I've always wanted to be good at embroidery. It's sewing that's portable. How appealing! I've tried many times over the years, but I was never really sure how to transfer the patterns to my fabric. Am I supposed to trace this with a pencil or a pen or what? And then once I started, my…
How to Recruit, Manage, and Get the Most Out of Pattern Testers
It’s Sunday afternoon and you’ve got a few hours to yourself. You decide to finally tackle that handbag pattern you bought a few months ago. The fabric has been stacked up in a corner, waiting for you to get to it and today is the day. An hour or so in, though, you get tripped…
Why Every Customer is Important
Imagine you own a brick-and-mortar shop. You sell craft supplies and you’ve spent a good deal of time carefully selecting your inventory and arranging the shelving system. Your shop looks great and you’re really proud of it. It’s a Saturday afternoon and there’s a good crowd browsing and shopping. A woman comes up to…
3 Interesting Soft Toy Books from the 1980’s
I collect vintage soft toy books. I have about two dozen titles and I acquire new ones when I find them. A new-to-me softie book is like a new-to-me sewing blog. First I spend some time doing background research. Who is this author and how did she get into designing toys? Then I read the…
What Does “Handmade” Mean?
*A week after this post Etsy changed its definition of handmade. I wrote a second post about the new policies which you can find here. **After I wrote the post about Etsy’s new policies, Etsy got in touch with me and that led to a podcast interview with Etsy which you can find here. It…
Book Review – Sewing School 2: Lessons in Machine Sewing
Sometimes a single image can have a transformative effect on your life. At least it can on mine. My older daughters are now 7 and 9-years-old. They are aware of what I do, that I sew and write books and write a blog. They come into the studio while I’m working and ask, “Can I…
Why You Should Create Projects for Magazines
I have a pattern in the newest issue of Sew-It Today magazine. This pattern is three little easy-to-sew felt animals: a bear, a bunny, and a kitty. This issue hits newsstands next week and I’m super excited that my project is on the cover! I like Sew-It Today because it gets down to business…
Reflecting on What Makes Designs Sell
I have a pattern in issue 29 of Mollie Makes. It’s a punk and pretty topsy turvy doll (I call them Roxy and Rachel). The idea for this doll came from the magazine’s editor and it was fun to have an assignment. I spent some hours studying British punk girls and the fabrics they wear,…
Applying Concepts from Contagious by Jonah Berger to Creative Businesses: Making the Private Public
This is the second in a series I’m writing about Contagious: Why Things Catch On, by Jonah Berger. This book is truly excellent, steeped in research and yet easy to understand. I recommend getting a copy. In these posts I’m working to apply the theories in Contagious to creative businesses. You can read the first…
A Response From Threadbias
Two weeks ago I wrote a post asking why there isn't a site like Ravelry for sewing. The post provoked quite a bit of interest in the broader online sewing community and the response was pretty tremendous. There was a lively discussion in the comments and I received quite a few emails from people who…
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