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Hello,
My name is Samantha and I am one half of Milksok, me and my other half Joe have created a children’s clothing brand. Our aim is to provide hard wearing fun pieces that are practical, whilst still looking unique and fun. Most important to us is that it is something that kids will love and want to wear.
Joe comes from a design background having studied illustration and I have always enjoyed dress making.
Juggling children and other work, Milksok has always been a side project, a little labour of love and has slowly evolved over 3 years. We began with one t-shirt design and we have now expanded the range to specialise in our signature hat collection.
My favourite Milksok items and the ones that I am most proud of are our splat hat range and our beanies beanies. All the splat’s are hand painted, resulting in every single one being unique; whilst the beanies have been designed and made from scratch by myself.
Sitting at the sewing machine is my happy place, aside from achieving a GCSE in textiles, I am primarily self taught and think that anyone can make something no matter what level.
My sewing top tips would be:
1. Start with a basic pattern – you can download hundreds of free ones or just freestyle your own shapes. One of my first makes was a rectangular baby blanket. I recycled old fabric and made a bit of a bodged patchwork blanket.
2. Don’t get fancy with the stitches – a basic straight running stitch works on most things!
3. Start with 100% cotton as this is a durable easy fabric that doesn’t move much under the needle
4. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake – making mistakes is how I actually made some of my best pieces (your un-picker will become your best friend)
5. Always have youtube on hand as there is a video for absolutely EVERYTHING sewing and sewing machine related!
I think given the knowledge we have regarding our environment and eco-system, fast fashion is extremely concerning. Buying from small independent labels can make a massive difference, but learning to create your own things will make an even bigger difference. I love the make do and mend theology and up-cycling older clothing can be the most fun. Once you start making things it is highly addictive and good for the soul.
When I approach designing new pieces for Milksok I think what would I like? What would I wear, and in relation to kids, is it something that looks like it’s made for kids.
You can check out our Milksok makes on our website and over on our Instagram page www.milksok.com www.instagram.com/milksok.uk/
