The Patchwork Lady

05/06/2026

Friday finish! 🤩

This quilt went back home in time to be given as a 60th birthday gift at the end of month.

I'll be sharing more about this project in a new series of - swipe to see a preview!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend

29/05/2026

Every project I work on is unique and I love it when customers have special ideas and requests, and generally I love being able to say YES!

But...Erm, well I wasn't quite expecting THAT when I opened my inbox!

Scroll to see an usual request, and let me know what you'd do for this enquiry from 'Nathan'!

My waiting list is open, so if you've got a pile of special clothes that you'd like turned into a quilt drop me a message to get started

17/05/2026

Hey guys! 👋
Hope you're doing well. I'm so aware I've been MIA for the last few weeks - the transition from finishing my uni course has taken up more time than I expected. And while I've been sewing etc as normal, I've not found the space to post much here.

This week is my final session at uni and then life returns more to (a new) normal. So rather than feel like I'm 'failing' at showing up here...

⭐️I'm going to deliberately take the next week off social media. ⭐️

I'll be working away in background and will have loads to show on my return.

I'll be communicating with customers as usual, so feel free to message if you have any questions.

I'm excited to update you on new routine going forward soon.

Have a great week and I'll see you after the late bank holiday ###

10/05/2026

Ok - set aside the fact that it's 10 days into May already....my April blog round up is now live, and it's full of big celebrations!

I'm enjoying doing these monthly recaps, they are helping me reflect and be grateful for each month, especially during this busy season when time is wizzing by.

Let me know what you think (and if there's anything you'd like me to answer next (this!) month).

This month there’s been 3 big causes for celebration… Patchwork Lady turned 10 Andrew and I celebrated 15 years of marriage I passed my final assessment to become a counsellor Patchwork…

23/04/2026

Continuing my look back at 10 years of Patchwork Lady, and today it's previous bestsellers

Although memory quilts are my main focus now, over the years I've made a wide variety of items.

I started making soft baby name blocks in 2018 and they became a popular new baby gift and I offered them in 3 coloursways (pinks, blues or brights), with one letter per block per baby name. I had over 100 orders of these, with an average name being 5 letters, that's over 500 of these squishy little blocks.

Sticking with the baby theme, I developed these nappy clutches after my sister had twins in 2018 and said she'd struggled to find a good quality, decent price, nappy clutch for on-the-go baby changing.

I created these colourful ones which had a wipe clean mat, so you could carry nappys and wipes and change baby out and about. I looked back and I sold 20 on Etsy, plus I know I made at least another 15 direct sales.

And these were a good example of my first steps into custom orders, because I made some very cool (IMO) bespoke nappy clutches, swipe to see examples. One for a family with the surname Rolls; a friend commissioned the 'Mini Rolls' present. And another representing a fierece rugby rivaly.

For these custom products I realised I loved creating a bespoke item and working with my customer to realise their vision. And this led me to develop the bespoke business I have today.

Thirdly, face masks. I'm going to cover this more in my blog post later this month, but in summary I made over 800 masks.

And finally, advent calendars - over 250 sold...so far. I just love Christmas fabric and seasonal sales used to account for at least 50% of my profits. This peaked in 2021 but since then Christmas sales have dropped off. It's now a smaller part of my business but I still love Christmas sewing, and bunting remains really popular (it's available all year round in my Etsy shop).

I'm loving looking back on how far Patchwork Lady has come. Is there anything else you'd like to know? I'll do one or two more posts next week xx

20/04/2026

Continuing my celebration of 10 years of Patchwork Lady - today I'm looking back at my first memory quilt request.

Back in 2018 I was doing lots of different sewing projects and had a few different commissions, and I was realising how much I loved bespoke projects, being able to turn a customers ideas and requests into reality.

A family friend contacted me to ask if I would make some quilts from her daughters baby clothes. She sent me an idea I'd seen, dropped off the clothes and I set about making a plan.

I knew I had only one chance to get it right (these are irreplacable items after all) and I spent ages thinking, planning, researching and considering all the options. I meticulously photographed all the items and created some mock ups and plans for us to agree before I started.

I knew I needed to use interfacing but had to figure out what size to cut the clothes and how to deal with zips, poppers and hats.

I also created lots of border colour examples and vividly remember visiting 4 different fabric shops to find just the right border and binding options.

And I have to say, they turned out great! And most importantly my friend and her daughters loved them!

And now 8 years later I've made almost 200 memory quilts.

Some things have changed:
❤️ I have standard sizes, templates and patterns as a starting point
🧡 I trust myself to be able to make good decisions, so I don't need to spend as long in the planning stage
💛 I now by interfacing and wadding 30 meters at a time!
💚 I have a range of fabrics in my stash to create IRL border mock ups, and buy my fabric for each project unline (sadly my local quilt shops have closed).

But some things stay the same:
💙 I enjoy working closely with my customers to create the perfect quilt for them
💜 I treat each project and each item of clothing with that same care and love, carefully preparing, cutting and sewing each one
🩷 I create layouts, mock ups and keep my customer updated at every step
🫶 I still love making these unique and bespoke quilts.

16/04/2026

This month I'm celebrating 10 years of Patchwork Lady! And I thought I'd look back on my first Etsy listing, and first Etsy sale: A 'vintage inspired' baby quilt backed with fleece.

I started Patchwork Lady at a very low period in my life. I was really struggling with my mental health following infertility journey, I was on sick leave from work and questioning my future there, and sewing was just about the only thing I could manage.

I'd already given family and friends cushions and quilts and was starting to run out of room to store my creations, and run out of money to finance more.

I was talking to a friend and she suggested starting an Etsy store, the first time I'd heard of Etsy. I was unsure whether what I made was 'good enough' to sell, but she encouraged me to try. So I went home and researched, and took the plunge.

I think I'd already made this quilt, it was made using a floral charm pack and I enjoyed choosing the design and the fabric for the border. I put fleece on the back and practiced some free motion quilting on it.

I'll be honest, "vintage inpired" was a bit of a long stretch. And swipe to see the dodgy main photo!

But I listed it, and about 6 weeks later I had a message from a customer wondering if I could personalise it for her sister's new baby. So I said YES and figured out how to do that (and have been doing that ever since).

10 years later and I have over 1400 Etsy sales (and most of my orders come directly now). My business has changed a lot, but it's great to look back and see all the steps along the way.

More coming next week!

13/04/2026

PATCHWORK LADY is 10!!! 🎉🎉

10 years ago last month I decided to set up a little sewing business and callled myself Patchwork Lady. And it seems only fitting that I spend time this month looking back over the last 10 years.

I'll be exploring some of my favourite makes, biggest challenges, first quilts and some of the ups and downs along the way.

Is there something specific you'd like to know? Leave me a message below and I'll answer it in the next post.

Oh - and what were you doing 10 years ago? Let me know in the comments xx

08/04/2026

The final post...where to find me!

I'm here on instagram

And also on my website www.PatchworkLady.com where you can see more examples of my work, download my info sheets and join my waiting list.

And if you're interested in more than just memory quilts you can see my full range on etsy
https://debbiepatchworklady.etsy.com

I've got gifts and home decor for Christmas and all year round.

I know I'm a little late but big thanks to for hosting again this year 🩷