It was a field trip with her Girl Scout troop in middle school that first pricked Emily Rouse’s interest in sewing. That same year, the Wheeling native was gifted a sewing machine for Christmas by her parents, and she quickly began stitching together her new future, which centered on fashion, design and business. On Thursday, Rouse attended a ribbon cutting for the opening of a new textile training and manufacturing center located at 412 City Avenue in Beckley.
Scheduled to open in the summer of 2025, the center was developed by the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority using $1.5 million in congressional-directed spending. It is called PATTERN, which stands for Planning and Accelerating Textile Technology and Entrepreneurship Regional Network.
Rouse, who has degrees in fashion design and business management from Virginia Commonwealth University and previously worked in fashion and clothing in New York, said she wished PATTERN had been around when she was younger and developing a love for designing and making her own clothes. “When you have an interest in this skill set with the sewing, which is essentially a life skill, and you find out that you can turn it into a career, that’s so inspiring,” Rouse said. Rouse said she connected with the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority and WV Hive, the development authority’s entrepreneurial arm, a few years ago while at a fashion show in Glade Springs.
As the owner of a full-service cut-and-sew apparel man.
