Christine, Kanada / Finland

To mark our 20th anniversary, we announced an international myOTTOBRE campaign in order to hear from our readers. We invited you to share your sewing story with us and the entire OTTOBRE community. We received an astonishing amount of lovely pictures, inspiring stories and encouraging messages from our customers all around the world. Our magazine would be nothing without its joyful community, and we thank each and every one of the participants for sharing their story with us. The entries are published in their original language, but we have written short summaries in English.

After moving from Canada to Finland, Christine was in need of a hobby. She borrowed OTTOBRE magazines from the library, and was impressed by our designs. The tops she wears are made with our patterns, but she has hacked them to be nursing friendly. According to Christine, making nursing shirts that fit her body makes her feel comfortable and happy. We loved Christine’s joyful photos, especially the one with her daughter, where they are both wearing clothing made from the same merino wool fabric!

I sewed a bit as a child and teen, and then picked it up again after moving to Finland and discovering that I was in need of a hobby. I dabbled a bit in embroidery and tried knitting for a couple of days, but then realized that I would only be happy if I once again owned a sewing machine.

I came across Ottobre Magazine at the library here in Helsinki, and I really liked the combination of practical basics and more current, fashionable patterns that each magazine offers. These pictures tell most of the story about why I like to sew. The tops I am wearing are hacked Ottobre patterns – Leslie from 6/2020 and Ponytail from 7/2017. They are hacked to be nursing friendly – I love that I can make nursing shirts that fit my body in a way that makes me feel comfortable, and from fabrics that make me happy! My daughter is wearing a sweater that is made from the leftover merino wool from my turtleneck, also an Ottobre pattern from 6/2019. These are all TNT patterns that I really enjoy and will continue to remake.