram in particular is a crucial outlet for the increasing number of independent pattern designers to find customers, but I’ve seen many lament about their content not reaching their audience. (I do think some of the most interesting sewing content is now coming from TikTok, but it’s much harder to build a dynamic community there.) One of the reasons I created my database of indie pattern makers and also include a list of new pattern releases in this newsletter is because there was no centralized way to learn about them. On top of that, I’ve heard numerous sewists (including myself) express the pressure they feel about having to constantly post new things they’ve made, with the algorithm caring little about the actual craft and work that goes into garment construction.

Luckily, there’s an alternative: Threadloop. It’s the sort of resource that could only be created by a sewer, in this case, Norwegian sewist and UX designer Guro Flåten, who used her skills to create a platform where sewists can share their makes, getting into nerdy details around fabric types, sizing and alterations if they wish. But it’s already proving to be much more than that: a pattern database, a discussion platform (recent topics include What are you weird sewing tools? and How do you deal emotionally with fitting set backs?) and a veritable online community. One of my favorite features are the pattern lists, with user-generated themes like Soft Sculpture Fashion, Clown Core Cutie's Closet and Looks Good Enough to Eat! (yes for food-shaped patterns). I was so happy to chat with Flåten about how Threadloop is going and her goals for the future. And if you want to follow me there (I’m still developing my Threadloop presence), I’m Hsteinkopffrank.

But first, the usual roundup of new patterns and sewing news.

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Scrap pile

I already bought the Ellesmere Dress Pattern from the Petite Dressmaker and am particularly excited to try it as someone under 5 foot 1.

Sewing Therapy’s Arles Top Pattern is perfect for summer.

There are lovely Victorian vibes in the Josephina Top from Mila Onni Patterns.

How lovely is Sewing Amore’s Flora Dress and Blouse.

The Esther Set from High Country Women is a top and skirt pattern in one.

NH Patterns put out the flowy April Blouse.

The Casey Boxer Short & Pant from True Bias look super cozy.

There’s a lot of flow in the Luella Skirt from Tilly and the Buttons.

The Day Tote from Modern Pattern Company features many useful interior details.

The Eileen Barrel Pants have a great shape.

In the TikTok corner, I love this easy DIY for a circle skirt:

@cece.and.the.seams🌟s u m m e r s k i r t 🌟 an easy beginner #sewingtutorial #handmade #design #handmadeclothing #sewing #thriftflip #sustainablefashion #upcycle #oneofakind #vintage #diy #sewingtips #sewingproject

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And grandmas have the best lines:

@hannahmhoffmanSaturday stitchin with grandma 😂 teaching me the frog stitch #sewingtiktok #grandma #grandmasoftiktok #needlepoint #stitch #stitches #queen

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Threading the Needle with Guro Flåten

Every edition of Sew You Have a Question features a Threading the Needle Interview with someone in the textile arts world whose brain I want to pick. This time, I was thrilled to chat with Threadloop co-creator Guro Flåten.

What was the motivation behind starting Threadloop?

Discovering sewing as a hobby was such a revelation for me. I'm notoriously impatient when it comes to learning new skills, but sewing felt good right from the start. It made me feel proud of what I could create with my own hands, but most importantly, it introduced me to the sewing community. For years, I loved using Instagram to share my sewing journey, discover new patterns and get inspired by other sewists. Gradually, this joy faded, as I was starting to feel more pressure to perform instead of documenting my process, and it was getting harder to use the platform to find things.

On top of this, I’ve never been a good note-taker. I used to (mistakenly) think that I could remember and visualize every detail in my head. With a lot of sewing ideas racking up, and a growing stash, I was struggling to keep everything organized. I realised that I could use my skills in UI/UX design to try to create a solution to these problems, for myself and for others in the community. Me and my partner Endre were both into the idea of creating something together, so we both decided to fully focus on making Threadloop back in 2022.

Can you describe the platform design process? What features were important for you to include?

At the very beginning, we focused a lot on the basic organizational features that I personally had an immediate need for: a digital catalogue of my fabrics and patterns and a place to document projects. As our pool of beta testers grew, our scope did as well. Our design and development process is fueled by feedback from our members, and we quickly realized that we were overlooking the importance of the social aspect.

