Welcome to Ruth Maddock Makes, home of sewing, knitting, and crochet patterns designed to spark creativity and bring hands-on joy. All my patterns are created to be maker-friendly, thoughtfully designed, and full of character, so you can stitch, knit, or crochet something truly your own.
About Ruth Maddock Makes
Sew it, knit it, crochet it — patterns made for makers
Designing Patterns That Make People Happy
Designing makes me happy. I live with the creative chaos of a head full of ideas — one day I’m drawn to bold, bright colours, the next I crave the calm of soft classics. Inspiration comes from everywhere, and I never quite know when to stop.
I grew up in South London above my father’s shop, surrounded by creativity. My mum, a skilled dressmaker, taught me to sew and sparked a lifelong love of making. I went on to study fashion at art school in the early 1970s — an exciting time when designers like Zandra Rhodes, Bill Gibb, and Betty Jackson were just beginning to make their mark.
After graduating, I designed for several fashion houses before moving into the knitwear industry, where I discovered how much I love turning ideas into stitches.
For me, a successful pattern brings together style, colour, texture, ease of making, sustainability, accessibility, and comfort — principles that guide every design I create.
Designing for Comfort and Confidence
More recently, I returned to education to complete an MA in Contemporary Crafts. My master’s project explored designing for happiness — creating clothes that don’t just look good, but feel wonderful to wear.
That research led me back to clothing design and pattern cutting and became the foundation of my sewing patterns for children, many of which focus on comfort, confidence, and everyday wearability especially for children with sensory sensitivities.
Design for Sensory Kids
Through that journey I became especially interested in designing clothing for children with sensory needs. One child describing my work as “great clothes that don’t hurt!” — and that moment shaped everything. My sewing patterns are all about comfort, confidence, and practicality, helping children feel good in what they wear.
Knitting and Crochet Patterns & Kits
Alongside sewing, I’ve never left behind my love of yarn. Since the 1980s, I’ve designed for major UK knitting magazines and yarn companies, and I’m also a published author, including my book Hooked on Crochet.
Today, I create knitting and crochet patterns and kits that are playful, creative, and accessible to all makers. Many designs include video tutorials, helping beginners and experienced crafters alike feel confident from the start.
With decades of experience behind every pattern, my aim is simple:
to help you enjoy the process of making as much as the finished piece.
“Happiness makes good things happen. It actually promotes positive outcomes. The benefits of happiness include higher income and superior work outcomes (for example, greater productivity, higher quality of work, greater occupational attainment), larger social rewards (such as more satisfying and longer marriages, more friends, stronger social support, and richer social interactions), more activity, energy, and flow, and better physical health (for example, a bolstered immune system, lowered stress levels, and less pain), and even longer life…
Robert Emmons https://www.njlifehacks.com/happiness-benefits/
Fabric Design
And because I can never resist a new idea, I also design fabrics – bold prints, playful patterns, and classics with a twist. You can find my fabric collection over at Spoonflower (HERE),
