About Me

Hi, I'm Misty Marquardt, designer and owner of MakeThemYourself; a spare-room start-up company that is quickly taking over my house. I’m in my early 40s and doing the second round of children-thing. I have 22- and 20-year old daughters and an almost-4 year old son; all of whom I adore.

When my husband and I made the decision that I would stay home with our baby long term, our financial situation immediately changed. I had to find new ways of acquiring the items I needed for my son; and more and more that required falling back on my sewing skills.

I have sewn off and on for over 20 years, several of those years for the public on a full-time base. I don’t consider my self a professional seamstress by any means. And while I’ve flipped through a few books or magazines on sewing over the years I’ve never taken any classes and there is a lot I don’t know. Like many of you I taught myself what I do know through trial and error. So if you purchase a pattern from me and know of an easier or better way to achieve the same goal please share with me. One of the benefits of being so small is the ability to update and change things easily.

Every time my son would wear something I made in public I’d have people asking where I got it. They’d exclaim over the design and we’d discuss the difficulty of locating adequate and reasonably priced patterns. As my son got older I actually started taking orders for shopping cart covers and soft-sole shoes. Then one day, on a whim, I offered the pattern it’s self for sell and was amazed at the response. Everyone wanted more information and to see more photos so I designed the website to showcase my patterns. And the rest, as they say, is history.

You will notice on my site and in my patterns that I am very into recycling and seeking out frugal ways of creating items that otherwise would be out of my price range. Your pattern will arrive in a recycled envelope, on free or recycled paper, copied off of a hand-me down copier. I honestly believe the pattern you are getting is more important than my spending the money to have it professionally printed and having to raise the cost. In that vein, I have also added several options to allow people an opportunity to acquire patterns through bartering, for free, or at reduced rates.

And to think I was concerned about what I’d find to go on this page. I hope you enjoy my site and I welcome any comments, suggestions, or ideas for new patterns you may have.

Misty

My babies, God bless them.

Before you were conceived, I wanted you
Before you were born, I loved you
Before you were here an hour, I would die for you
This is the miracle of love.

Maureen Hawkins