About Charlie’s Aunt sewing patterns

Charlie’s Aunt is based in a quiet rural village in Suffolk. The design studio looks out onto a pretty English garden with a view of the historical church and its sweeping avenue of ancient trees. The wider area of East Anglia is the perfect mix of rolling countryside and unspoilt coastline, with special landscapes on the doorstep, ranging from woodland and heathland to expansive sand and shingle beaches. Emma is heavily influenced by those breath-taking surroundings and this is echoed in her fabric and colour choices.

Inspiration also comes from family stories about rural life during the war years, and happy days spent in the Suffolk countryside where Emma grew up. Photographs of her mother Anne with her friend Dianne taken in the 1950s feature on the pattern covers and kit packaging.

Since launching in 2011, Charlie’s Aunt patterns have gained praise from enthusiastic sewers and crafters all over the world. The business was a shortlisted finalist in the Country Homes & Interiors magazine ‘My Country Business Awards’ and the first Charlie’s Aunt sewing pattern for Simplicity was also published in spring 2018.

Why Charlie’s Aunt?

The pattern business is named in honour of Emma’s nephew, Charlie. Emma was devastated when she lost Charlie’s mother, her dear sister Sarah, to breast cancer in 2002, aged just 37.

Sarah used to be the perfect model for Emma’s clothing business and her enthusiasm and encouragement was boundless. She is still missed every single day and continues to be one of Emma’s biggest inspirations.

Emma’s sister Sarah (Charlie’s mum) the perfect model for Emma’s clothing business

About Emma Brennan

I have been “making things” for as long as I can remember, starting with sewing soft toys when I was just nine years old. My father remembered me disappearing into my bedroom and emerging three hours later with a family of plush mice, resplendent in sailor outfits.

In my early teens, I made rag doll versions of all the band members of U2 complete with drum kits, wooden guitars and tight jeans. My first foray into “make-do-and-mend” was when I asked my gran to unravel a yellow jumper so that the wool would replicate bassist Adam Clayton’s curly blonde perm. I was soon commissioned to make replicas of my friend’s favourite rock stars.

I branched into making my own clothes during the 1980s, mainly because I wanted to look “different”. My early creations certainly made me stand out from the crowd, including a particularly loud jumpsuit made from a pair of bold red and white striped kitchen curtains, a tie-dyed green and yellow dress and an orange skirt, created from one leg of a pair extra- wide flared trousers left over from the 70s, donated by my aunt.

Mercifully, as the years passed my skills and tastes improved, and by the time I was in my mid-20s, after first training and working as a broadcast journalist and newsreader on BBC and commercial radio for five years, I took the plunge and launched my own clothing label alongside freelancing as a journalist.

The business originally concentrated on vintage inspired clothing and hats, and then more recently on handbags and jewellery influenced by the styles of the 1910s to 1950s. I sold through boutiques, craft fairs, fashion shows and galleries.

With a move to Australia on the cards and the shine of sitting at a sewing machine for six hours a day beginning to wear off, I decided to broaden my skills. I read heaps of books, studied and gained more qualifications in journalism and further education teaching, and taught classes in handbag and jewellery design at colleges in the UK while writing my first book Making Vintage Bags.

The transition to sewing pattern design was a natural progression, combining my design skills with a love of traditional fabrics without the labour of having to create dozens of each item to sell. The first book showcased 20 of my sewing patterns for handbags based on the styles of the first half of the 20th century.

Migrating to Western Australia in 2003 forced a career change and I returned to journalism virtually full time. But I still couldn’t put the creative urges behind me and my second book Making Vintage Jewellery was written and published soon after my arrival in Australia. I wrote Making Vintage Accessories while in Australia, which was published in October 2009.

In 2011 I returned to the UK permanently and to my native East Anglia. On the back of the success of the books, I launched the Charlie’s Aunt range of sewing patterns in February of that year. In addition, I designed four paper patterns for Indygo Junction and a paper pattern for Simplicity Pattern Company.

I currently combine working as a pattern designer/publisher with journalism and writing. I am also a qualified further education tutor and run a small number of courses in vintage inspired jewellery making and handbag/accessory design in the UK. I continue to feel blessed that I can spend my days working on my lifelong passion for writing and all things fabric, fashion and vintage.