Hello!

I’ve really been loving your Q&A series. I am getting ready to start my own pattern company. I would love to know the steps in the process to getting a successful pattern ready for the market. Also I am not a pattern maker and do want to make my own patterns. How do I go about finding someone to help me make sewing patterns?

Thank you,
May

Fairfax, United States

~

How do you make your gorgeous patterns?

Kate

Camden, UK

Hi May and Kate,

This week is part three of our little mini series of Q&A posts about the process of making an In the Folds pattern from beginning to end. If you missed part one, or two you can find them here and here.

By this stage, we’ve got everything we need to create a digital sewing pattern, so it’s time to pull all the assets together to create the pattern and the instruction booklet.

CREATING THE PATTERN

When the pattern comes back from my grader / illustrator, I format it into A4 / US letter size and A0 and add any notes etc. to the pattern. This always takes a while as I like to try to use as few pages as possible, so it’s the ultimate game of Tetris!

Next up is to start creating the instruction booklet in Adobe Indesign. I have a template I use and just work my way through it - updating it with the new pattern assets. I had a graphic designer design this for me a few years ago and I am very thankful for that, each time I use the template.

Laying out the instruction booklet can be a little overwhelming at the beginning (as my pattern booklets are normally 30+ pages), but I just break it down into chunks and work my way through page by page. To write the instructions themselves, I refer back to the instruction booklet that I sent to the illustrator and insert the illustrations.

I normally get the instructions to about 90% complete and then print a copy to go through with a highlighter and red pen. There is only so long that I can look at a document on a screen before I need to print it and I enjoy this part of the process. I always feel like I’m nearing the end when I have a paper version in my hands!

After having a read through, I go back to the documents and update all the things I found and save all the documents as PDFs so that the pattern is ready for pattern testing.

PATTERN TESTING

Pattern testing time is exciting and a little bit scary. After putting so much work into something, I am always nervous to hear what people think of it, but also relieved to start the process of getting it out into the world. I won’t go into detail about my pattern making process as I have written a post about it in the past, so if this is something that interests you, you can find the post here.

MAKE UPDATES TO THE PATTERN

Once I have received all the pattern testing feedback, it’s time to make updates to the pattern.

Although I go through the pattern with a fine tooth comb before testing, the pattern testers always have some great suggestions of things I can do to improve the pattern. Most of the time the updates are to the instructions, rather than the pattern pieces themselves. I always find it handy to bring a second monitor to my studio when I’m working on these updates, so that I can have the feedback open on one screen and the pattern open on the other and can just work through the document, one point at a time.

PROOFREADING

Once all the updates have been made to the pattern, I send the pattern and instruction booklets to an editor for proofreading.

PATTERN SHOOT

Towards the end of this process, I start thinking about shooting the pattern. I need to think about the model I am going to work with and what fabrics I am going to use for the samples.

Preparing for a shoot involves meeting with the model to take measurements, making samples in their size and then doing a fitting. I then make the final samples for the shoot.

At this point I need to think about shoot location, make-up and hair inspiration and what shoes and accessories the model will wear.

When shooting, we’re always careful to get some nice editorial photos, but to mainly concentrate on getting clear photos of the garment. My photographer and I are quite methodical - front, back, side, detail shots etc. so that I know we will have exactly what we need for the product listing.

PRODUCT LISTING

I have my website built on Shopify, so once I have the photos back from the photographer, I work on creating the product listing. Just like the instructions, I have a template I use for each pattern, so that things remain consistent. I work through the template, updating all details for the new pattern.

I package the pattern into a zip file so that I can attach it to the product listing. In the file I have:

A0 pattern
A4 / US letter size pattern
Instruction booklet
Read me file (an overview of the pattern with print details etc.)

PREPARING FOR THE SEW-ALONG

If there is going to be a sew-along for the pattern, I start thinking about what tutorials will be helpful for makers as they approach this pattern and start drafting all the posts, so that they are ready when the pattern goes live.

PREPARING FOR LAUNCH DAY

To prepare for a pattern launch, I work on Instagram posts, create a new banner for the website, and schedule an email campaign with details of the new pattern. I contact any companies that wholesale In the Folds digital patterns so that they can also get the pattern onto their website for launch day. Again, I have a template I work through that helps with this process and is easy to replicate each time.

LAUNCH DAY

When launch day finally comes around, I am always ready for a long nap! I plan to do as little as possible on launch day, as all the excitement and adrenaline normally renders me brain fried. I have all my content scheduled so I can just go through the motions and be available to answer any questions as they come in.

MORE RESOURCES

If you are considering starting a pattern company, I’d suggest learning as much as you can by listening and reading about other indie pattern designers. There are a couple of interviews you can look at on The Fold Line that might be of interest:

You can also find a number of interviews with pattern designers on the Love to Sew podcast that are well worth a listen. Like anything, it’s good to do your research and get a feel for the market, but then there is a point that you just need to get started and learn what you need to as you go.

I hope you have enjoyed this three part series about what goes into drafting and releasing an In the Folds pattern!

Happy sewing,

Emily

resources mentioned in this issue

Starting a pattern company Part one and two can be found here and here.
How to pattern test. Article can be found here.
In the Folds sew-a-longs can be found here.
Running an indie pattern company interview can be found here.
Love to sew podcast - pattern designer interviews can be found here.

P.S. Would you like to know what the Q & A series is all about? This page tells you a little bit more about the motive behind the series. Past issues from the Q & A series can be found here.

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