Carolyn Eden from Corporate Communications bought her first sewing machine during the first COVID lockdown in spring 2020. After starting out making masks for her family, she decided to concentrate on dresses – preferably flowing, romantic summer styles. Since then, she has spent a lot of time sewing – when she’s not making videos of her creations, which she uploads to her Instagram or TikTok accounts, where she has since built up her own sewing community.
Carolyn even took her sewing machine with her to Venice, where she spent a semester studying. That’s also where she created one of her favourite pieces, Queen of the Night – a carnival costume made from black tulle, with gold moons and stars printed on it. Most of all, she loves creating elaborate dresses with complicated tailoring. She makes a lot of clothes for herself, as well as for friends and family.
She only worked with sewing patterns a couple of times when just starting out, before realising that she wanted to design her creations herself. She finds inspiration for these from social media such as Pinterest or from the TV shows she watches.
Where does she get her fabrics from? A lot of the fabrics she uses are given to her by friends, relatives or her boyfriend’s family – including old curtains or bed linen, which she upcycles to make her new designs. She also buys fabrics from a small store in Frankfurt. And wherever she goes on holiday, she always finds a local fabric shop to visit. Ordering fabrics online is difficult, she explains, as you can’t feel the material.
Carolyn will be sure to seek out new inspiration for her next creative projects in the Handiwork & Textile Design product area at Creativeworld.
Information
If you’re also interested in handiwork and textile design, you can visit the product area of the same name in Hall 1 at Creativeworld from 6 to 9 February 2026. The other areas of the international trade fair for the hobby, craft and artists’ supplies industry, which also has a wide range of accompanying events, are Graphic & Artists’ Supplies, Hobby & Handicrafts and Graffiti & Street Art.