Clothing patterns are the shapes of our individual bodies and our individual dreams. Patternmaking, then, should belong to all of us. By reclaiming this art and science of patternmaking, we reclaim the right to delineate our own selves.

Everyone deserves access to this deep knowledge, regardless of age, race, socioeconomic circumstances, geography, language, education, profession, or immigration status. Intimidation, too, should not prevent access.

Patternmaking skills must be brought out into the open, performed in public places, shared on street corners and displayed in parks. Then we -- the regular people, the folk -- can bring it back home to our kitchen tables, living room floors, backyards and fire escapes, where we can begin to outline the shapes in which we choose to live.