Role: *

UX/UI Design, Brand Design, Squarespace Developer

Year: *

2024

Platform: *

Squarespace

Mika: Building a Sustainable Sewing Community

Mika is a sewing pattern company with a purpose: building a community of passionate makers while championing sustainable living. It was created and run by one designer (Mika!) who thoughtfully designs patterns to empower sewists to create, mend, and cherish their clothing — making a positive impact on the planet with every stitch.

The Mission

Design and build a website for Mika where she can sell her sewing patterns directly to her customers. Until now Mika has only sold her work through Etsy, and used Instagram and her newsletter to market herself.

Competitor & Industry Research

Step 1: Understanding the Audience

Before diving into the design, I conducted industry research to better understand how modern sewists interact with digital pattern shops. These were my key findings:

  • People don’t just want patterns — they want ideas, inspiration, and reassurance that they can make the thing.

    High-quality visuals, styled samples, and clear descriptions hugely influence buying decisions.

  • Sewing and knitting are often social hobbies. Buyers feel more confident purchasing from designers who show they’re part of a community (ex: customer galleries, hashtags, maker stories).

    Competitors who actively feature community projects (ex: “maker spotlights” or “what our customers made”) perform better.

  • There’s a strong overlap between sewing/knitting and sustainability movements (slow fashion, DIY, mending, upcycling).

    Brands that align with eco-values appeal strongly to modern sewists and knitters, especially millennials and Gen Z.

  • While sewing and knitting feel “analogue,” consumers expect a frictionless digital experience:

    • Instant downloads

    • Easy-to-navigate pattern shops

    • Clean, uncluttered designs that are mobile-friendly.

    Sites that are confusing or clunky often lose potential customers at checkout.

  • Shoppers appreciate signs of expertise and credibility:

    • About pages

    • Blog posts or tutorials

    • Testimonials and reviews

    • Clear, professional product photography.

  • When researching competitors I found the most successful companies* had struck a balance between an inspiring and easy to navigate online store and establishing authority and confidence by showcasing their expertise and customer satisfaction.

    * Closet Core Patterns, Friday Pattern Company, Tilly and the Buttons and Brooklyn Tweed (knitting).

Taking what I’ve learned

Step 2: Define the Goal

I now understood the success of the website would be in balancing commerce with community. The goal of Mika’s new website was twofold:

1. Create an inviting, easy-to-navigate shop where customers could browse and purchase sewing patterns with ease.

2. Foster a sense of community and showcase Mika’s expertise — turning the site into not just a store, but a hub for inspiration, learning, and connection.

Competitor & Industry Research

Step 3: Design & Build

I could now approach the design phase with a clear and defined plan and made sure to keep the user needs and the goals of my client at the core of all my decision making. Here are the key highlights from the design:

  • With the site goals in mind, and following UX best practices, I mapped out the most efficient and user-friendly customer journey’s to craft the site on.

  • When conducting my competitor research I noticed that brands with a focus on sustainability often chose neural/earthy color palettes and minimalist styles. I wanted Mika to stand out from her competitors with playful colours and bold fonts that were more in line with her work.

  • The native filter in Squarespace is pretty limited, so I installed an elevated version that makes it easy for customers to search through Mika’s patterns.

    This combined with my industry knowledge of crafting product pages that convert results in an intuitive online shop that makes it easy for customers to find, buy, and download patterns.

  • Ensured the site intelligently adapts to various screen sizes and browsers, ensuring the content remains legible and accessible on desktops, tablets, and smartphones.

  • I leverage Squarespace's powerful built-in SEO tools to perfectly integrate into the Mika website. I also ensured image optimization, keyword selection and application.

  • I created a blog and resource area to share tutorials, tips, and community stories — reinforcing Mika’s role as a trusted guide and expert in the sewing world. I also installed a more intuitive category filter so users would easily be able to find the information that are looking for.

  • Integrated community-driven elements like a newsletter signup and social media links to deepen customer relationships and encourage ongoing engagement.

  • Build an inclusive online presence with our focus on accessibility. Leveraging Squarespace's robust framework, which strives to meet evolving accessibility standards, your site will be more navigable for users of all abilities. While web accessibility is an ongoing journey, choosing Chéri means starting with a strong foundation for creating a more inclusive digital space.

  • I have used code (CSS and a small amount of JS) to improve user experience and create a truly unique site. However, to ensure Mika and any future users can easily update the site, I have written my code to fully integrate with Squarespace’s native features and site styles so they will never need to touch the code, or come back to me for site adjustments.

Mika Home Page

Key Pages

  • Home

  • Your Store

  • Product Page

  • About

  • Blog Option 1

  • Blog Option 2

  • Contact

  • Privacy Policy

  • FAQ's

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