We were lucky to catch up with Cindy Bithell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Cindy, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked is what I call the Scrappy Bog. If I could describe myself in one design to date, I would say this design embodies myself completely. The design is a low waste bog layout made into a dress. The bog is a 2000 year old historical concept that through a series of folds and cuts in a single rectangle, forms a garment. I’ve taken this concept and modernized it into a dress. It is both simple and complicated at the same time. While the layout is basic, the math and proportions are critical to maintain. For this project, I wanted to take the low waste idea further and created a mosaic fabric out of fabric scraps from past projects. The fabric itself is a bit of time capsule of previous work. The end result is a playful dress full of color and texture.

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?

My main career is architecture. I completed both my bachelors and master in architecture and am a licensed architect. Following grad school I worked for a non profit in southern Utah near the Navajo Reservation. The program took architecture students and gave them the opportunity to design and build homes for the Navajo people on the reservation. We lived a mosty off grid life and focused on sustainable architecture. This was back in the 2010s where the DYI movement really took off and I was immediately inspired to start sewing my own clothing. Adding to this need to create, my mother was a talented seamstress, sewing formal couture for private customers so I also grew up watching her sew and had taken sewing classes throughout my life so I picked up where I left off.

Fast forward 10 years, I grew confident in my sewing skills and my passion for the design process and sewing collided. I began designing sewing patterns for other sewists. I fell in love with the zero and low waste design concepts and focused my brand and design on creating a more sustainable fashion avenue. Zero and low waste design solves a unique design problem. The goal is the create the garment utilizing every piece of the fabric, typically leaving under 5% of waste. Traditional garments yield upwards to 20% waste. I think my architectural background and drawing skill heavily influences the way I think as a clothing designer. I am always exploring different construction methods as well as pushing the boundary for one of a kind looks.

More recently I’ve entered the fashion design world creating more conceptual pieces. I’ve been showcasing these looks at runway shows. One of the things I love most about runway is engaging with the models, HMUA teams and the photographers. I even co-produced a show October of 2024 through an organization created by myself and close design friends. We call the organization Unmet Needs. Our focus is on fulfilling the needs of creatives through in person experiences. As an online creator, it’s been an incredible experience connecting with other creatives in my local community.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I started my sewing IG account in fall of 2021. As a result of covid, home sewing exloded creating the hashtag #memade. This was a way for people to share the clothing they made. It was also the rise of indie sewing pattern designers. Traditionally there were the big names sold at the commercial level. I began sharing my makes and it slowly evolved into showing my designs. The sewing community is very niche and also very active. My following grew quite steadily with every post I did. From there, I started creating tiktoks and would post my tiktoks as reels. There was a little luck of timing, because IG had just started to push reels at the same time. My reels gained incredible traction and my following of 2000 surpassed 10k within weeks and onward to 100k.

Today I have 274k followers on IG. While I did have some luck, my advice would be to be authentic and have confidence in your posts. At the start, I loved my posts and was excited to share every image and eventually that shift to loving reels. My passion to share paid off as people began liking and following my journey. I also should mention you have to LOVE content creating and do the research. You have to enjoy that process and understand your audience and what they want to
see. I go in and out of burn out these days since it does take so much time away from the actual creating, however, I still love to share my design process and creations. Without that love, I don’t think I’d have been as successful on social media.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing how others enjoy my creations. While the main focus is creating for myself to keep me happy (a bit of therapy if you will) , I absolutely love sharing and inspiring others through my designs. In a world filled with overconsumption and fast fashion trends, I want to show people the other side where there is slow fashion with thoughtful design. I want to show the world things they might not have seen or thought of. To experience their wonder and amazement brings me so much joy. We need beautiful and thoughtful things to look at and feel something when you see it. I want to be the person to bring joy and excitement to those around me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sewsewdesign.com
• Instagram: the_sew_sew
• Facebook: The Sew Sew
• Youtube: thesewsew
• Other: TikTok: @thesewsew

Image Credits

Jennifer Woo
Vitor Webb
Sophia Harrison
Emmerson Edmo-McArthur
Blake Hendrix