We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cassie Castillo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cassie below.

Cassie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

My mom made many of my clothes when I was growing up, so I learned to sew from watching her. I always loved our trips to the fabric store to pick out sewing patterns and fabric. Eventually I started to make my own clothes and I went on to get a degree in fashion design. I worked in the fashion industry for eight years, first for a company that make sleepwear, loungewear and underwear, then I moved on to a junior sportswear company. I had always been interested in lingerie, but there were only a few lingerie companies in southern California and I just never quite landed a design job there. After getting married in 2011, I had to move away from California and the fashion industry in general. In 2015 I started sewing my own bras out of necessity, and a few years later I decided to go after the lingerie design career I’d always wanted and started creating bra and panty patterns for the home sewist. Creating a pattern with a good fit across a wide range of sizes has been the most challenging aspect, since bodies come in many different shapes and sizes. Related to that, keeping up with technology has been challenging for me. The recent popularity of 3D digital design software, such as clo3D and Browzwear has made virtual fittings on an avatar possible, and it is something I hope to learn how to utilize in the future.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I design PDF sewing patterns for lingerie and post-mastectomy items for the home sewist. Anyone wanting to create their own bra, underwear, sleepwear, or soft breast prosthesis can purchase a digital pattern from me and make it at home. I began sewing my own bras in 2015 when I lived in hot and humid North Carolina and got tired of only being able to find bras with thick foam cups that just acted like big sponges for sweat in the warm weather. I wanted something breathable and lightweight, and just couldn’t find anything I liked in stores. After a couple years of sewing other designer’s patterns, and branching out into making matching underwear for my bras, I decided to start creating my own designs. I had lots of ideas for the styles I wanted to wear, and just wasn’t finding what I wanted either in stores or in home sewing patterns. I already had training in design and pattern drafting from my Fashion Design degree, so I took an online course specific to creating PDF patterns for sale, called Pattern Workshop. After completing that course and lots of research and building a website, I launched my first pattern, the Daisy Briefs in 2019. Since then I have published six bra patterns, eleven panty patterns, one nightgown pattern, and three post-mastectomy patterns. I have also created an online on-demand course to accompany my nightgown pattern, the Jacinta Chemise.

My main goal in creating sewing patterns is to help sewists create clothes that fit well and make them feel good in their bodies. There are many groups of people who aren’t served well by mainstream clothing stores, so they turn to create their own clothing. When I started sewing bras and underwear from other designers, I realized many of the patterns had a very narrow size range that essentially excluded plus sizes. For my work, I try to have an inclusive size range, and for my bra patterns I have started to include versions with flat cup and mastectomy pocket options for those who have had breast cancer. I think my mastectomy bra patterns have been the work that is most meaningful to me; my sister-in-law is a breast cancer survivor, and I created the mastectomy bra designs for her so she could still have access to beautiful lingerie. I also created a pattern for a soft breast prosthesis, the Val Breast Form, since she found the silicone prosthetics hot and heavy. When I published Val, I thought maybe I would sell a handful of copies, and I was shocked when it became one of my bestsellers. Since then I have received many kind comments about this pattern from people all over the world. It really is unfortunate that there are so many people with breast cancer, so I at least hope that my pattern can bring some comfort.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of my work is getting to connect with sewists from all over the world, and hearing how my pattern made a difference in their lives. Undergarments might seem like a small thing, but for many people it is a revelation when they finally get to have something that fits correctly, is comfortable, and is in a color and fabric they love. I have worked with sewists with various health and physical challenges, and it really makes me happy to be able to help them create something they love.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think many non-sewists don’t understand or appreciate all the technical work that goes into creating clothing. It is a fine balance between design, fit, function, and utilizing pattern piece shapes that won’t create a lot of fabric waste. Garment fit is incredibly important, in particular with bras because they are providing support. I hear so many women complain about how uncomfortable bras are, in particular with underwires, and I sound like a broken record telling them that if it is that uncomfortable then they are wearing the wrong size! Even getting a bra fitting in a department store isn’t always helpful, since they might just put you in a “close enough” size if they don’t have what you actually need in stock. I would encourage more people to learn how to sew their own undergarments; taking control and creating a perfect custom fit might just change your life!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.primrosedawn.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primrosedawndesigns/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkYRQBlRxJy2Xyt_3ZyL4Aw

Image Credits

Cassie Castillo