Natalie comes from a family involved with tailoring and needlecrafts, started sewing and knitting as a child, and has been making clothes since her early teens. In the decades since, she has built on her family knowledge and formative influences by studying fashion design and pattern cutting and learning on the job, working alongside colleagues trained in textile design, tailoring, theater costume, and bridal couture. At present, Natalie’s designs can be found in Knitting magazine, and she teaches clothes making and pattern cutting at Morley College, London.
As a designer, Natalie is often drawn to early to mid-twentieth-century fashion details and aims to create a strong, feminine, and classic look that complements the wardrobes of contemporary women, is flattering to wear, and easy to style. The slow process of knitting and the relative lack of time modern people have available for knitting prompts her to design clothing and accessories that strike a balance for those who enjoy the process of making, like a bit of technique to keep themselves stimulated, but do not necessarily want to labor over a project for too long. Color, stitch patterning, and “resting rows” that allow for breaks in concentration are typical of Natalie’s designs.