To my dearest sewing friends,

It’s been a long time since I sat down to write one of these updates, and I wanted to share what’s been happening behind the seams, and what’s currently on the agenda for By Hand London.

As some of you know, the past few years have been a whirlwind of change for me. I got married, wrote a book, got pregnant (and miscarried), got pregnant again, started a part time naturopathy degree, gave birth to our gorgeous baby girl (💕 Lorelei 💕 pictured above from last summer), waved my most wonderful assistant Jess off back to her family in Australia and then, oh yes, got pregnant again! With my third babe (another little girl!) due to be born towards the end of January 2026, and with everything else that has been going on, I’ve felt the clear nudge to slow down, and prioritise.

Rather than push through and try to keep an unmanageable number of plates spinning, I’m choosing to listen - to honour this season of my life and let the business gently rest for a while. By Hand London will be going into a kind of hibernation mode while I focus on the babies and complete my studies.

What this means for BHL:

• Our PDF patterns, webinars, ebooks and Draft-It-Yourself patterns remain available for instant download — so you can still get sewing whenever inspiration strikes! We still have some signed copies of my book, Made To Measure, in stock and available to order (we can ship worldwide!). I will do post runs 1x per week.
• I’ll be slower to reply to emails, but I’ll check in regularly.
• The blog, newsletter and Instagram will be a little quieter (as they already have been 😬), though I will do my best to pop in from time to time to share inspiring community makes, news of sales and hopefully the odd make of my own - how I miss my sewing machine!

I’m endlessly proud of what we’ve built together over the years - the incredible garments you’ve made, the way our community champions slow fashion, and the sense of creative liberation that connects us all. By Hand London has always been about self-expression, joy and making clothes that feel like you - and that part will never go away.

So, this definitely isn’t goodbye! It’s just a little pause to breathe, reset and (quite literally!) nurture something new.

Thank you for being part of this journey - for every make, every message, and every bit of love you’ve shown over the years. Your support means the world, and it’s what will make it possible to come back refreshed and inspired when the time feels right.

With love and gratitude,

Elisalex x