Welcome to the Sleeves & Legs blog!

The very first blog for Sleeves & Legs! I am so excited! Let’s start properly and begin with a short introduction from my side of the globe…

My name is Renee Jonkers and I live together with my husband in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. That’s a little European country squeezed in between the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium. Known for its tulips, wooden shoes and a lot of bikes in the streets. We share our home with our three dogs: Scilly (Frisian Pointer dog), Bryher (Parson Russell Terrier) and Nym (also a Parson Russell Terrier). As you can expect, it can be a bit noisy in our home from time to time (especially when the postmen rings the door bell: barking bonanza….).

I love a lot of things in life but the one thing I love the most, is sewing menswear! Oh, don’t get me wrong, I do sew the occasional dress/skirt/shirt/jacket for myself and others but I can absolutely lose myself sewing men’s shirts, jackets, vests and so on. Actually I love sewing menswear so much that I became a professional seamstress with a specialisation in menswear. Bit nerdy isn’t it? But it made me realise that there aren’t many modern menswear patterns out there! I am lucky enough to know how to draft my own patterns but I realize a lot of home sewers don’t have that skill. And are stuck with the lack of appealing and modern menswear patterns. I mean: how many pyama, shirt or costume patterns do you really need?

So I started my own menswear pattern company called Sleeves & Legs! We design and sell modern, contemporary menswear patterns for (t)all men. Our patterns come in regular sizes (1.78m or 5ft 10”), tall sizes (1.88m or 6 ft 2”) and very tall sizes (1.98m or 6ft 6”). This size range also explains the name Sleeves & Legs: pattern parts that are normally to short for taller men… But it also means that if you want to sew something for the (tall) man in your life, we will have a pattern for you! Our first pattern will be availabe in September 2016, so very exciting times are coming!

I see the Sleeves & Legs blog as a way to connect to you – you who love to sew, support
independent sewing pattern companies and is interested in the detail oriented world of sewing
menswear.

I’ll be talking about the following subjects:
– menswear sewing and design
– sewing techniques commonly used in menswear
– menswear inspiration (designers, garments, trends, pattern hacks)
– what you and I made
– and probably a lot more!

I can’t wait to get in touch with you! Are you as excited about sewing menswear as I am and do you want to be kept in the loop of all things that are going to happen? Then subsribe to our newsletter and you’ll be the first one to know about everything we plan and do!