image credit Designing quilting cottons is a significant status symbol in the sewing world, and for good reason. Fabric is beautiful. It’s the raw material that draws many of us into sewing in the first place. The chance to design your own collection, to sew with it and see other people sewing with it, is…
Market Research Takes the Fear Out of Getting Started
In 2011 I was at a crossroads. I had just turned in the manuscript for Stuffed Animals and I wasn’t sure what to do next. For a year I’d been writing a book which meant I was in the rhythm of creating a new pattern every three weeks. I’d learned a lot in the process…
Book Review: Sew Cute to Cuddle by Mariska Vos-Bolman
I pre-ordered Sew Cute to Cuddle by Mariska Vos-Bolman as soon as I saw it on Amazon and was so excited when it arrived last week. Aside from sewing, playing games like judi roulette online is also a great pastime. Mariska is the designer of the popular PDF softie pattern business, DIY Fluffies. She’s Dutch…
What Happens When Your Pattern Goes Viral: The Spool Bird
UPDATED February 17, 2019: You can now purchase a copy of the Spool Bird pattern in two sizes from Michael’s Etsy shop for $5 right here. In 2008 Michael Fulkerson was working as a sewing teacher at Spool Sewing, a fabric store in Philadephia. The store owners asked Fulkerson if he could create a pattern…
Book Review: Make Your Own Soft Toys by Rob Merrett
Make Your Own Soft Toys was originally published in 2010 under the title Sew It, Stuff It and with this cover: Photo by Laura Howard. The new title and cover photo are more appealing, I think. They’re cleaner and more to the point. This is purely a project book. For the cover price of…
Why I’ve Decided to Pay for Books I Review
I have a book review coming on Friday, but before I post it I wanted to share with you a change I've made in my book review policy. When you've got a blog with a good-sized audience marketers of all sorts reach out to you asking if you'll write about their products. Mostly I say…
Book Review- Seams Unlikely: The Inspiring True Life Story of Nancy Zieman
In March of 2004 I left my teaching job to be home with our newborn daughter. She was tiny and fussy and I was going through an identity crisis, having abruptly transitioned from an exciting, interactive profession I’d done for many years to being at home, alone during the daytime, learning to be a mother….
How Indie Patterns Have Revolutionized Sewing
Sewing skipped a generation in my family. Growing up we didn’t have a sewing machine at home and I never saw my mother sew. The first time I sewed was in Home Economics class in 8th grade. I was terrible at it and got a C- on our final project due to wonky seams on…
How to Get Your Print Patterns Into Stores (the Easy Way): Cut Loose Press
Walking into your favorite local quilt shop and seeing your pattern hanging on the display wall would certainly be a thrill. For many sewing pattern designers, the idea of selling print patterns is very appealing. It means your designs will be sold all over the country and bought by customers who might not ever read…
The Prevalence of Free Eastern European Softie Patterns Online
I've finally embraced Pinterest. I set up an account a few years ago and was using it a little bit, but I didn't really grasp it's utility, both for collecting and storing creative ideas and for promoting my own work, until very recently. These past few weeks I've been working on a whole series of…
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