Me being part of the sewing community is very useful when it comes to making decisions, like what features we develop. Putting it plainly, I’m creating Threadloop for me and my friends. We always imagined Threadloop to be a place for people to share their experiences and inspire each other, so we pivoted slightly to allow for more community building as well. At every step, we take care that our goals align with our members. When designing Threadloop, our main rule is that our platform and its features should be delightful. For us, that means it should be intuitive and easy to use. Because we are always open to feedback and suggestions, we have an endless list of ideas for features and improvements, but we have to constantly balance complexity with usability.

What have you noticed about the site since you started it? Any interesting usage/community building?

I’m very thankful that we quickly found some extremely dedicated early adopters who expressed their enthusiasm for what we were building. Having that encouragement from an early stage was really motivating for us, and kept us going! Those hardcore users often push us towards new features, by “hacking” a current feature to serve a different purpose, which is so fun to see.

For a long time, I thought that Threadloop would be a tool for pretty nerdy sewing enthusiasts like myself and those early adopters, but lately I’ve also noticed that we have gotten quite a lot of beginner sewers, so I think that is very encouraging! Another unrelated thing that’s still completely mind-blowing to us is to stumble upon lovely mentions of Threadloop randomly on the internet. I’ve also heard from a couple of my UK university friends that Threadloop has come up in conversation on first dates. What a small world!

You can get pretty nerdy with Threadloop in terms of tracking materials, the sewing process, alterations made to patterns, etc. How do you think those journaling and recording features are helpful for sewists?

We sometimes hear “I’m not the kind of person who keeps things organized like that” or “when I magically become an organized person, I will check out Threadloop.” The “nerdiness” of Threadloop is probably one of the most difficult assumptions for us to overcome! I think a lot of people are scared of the initial commitment of adding their fabric stash or planning a project. I totally get where they’re coming from - it can seem a bit overwhelming. But there are so many benefits to documenting and tracking your sewing supplies and projects. Even if you're more of a go-with-the-flow type. All those things that used to just float around in your head are now easily accessible (and visual!). And we’ve made sure that it’s easy to be as minimal or nerdy as you want in terms of how much information you include.

We often hear from our members that the main benefit they get out of Threadloop isn’t actually a specific feature - it’s something bigger than that. They gain more time and energy to actually sew. Less mental load is spent on remembering vague ideas. Not having to scramble through papers to find a note about what size you cut last time. Being able to “shop your own stash” when an idea comes along. Not to mention how helpful all this information can be for other sewists! For example, seeing a pattern on a body with measurements similar to your own, learning what size they chose or adjustments they made. That’s invaluable.

I've noticed a lot more sewists complaining that mainstream social media platforms like Instagram are becoming increasingly difficult places to share their work and connect with others. How do you view Threadloop as a counter to this?

It’s not a goal for us that Threadloop should replace Instagram for sewists on all fronts, but we absolutely think we can be better for the sewing community in some ways. Focusing on the sewing niche lets us be very specific, and design features around the needs and wants of that group - without the pressure associated with social media.

Hashtags can only get you so far. On Threadloop, every pattern has its own page, so you can see all reviews, projects and discussions in one place. Projects are formatted in a way that lets you easily see sizing notes, body measurements and what kind of fabric was used. Without any character limits, the project journals function kind of like a little blog, where you can include whatever resources and links are relevant, and go much more in-depth than on IG.

At the core of it, Threadloop isn’t purely a social platform, it’s an organizational tool, a sort of sewing companion - with a lot of social features. We don’t want you to share just the highlights, we encourage you to show the whole process. We’re never going to be as glossy and dopamine-spiking as IG, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. Instead of having an algorithm designed to serve as many ads as possible, we do our best to make sure that the user controls what they’re seeing. Everything can be searched, filtered and sorted in many different ways. With no ads, there’s no incentive for us to keep your eyeballs glued to the screen at whatever cost, so we would rather focus on giving you control and agency.

What goals do you have for Threadloop?

On a personal level, we want Threadloop to be a sustainable business that serves the sewing community for years to come. Right now, I would say we’re at a point where we can sustain ourselves with what we make from our Plus subscribers, but it does take some sacrifices to get it to work. To put it plainly, we're not getting rich doing this, but we're incredibly thankful that our job is to create something we’re so passionate about!

In a broader context, we want Threadloop to be known by, and useful to, as many people that sew as possible. We’re really proud of what we’ve made, and the changes and improvements we continue to make, and we want more people to know about it!