Loose Leaf : On Creating a Home Sewing Pattern Business
part 2 of an Ask Judy segment a year in the making
Continuing the conversation around pattern making this week but this time it’s all about starting a home sewing pattern business. Last week I spoke more in depth about my background and answered your questions on becoming a pattern maker, industry specific. This week it’s about the ins and outs of our little home sewing world and offering you the advice I wish someone had given me in the beginning.
Heads up, it’s a pretty long one. I had so many good questions and wanted to answer as many as possible so if you’re reading this in email format you may get cut off. Recommend going over to the Substack app for the full picture.
Before I get into answering those questions, we are of course coming up on the end of the year and with that the next paid subscriber pattern is just a few weeks away! That issue will be extra special as it will be the 1st Annual Daughter Judy HOLIDAY READER!
This is a digital magazine with tips, recipes, holiday guides, a peek into what’s coming in 2025 and of course the center fold aka the pattern. I’m super excited to get this first reader out and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
Available December 10th.
OK shameless marketing over, onto my launch story before getting into your questions.
Full transparency, I had no idea indie sewing patterns was a thing until maybe 5 years ago. Because of my career in pattern making, I didn’t really have the need to buy a pattern for years, and back when I was buying them it was really just the Big 4 bought from Joanns.
I can’t remember exactly how I was shown but I learned that an old client of mine (Rachel Comey) licensed her patterns to Vogue Patterns. Then I found a blog post that spiraled me down a rabbit hole of the indie sewing pattern world.
It was so refreshing to see that there were offerings other than what is now known as the Design Group; small players around the globe bringing their personal style to the home sewing world with their unique perspectives and points of view. However personally, I wasn’t really connecting to them and I felt there was white space for the styles I was looking for and the viewpoint I could bring to the table.
I spent my free time from 2020 to 2022 building my business. The first pillar was branding and world building. I knew if I ever started another company I would invest in branding and hire a professional to dive deep into and obsess over all those little bits; logo, fonts, color, web layout, tone of voice, etc.
The second pillar of course were the patterns themselves. There were a million ideas, still are, and I wanted to jump in strong and present work driven by aesthetic while also being approachable. I was setting the tone. Coupled with that was the most important element, the sizing. I spent months pouring over size charts, drafting different variations of the same silhouettes and fitting more times than I can even remember.
I’ve learned so much over these past 4 plus years and continue to listen to the customers while honing and sharpening my own skills. I also want to make it very clear that starting this type of busienss is a lot of work and you will wear many hats. For me however the reward at the end seeing you all make these patterns to fit your own unique world and it far outweighs any thoughts of slowing down.
[Please note that the following are my personal views and experience. If you have any further questions on anything please feel free to ask in the comments below because there’s a good chance others have them too!]
The Market
[Is it worth it, is there really space for new home pattern designers? The market seems so saturated already, is there a point? ]