Pamela Leggett, owner and designer of Pamela’s Patterns built her career around sewing and fashion.  She never imagined doing anything else.  Born and raised in Michigan, her first memories are of sewing with her Grandmother on a treadle sewing machine. By the time she was twelve, she could put a garment together without help.  By age 14, she was sewing for others, mostly doing alterations. She has become a designer, teacher and author with a national reputation.  She is also the coordinator/ instructor for the Palmer/Pletsch East School of Sewing.

Pamela says, “My first job as a teenager was in a shoe repair shop. I was just supposed to be a cashier, but every chance I got I was back in the workroom trying out the really amazing machines. Through school, I worked for sewing machine dealers and fabric stores.  My senior year was spent apprenticing with a Japanese tailor as part of a work/study program.”

In 1978 with the optimism of youth and a huge collection of vintage clothing, Pamela opened a boutique in the resort town of Saugatuck, Michigan. She soon realized her shop needed another source of revenue.  She brought in retail fashion and her own designs. She also did alterations, custom clothing, stage clothing for rock bands, home dec and bridal, which she continued to do long after the boutique closed.

Pamela and her first husband moved to Connecticut in 1980 to start a family.  Her most prized possession was her Viking sewing machine. When it broke down, she rushed it to the nearest sewing machine dealer. When the owner of Manchester Sewing Center quoted a price for the repair, she was shocked.  Since she had always worked for dealers, she’d never had to “pay” for a repair.  She couldn’t afford to have it fixed.  The owner could see how upset she was.  He said, “I’m going to fix your sewing machine and you can pay me when you’re able.” She cried all the way home because he had been so kind.

A year later, that man — Aaron Cheerman — called her out of the blue. He was expanding his store and wanted her to teach classes. She told him she had never done anything like that.  He said he was not worried, she could do it. As a matter of fact, he believed she would be great. Pamela says, “To this day, I have no idea why he even remembered me.  But that phone call was a turning point. Mr. Cheerman became my employer, business teacher, mentor, and biggest supporter.” Pamela managed the store for 22 years. Manchester Sewing Center spawned an amazing number of sewing educators and pattern designers. J Stern Designs, Gail Patrice Design and Anna Mazur, (Pattern Review Editor for Threads Magazine) all started teaching at Manchester Sewing.

Teaching became a new focus in her life.  She loved to develop sewing classes about sewing machines, fashion, tailoring and proper fit. For several years in the late 80’s, Pamela and two of her sewing students started a fashion company called Tuesday’s Original Wardrobes. Their target market was the entertainment industry in the Hartford CT area, and they sold their line to the likes of Gayle King (Oprah’s best friend!).

In 1985, Pamela got her first serger, but she was not impressed.  It seemed like there were so many things it could NOT do. The seams on knit fabric would stretch out, inside curves puckered, and serged seams weren’t strong enough for woven fabrics.

Frustrated, she took a serger class from Patsy Shields at a Sulky conference. “I could not believe the things she did with a serger!  Patsy turned the knobs, she fiddled with tensions, and I realized this machine required a different set of rules.  It was an epiphany for me and I was hooked. I was determined to find out exactly how a serger worked.  I wanted to understand every element of this wonderful machine so I could explain it and teach people.”

Gaining confidence about sergers became Pamela’s new mission. The development of differential feed rocked her world!  Pamela enjoyed learning about and mastering each new improvement in the technology, and she cannot imagine sewing without a serger!! She does almost all of her seaming with a serger — and all her finishing work with a sewing machine.

Pamela became fascinated with the possibilities of decorative work with a serger. She loves flatlock and calls it the “two-for-one stitch” because you get ladders on one side, and loops on the other — both beautiful stitches. She developed new concepts which became the basis for her very popular series of flatlock serger classes.

In 2000, Pamela started writing serger articles for Threads Magazine based on her popular class, The Serger Workshop.

In 2005, Pamela moved to the Philadelphia area with her second husband, Bill, and became the manager of Steve’s Sewing in King of Prussia.  Pamela says, “Steve’s is an amazing store with a talented staff and very loyal customers.  I am blessed to have a store of this caliber to call my home.”  She teaches garment, fit and serger classes at least two days a week, unless she is traveling.  She also enjoys purchasing and displaying the fashion fabrics (which are selling very well!)  She organizes and presents a Serger Club event every other month.

Some of Pamela’s Patterns.

Pamela created her first patterns to use in her classes.   Although she never intended the patterns to become a business, after Threads Magazine did a feature on Pamela’s Patterns, she learned how to run a pattern business — super fast!

The tag line on Pamela’s Patterns is “Designed to fit and flatter women with REAL figures!”  Her patterns are made for women with curves and fluff and scallops — all the things that happen as our bodies mature.  As a Palmer/Pletsch Fit Specialist, Pamela is able to assess the most common alterations needed for a mature figure and put them into her patterns.  They have a much more realistic fit than commercial sewing patterns.

A peek into Pamela’s studio.

Pamela’s sewing studio and warehouse are attached to her home.  This is a good and bad thing.  It is very convenient, but bad for a workaholic! Her studio was featured in Threads Magazine a couple years ago, and is very functional.  It contains her office, shipping center, design and workroom.  Pamela’s Patterns are sold internet retail, wholesale and to distributors.  She has an assistant who does most of the shipping and website work.

Melissa Watson, Pati Palmer & Pamela

Like she’s not busy enough — Pamela is also the instructor and coordinator for the East Coast branch of Palmer/Pletsch.   Steve Chubin, owner of Steve’s, hosts the Palmer/Pletsch School of Sewing four times a year. People from all over the country come to Philadelphia to attend Pamela’s classes in Fit, Pant and Knits. The April and May 2015 workshops sold out very quickly.

Pamela says, “Sewing has brought wonderful people into my life. Outside of my family, teaching sewing is my greatest joy. It is such a blessing to be involved in the lives of women who sew.  They are the most generous, giving, thoughtful, funny and creative people on earth.”

Pamela’s favorite sites:

www.pamelaspatterns.com
www.palmerpletsch.com
www.stevessewandvac.com