About

Muna and Broad make modern, beginner friendly sewing patterns for plus-size sewists.

We make plus-size sewing patterns that have been drafted to ensure a great fit for large bodies.

Who is Muna & Broad?
Leila (@Leila_sews) and Jess (@fat.bobbin.girl) teamed up in late 2019 to release plus-size sewing patterns with the sizing starting where other pattern companies often end their sizing.

 Jess and Leila met online through Instagram in 2019 due to their mutual admiration for each other's style. While both Leila and Jess work together to design the patterns for release, Leila drafts the patterns and writes the instructions, while Jess takes care of the things in the background like the website, social media and emails.

What's in a name?

We often get asked where Muna and Broad comes from! We wanted the name to represent both of us.

The Broad comes from the name of my sewing blog, Broad in the Seams (which is a pun on broad in the beam). The Muna in M&B represents Leila's family pet name.

Hello from Leila, the Muna and Broad patternmaker, drafter, instruction maker and sew-along host

I am an Aussie living in chilly Canada! I studied fashion production at college (the technical side of fashion - patternmaking, grading, and garment construction) and have worked in film, theatre, and as a seamstress for a couture studio and as a freelancer. After working in the industry, I decided to pursue a different career and now have a PhD in Biomechanics.

 

My PhD work was in Functional Movement - how different bodies move and how they are built.  I began sewing for myself again and soon realized that I was either outside the size range or in the largest size in most patterns I wanted to sew. On top of that, I needed to do many, many adjustments to make them work for my body so I decided it was just easier to make new patterns from scratch.

 

I’m so happy to be able to combine my skills in fashion production with my expertise in biomechanics by pattern making for bodies like my own. It is so rewarding to see people make my garments and tell me that this is the first time that pants had fit them and that the patterns required no adjustments. I’m committed to making patterns that work for our bodies.

and hello from me (Jess), chief website builder, pattern lover and putting the broad in Muna and Broad

I'm still consider myself a new sewist (I started sewing back in 2017), but I have struggled to find sewing patterns that fit my 57" hip.

Leila got in touch mid-2019 about a pants pattern that she'd drafted for herself with a full seat and a full tummy adjustment built in. Since we happened to have the same hip measurement, I gave them a go and the Glebe Pants were born (and so was Muna and Broad)!

 I like not having to worry about a full-bicep adjustment, a round back adjustment, or worry that the back-seam of my trousers are going to pop open because I needed a full seat adjustment but didn't know how to do it!

So, that's why I'm so excited to be involved with Leila! I'll be working away in the background suggesting patterns that I desperately want for myself, but which I hope you'll love too!