Me as a Mama

My name is Rachel and I am a mama to three beautifully sweet kiddos. Hank is my oldest and works tirelessly to master everything he tries. His determination is only matched by his big heart. Gus is my middle and is so incredibly creative - I am always so amazed with what he comes up with. He has curls for days and is the best snuggler ever. Mae is the baby. She is feisty and fearless and holds all of our hearts in her tiny little hands.

My Road to Sewing

So let me take you back to a time before these sweet faces came into the picture. The first time I sat down at a sewing machine was in my sixth grade home ec class and I was pretty much hooked the minute my foot hit the sewing machine pedal.  I immediately fell in love with the idea that I could turn a bunch of pieces of fabric into something that I could actually use.  

Learning to sew was huge for my sixth grade self. I was pretty shy in middle school, but learning something like sewing gave me a huge boost in self confidence. As I have come across challenges in my adult life, I can honestly say that my ability to sew has been a constant source of pride and has encouraged me to go after new and bigger challenges - like starting a business in the middle of a pandemic with three young kiddos at home! :)

Sewing as a young kid led me to Columbia College Chicago where I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design. While at Columbia I was able to live out a dream by living in New York City and interning with Cynthia Rowley as she and her team prepared for NY Spring Fashion Week. While in NY, I scoured the city for fabrics and notions and also helped draft patterns for some of the looks that walked the runway! After graduating from Columbia I worked as an off-camera design assistant for HGTV’s “Design on a Dime”. All of that creative work prepared me for what my true passion was and in November 2021 I launched Butterscotch Sewing!

The Butterscotch Sewing Story

Butterscotch Sewing had been a dream of mine for a really long time. I wanted to find a way to share my love of sewing with everyone and show kids and adults that learning to sew doesn’t have to be hard.

It was my mission to create guided kits that took all of the complexity out of the equation. The kits come with all of the supplies you need to complete the project as well as access to video tutorials that walk through each step - it's kind of like having a sewing buddy right next to ya'. The projects can also be sewn either using a sewing machine or by hand. I know purchasing a sewing machine can be a big investment especially when you have never sewn before so there are videos that support either method of sewing.

It is my hope that by offering an un-intimidating approach to learning how to sew more and more people will give it a shot and fall in love with it just like I did so many years ago.

What’s In a Name  

And my guess now is that you want to know what’s up with the name. So when Hank was born I almost immediately started calling him my “Butter Bean” and then when Gus came along he became my “Butter Bear”. The boys are very used to me using these nicknames (and are good sports about it when I accidentally use them in front of their friends). Shortly after Mae was born, Hank and Gus came to me and said “Mae needs her own ‘butter’ name. How about Butterscotch?” My heart melted at the idea that these silly little names that mean so much to me actually mean a lot to them too and they didn’t want to leave their little sister out of the mix.

When I started taking steps towards getting this new business off the ground I knew instantly that it should be called Butterscotch Sewing because it will always bring me back to this perfect little moment when I had all of my little butters so close. I will blink and they will be all grown up and out on their own and I will be far less tired and my house will be way more organized but man will I miss all of these small little moments that we have together. Butter Bean, Butter Bear and Butterscotch - you have my whole heart and you always will.