PenelopeJane.me

02/06/2026

Tag a parent who’s had this exact argument with a label. 😅 Because kids don’t grow on a schedule — so why should their clothes?
🧵Shop PenelopeJane now. Link in bio.
GrowingKids

01/06/2026

It’s often the little details that matter most.
When I’m finishing a piece, I think about the family who will use it. I want them to notice the care that’s gone into every part of it — a seam that lies smoothly, buttons chosen to complement the fabric, neat finishing touches inside and out.
Every garment is made with the same attention I’d want in clothing for my own children: comfortable, practical, and made to last through everyday adventures.
Creating children’s clothing by hand means taking the time to get those details right. It’s not always the quickest way, but I believe it’s worth it.
🧵Explore the collection at penelopejane.me, link in bio.

28/05/2026

My 33 year old son still turns up with fixing jobs. The work never ends.
I have five children. They’re all adults now. You’d think that meant my days of sewing for them were behind me.
You’d be wrong.
Between the fixing jobs, the occasional special occasion dress, and the one who still asks me to make things — I’ve never really stopped.
The difference now is that I’ve finally started making for other people’s children too.
🧵 penelopejane.me

27/05/2026

27/05/2026

This fabric was heading for landfill. I had other plans.
I’ve been buying roll-end fabric at market stalls since my children were small. Roll ends are the leftover lengths from factory production runs — when the order is filled, the rest gets sold off or thrown away.
I buy those lengths.
It means every design I make is genuinely one of a kind. I can’t restock the same fabric because the roll is gone. It means every run is limited to whatever the roll gives me — sometimes 100 pieces, sometimes far fewer.
And it means nothing goes to waste.
I didn’t set out to be sustainable. I just couldn’t bring myself to see good fabric thrown away.
Some of what you can see here will become something next week. Follow along to see what.
🧵 penelopejane.me

25/05/2026

I’ve been making for Milly since she was small. I haven’t stopped.
This is Milly. She’s 20 now. When she was little I made her a dress she wore for three years — I still make that same style for children today and I named it after her.
But making for her never stopped. It just grew with her.
Everything I make — whatever the size, whatever the age — starts in the same place. Rescued fabric from market stalls. Hands that have been sewing since I was 13. And someone specific in mind.
That’s what Penelope Jane has always been, long before it had a name.elsworth
🧵 penelopejane.me

23/05/2026

She cried every time she outgrew a favourite dress. So I fixed that.
My daughter Milly was small when I made her a simple A-line dress in soft fabric with plenty of room to grow. As she got taller it became a tunic — cycling shorts underneath so she could run and climb without a second thought.
She wore that one dress for three years.
I’ve called it the Milly dress ever since. And I still make it today, in whatever rescued roll-end fabric I happen to have fallen in love with that month.
No synthetic fabrics. No shortcuts. No dress that goes baggy after three washes and ends up in landfill before Christmas.
Just something worth keeping.
68 available now. Link in bio.
🧵 penelopejane.me

22/05/2026

Today I turn 57. This is my present to myself.
I started sewing at 13 because I was tiny and nothing in the shops fit me. So I made my own.
When my children came along, it was the most natural thing in the world to make for them too. Clothes no other child had. My daughter Lauren used to come with me to the market to choose her own fabrics - she’s 31 now, and she still remembers those trips.

I made dungarees because Zach kept crawling out of his trousers and I couldn’t find any that stayed on. I made pretty dresses with matching pants to cover Lauren’s nappy, because they use to exist and then they didn’t. I put frilly socks on her feet to match her outfits before frilly socks were even in the shops. My two boys are autistic - finding fabrics soft enough for them was a constant battle, so I sourced my own.

My daughter Milly cried every time she outgrew a favourite dress. So I made her one in a simple A-line cut that she wore for three years. As she got taller I put cycling shorts underneath so it became a tunic. I made her a matching hat because she hated hats - but she’d wear mine. I made little bags for all of them because they used to fill my handbag with toys every time we went out.

That dress - I call it the Milly dress. I still make it today.

I raised five children. My youngest turned 18 last November. They buy their own clothes now - although my 33 year old son still turns up with fixing jobs.

I shop for fabric roll ends, that would otherwise go to landfill. I always have. Every piece I make is genuinely limited edition- not as a marketing trick, but because when the roll is gone, it’s gone.

Last week I gave my five year old niece a circular skirt. She wanted to go to bed in it so she could carry on twirling.

That’s why I do this.

Today I turn 57. This is my present to myself.

Welcome to Penelope Jane.

🧵penelopejane.me