AHEAD OF THE CURVE

It’s easy to assume that anyone running a sewing business has been sewing from childhood. Not true in the case of Jenny Rushmore of Cashmerette, “I didn’t even learn to sew until I was 30!” laughs Jenny. “When I first started sewing, I couldn’t even imagine being good enough to make a T-shirt, so running a sewing pattern business wasn’t something that even crossed my mind.”

KICKSTARTING CHANGE

So, where did it all begin? The journey to setting up Cashmerette Patterns was a long one for Jenny, who started sewing clothes because she was so frustrated at not being able to find clothes that fit her, or clothes that she liked, in shops. “I’m around a size 18/20 and have a H-cup bust,” says Jenny. “At the time, there were almost no sewing patterns in my size, which was so disappointing. I realised I’d have to learn to adjust patterns myself, and became a dab hand at the full bust adjustment, but I continued to feel frustrated and excluded by the sewing pattern world. Eventually, I decided that I would be