Author: Michelle Sews

A couple of weeks ago, I put up a poll on my Instagram Stories. Along with the new pattern releases that are in the pipeline, I have been considering whether and how to offer paper patterns alongside the PDFs. I wasn’t sure whether, when people opt for paper patterns, the printed instructions booklet is as important as the printed pattern pieces. I can see environmental benefits of providing printed pattern pieces with a link to a PDF instructions booklet, but I also know that some people feel very strongly about having the whole package of printed documents! So, I asked the lovely people who follow me on Instagram.

BEHIND THE SCENES: PREPARING NEW PATTERNS

For a long while, I didn’t think of myself as a designer. Before I started sewing, I didn’t even think of myself as particularly creative! But sewing, like many creative hobbies, has really shown me new sides to myself. In a sense, we sewists are all designers – because every time we sit down to a new project, the outcome derives from various design decisions WE make. The choice of pattern, fabric, print placement, fastening, pattern alterations, and even internal support mechanisms such as interfacings, all require you to create your own vision of the end garment. And for me, designing sewing patterns became a natural extension of all that thinking.