Meet Louise Cutting
President and CEOLOUISE CUTTING
Louise Cutting is a friend and mentor to ladies whose passion is to create stylish, comfortable, and practical clothing for themselves. Nearly 20 years ago she created Cutting Line Designs, an independent pattern company, to make versatile, simple shapes and modern lines available for a wide range of lifestyles and body types. Her patterns provide a “canvas” for sewers’ ideas and skills, backed up with instructions that have been called “the best in the sewing industry”. In fact, Louise illustrated the pattern envelopes and drafts the 60-80 helpful drawings in the pattern instructions herself so her customers have all the information needed to get great results.
"The day that I heard my neurologist say, "You have Parkinson's disease" will be a day that I will always remember.
It was a surprise ... not a good one, and a shock, it made me feel depressed, sadness set in, and it brought on symptoms that would push away friends. My body became rigid and slowed down...every day was different...what would I face today?...what was not going to work as it did yesterday or last week? I was now using a walker to get around...my balance was gone! My feet felt like they were nailed to the floor. My body would turn, but my feet didn't. I had to be aware of every step I made so I would not fall.
Parkinson's stole my identity and for awhile I didn't know who I was. I lost my confidence and security. I hated this disease for that. The date practically coincides with the start of the COVID lock-down. I was already by myself and now this happened. No one back then knew what to do...and I had this added to my plate. Plus trying (and still trying) to get used to the ever changing drugs.
I started to educate myself about this dreadful disease. First off I decided to tell very few that I had it... during COVID no one was going anywhere, so I saw no one anyhow. I kept to myself.
Now that I am facing 4 years and the symptoms are getting progressively a little worse day by day and week to week, I had to start to face some hard facts. I 'retired' from doing retreats, teaching at sewing expos, filming for PBS sewing programs, filming videos, tutorials on YouTube and the saddest of all was asking the editorial board of Threads Magazine to move me to 'Contributing Editor Emerita status.’
Louise’s patterns are available on her website, cuttinglinedesigns.com, but she understands all the needs of her customers.
Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA
The foundation for Louise’s current expertise is solid and wide-ranging. Having earned her degree from the Art Institutes, she began her career as a fashion illustrator, creating illustrations for department stores, advertising agencies, and national accounts. Her work has been published in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, as well as newspapers and catalogs.
Her eventual move to Winter Park, FL led to the opportunity to purchase Fabric Collections, a jewel box of a fabric store. Everything from weekend wear to business attire to prom and cocktail dresses came out of the carefully chosen fabrics and various classes in that store. Her customers included women from every walk of life in Orlando to international visitors.
Once Louise had opened her store, she began to contemplate designing her own original patterns. She has created almost 40 designs, with some of the first designs still in the line and popular with her customers. In addition to hand-drafting all of her patterns, Louise creates the drawings on the front of the pattern envelopes, taking advantage of her fashion illustration background. She also draws all the step-by-step illustrations in the pattern instructions . Now both the fabrics and the patterns, as well as her educational offerings, are available online to a world-wide audience. Ladies from across the United States as well as Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Scandinavia, and the Middle East order from cuttinglinedesigns.com.
So, over the next couple of months I will be slowly closing down and selling the FABRIC part of the business at discounted prices. You will continue to receive the newsletters each week telling you of that week's discount (and good discounts, at that). I find I can no longer lift and carry the bolts of fabric. They are just too heavy for me to balance on the walker and then to try to fold yards of fabric per orders has become quite difficult.
I plan in the next weeks and months to sell the FABRICS on the website at a very nice discounts...so pay close attention to the newsletters you receive via email and on the Cutting Line Designs Forum on Facebook.
I will continue selling the 'CLD' patterns...but sad to say I have lost my ability to draw the step by step sketches and the pattern cover illustrations, so the collection is what is now on the website. I plan to continue to carry notions, elastic and 'interfacing's (they will be available in 1 yard bundles..easier for me to handle).
I am always just an email away and on the Forum to answer your sewing and fitting questions. It might take me a bit more time to get your orders out....the hours I work are shorter through the day. Because of the medication I am taking I have many nights of no sleep, so I will try to catch a nap mid-afternoon. But I am here for you all."
Louise’s patterns are available on her website, cuttinglinedesigns.com, but she understands all the needs of her customers.
Her clear and detailed instructions are only one way she reached out to educate sewers. Her Weekend Retreats (held in Winter Park, FL) were devoted to each individual student’s needs for altering the patterns to her shape, size, and taste in a relaxed atmosphere. The lively exchange of ideas, demonstrations, and presentations made for fun and learning.
Louise had also been a contributing editor to Threads Magazine for 15 years. Her articles emphasize garment construction and fitting, so she wrote about topics like darts, collars and collar bands, jacket linings, button placement, bindings, boiled wool techniques, determining sleeve length, and many, many more.
Sewers around the country have heard from Louise in person. She regularly taught at events like these:
Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA
The American Sewing Guild National Conference
various Original Sewing and Quilt Expo events
individual chapters of the American Sewing Guild in cities all over the country
In addition, Louise filmed video presentations in conjunction with Threads Magazine and available in various formats through their website and on YouTube. They include a vast body of information about construction and fitting.
8 volumes of “Industry Insider Sewing Techniques”
“The Versatile Jacket”
“Quick To Sew Pants”
“Fitting the Changing Figure”—a 2 DVD set
Her outreach to sewers includes her television appearances, which allowed her to demonstrate many of the techniques and ideas she uses to elevate the finished results her followers can obtain. She has appeared on a variety of programs:
“Sew Much More” on HGTV
“America Sews with Sue Hausmann” on PBS (10 episodes)
“Martha’s Sewing Room” with Martha Pullen on PBS
The foundation for Louise’s current expertise is solid and wide-ranging. Having earned her degree from the Art Institutes, she began her career as a fashion illustrator, creating illustrations for department stores, advertising agencies, and national accounts. Her work has been published in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, as well as newspapers and catalogs.
Her talent was noted at the Art Institute, and she subsequently was hired as the department head for the Fashion Merchandising and Design Program at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and Prospect Hall College. She moved on to teach Interior Design at Marymount University.
Her entrepreneurial spirit led to her found Cutting Corners Inc., a successful custom clothing business, allowing her to move from theory to practice at designing and constructing bridal gowns, tailored suits, and “high end” sportswear for a discerning and appreciative audience in south Florida.
Her eventual move to Winter Park, FL led to the opportunity to purchase Fabric Collections, a jewel box of a fabric store. Everything from weekend wear to business attire to prom and cocktail dresses came out of the carefully chosen fabrics and various classes in that store. Her customers included women from every walk of life in Orlando to international visitors.
Once Louise had opened her store, she began to contemplate designing her own original patterns. She has created almost 40 designs, with some of the first designs still in the line and popular with her customers. In addition to hand-drafting all of her patterns, Louise creates the drawings on the front of the pattern envelopes, taking advantage of her fashion illustration background. She also draws all the step-by-step illustrations in the pattern instructions . Now both the fabrics and the patterns, as well as her educational offerings, are available online to a world-wide audience. Ladies from across the United States as well as Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Scandinavia, and the Middle East order from cuttinglinedesigns.com.
Louise has been recognized by her customers and fellow educators with the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in 2008, as well as her induction into the American Sewing Guild Hall of Fame in 2016. This award has only been granted to 14 teachers over the 40-year history of the organization, which recognizes “individuals who have had a lasting impact on the home sewing industry with unique and innovative contributions.”
- Monday thru Friday 9am to 5pm ET
- Regular: 1.407.740.7737
- Louise@CuttingLineDesigns.com
- FABRICOL@AOL.COM