Hello! I'm Katey Burgers and I am the face behind Rabbit Leader Sewing Patterns.
With bag making, I love the challenge of the creative process, from idea to sketch to pattern.
I really enjoy mixing textures, patterns and colours to create something beautiful.
I get a happy buzz whenever I walk into my sewing room and to me it’s both a way to relax but also to gain a sense of fulfilment from the creative process, and I want to share that with people.
Although I’m just starting on this journey I’m currently working on around six different designs and with all of them I put thought into what good feelings and emotions people will experience when they make them. Some will be easy, and some will be a challenge.
My first pattern is a free one - Readers, simple slip case to keep your glasses safe. If you'd like to try it you can get it here.
One I am working on at the time of writing this, is Wolfgang a compact crossbody with a double zipper wallet compartment. It’s a tricky bag and still needs more work, and I am using some lovely pre-testers to help me with that. But here’s a preview of a couple of my prototypes.
I have always loved being creative and my work background is as a make-up artist and hairdresser in TV and film. That was my whole career in the UK, and I continued to do it for several years in New Zealand.
In 2021, fed up with the limited access to bag hardware in New Zealand, I started Kiwi Bagineers a specialist bag making supplies site. I have now passed that on as I intend to do more travelling, in between the bag designing.
My other passion is food and cooking and it’s a bit of a standing joke that no two meals are ever the same.
When I am not sewing or cooking and I am feeling calm, I like to sketch and experiment with different mediums.
My husband is also incredibly creative and is building a full-scale replica of a World War II Spitfire plane in the main part of the shed. The scale of his project is obviously far greater than mine.
We live our crazy lives on a lifestyle block, with two dogs, a cat, numerous sheep and chickens and two pet Kuni Kuni piggies. We also have the most incredible view of lake Taupo. It’s not hard to feel grateful when I wake up in the morning.
I hope to create patterns that will give others a sense of joy from time spent doing something that brings them pleasure. Afterall, we should embrace the good moments when we can.
