In 2005 I bought Simplicity 5825, a sewing pattern for a teddy bear with variations to make a rabbit and a dog. The pattern cost $13.95.
I remember picking it out at Joann's and bringing it home. I was curious about sewing toys and I wanted to sew a teddy bear. I remember the thrill of pulling out all the pattern pieces and prepping the fabric. I had a few yards of green ticking my mother-in-law gave me. I washed it and ironed it, imagining the bear I would make.
I think you can see where this is going. When the baby went down for a nap the next afternoon I cut out the pattern pieces. Then I opened the big piece of newsprint with the pattern directions and read the first step.
"Make DART SEAM at lower edge of bear front sections."
Huh? What's a dart seam? Here are accompanying diagrams for steps 1, 2 and 3. No glossary. No way to find out about dart seams.
I still couldn't figure it out. What is a dart seam? Step 2 in the directions make no mention of sewing a dart, but there it is again in step 3:
"Make DART SEAM at lower edge of bear back sections. Press dart seam toward leg."
Ack. I felt helpless and really let down. After searching the pattern envelope and reading all the directions I gave up and put the whole thing away.
When my mother-in-law was down visiting us a few weeks later I showed her the instructions and she told me what a dart was. Even after I got that down, more confusion and frustration followed as I tried to figure out the next steps on my own. I was never able to sew the toy and put the pattern envelope away where it's sat, untouched.
I felt like the pattern was in another language. A secret language. A language that Simplicity didn't want me to understand because I wasn't already in the club. I didn't learn to sew sitting at my mother's feet and Home Ec. was only a semester long and that was back in 1988. I felt like I'd wasted $13.95.
I've spent the seven years since then teaching myself everything there is to know about sewing toys. I've read dozens of soft toy books and general sewing books, logged many thousands (!) of hours on the web reading sewing blogs, and I've sewn hundreds and hundreds of toys, including many teddy bears. I've designed teddy bear patterns and written in-depth about how to design patterns for bears (chapter 12 in my forthcoming book on soft toy design is all about bears).
Over time I have become a member of the club and I have learned to speak the language. And I'm in love with sewing and sewing patterns and sewing toys. So I guess I won the war even if I lost that battle.
This morning I pulled out Simplicity 5825 to reevaluate. Here is what strikes me about it. In some ways it is a good deal as far as patterns are concerned. For $13.95 you get full-sized pattern pieces for four toys.The directions still seem archaic to me. The language is robotic. "Turn bear RIGHT side out. STUFF along each stitching line." There are a lot of words in bold all caps, seemingly for emphasis, but I'm not sure why these exact words were chosen. The bold all caps words include: "SAFETY EYES" "BUTTON EYES" "LADDER STITCH" "DART SEAM" and "CLIP CURVES". To me these words are being said in a condescending voice by a little old lady who is looking askance at my lack of formal sewing training. And I'm wondering if I should try again to sew this bear. Maybe I'll give it another a go.
I know that I'm not the only person who wanted to make one of these patterns but couldn't crack the code and gave up.
Has this happened to you?
I want to hear your story. Have you tried a pattern from one of the mainstream pattern companies? What is your take on these patterns. I'm really curious. Will you share your story in the comments?
Yes! Grrrr. Yes! I learned how to sew from a friend 2 years ago…and I cannot stand professional patterns—I try to buy them on etsy now or use tutorials online because they are usually in lay-persons language!
http://seanandrachel2008.blogspot.com/2011/05/today-is-lousy-day-in-sewing-land.html
I use them. Once upon a time it was another language making me feel stupid. Now I use the internet and my sewing bible for all my pattern translation. I’m so used to sewing from them I just skim and do what I want. The techniques they teach you can often times be the harder way of doing it.
I feel your pain, Rachel. And thank you for the link.
If anyone else has blogged about this topic, feel free to paste a link here. I’d like to read your posts!
I used to use commercial patterns all the time. I still use them occasionally. I also used to make my whole wardrobe from basic skirts to high end cocktail wear. The instructions for all the patterns are written with the assumption that you have some basic dressmaking skills as all the pattern companies started life as an addition to the fashion industry. Their bread and butter still is fashion not craft. The unfortunate thing is that the commercial pattern writers have not kept up the the change in attitude and knowledge and still assume that any one buying a commercial pattern, whether it is fashion or craft, has what they consider a basic understanding. There is one company that is worse at directions than those you used as an example. You at least had some diagrams.
As Meg does, using a sewing bible as reference should get you through just about any pattern.
I knew that fashion was their emphasis, not craft, but it is interesting to know that the sewing pattern industry was an off-shoot of the fashion industry. Basically a way to have high fashion clothing by big name designers at home. Now that sewing clothes is not usually cheaper than buying them, I wonder about the future of the pattern industry. Thank you for your thoughts!
Sewing ones own clothes may no longer be less costly than buying them, but I can get the fit I need, and choose the fabrics, colours and styles I prefer to wear! All in all, sewing has been my creative outlet for the past five and one half decades of my life, I still sew all my own clothes from the skin out, make garments for my husband, and gifts for my sons and grandchildren! I have even branched out into quilting, hand bags, and soft toys and furnishings, draperies, etc. all for the same reason, to get what I want!
I will not quit this art form!
I muscled my way through a dress pattern for an American Girl Doll for Annabelle years ago, but the going was TOUGH. Since then, I haven’t used a single sewing pattern that didn’t come straight out of a craft book. I sort of want to sew my own clothes, but I’m afraid to even try!
I learnt to sew from clothes sewing patterns as a teenager, and quickly decided if it made no sense I would do it my own way. I made quite a few toys from mainstream patterns as a teenager too. Some were excellent, but honestly I find most of them a bit fiddly, some have really odd ways of doing things. I think they are all at my Mums – I should have another look at them.
Doll clothes are THE WORST. Those teany tiny seam allowances and details .
I didn’t have a terrible time with them. I used the Internet as a reference and guessed my way through the rest. I’m not sure what was different for me than for others.
I think the cryptic nature of patterns is why new sewists are strain to online tutorials and independent designers.
So I guess my question is, with so many options for sewists to choose from, why be cryptic? What purpose does archaic sewing language that has to be cross-referenced every step of the way, serve today? Why frustrate when you could welcome?
Will I have sewn many things-no where near the number you have but more than most of my friends- I agree with you that the language is awful. PIck up a halloween costume..even worse. I assume that lots of moms want to take a stab at sewing their child a halloween costume, I mean after all the stuff they sell premade is mostly crap- cheap fabric and hoochi. So the pattern companies capitalize on this by making it very very difficult. Huh? I didn’t even have home ec in my crappy school. I learned from my mom but I’m not a very good seamstress.
Halloween costumes are a good example. For many people a Halloween costume may be the first garment they attempt to sew. Grated, no matter what it is probably going to be more complex than they anticipated. But at least with a book or online you can flip through or see a sample page of the pattern to see if it's something you have the skills to take on. With a pattern in an envelope it is hard to ascertain if this costume is really something you're going to be able to manage. So why keep the instructions in closed envelopes?
I recently made a dress for myself with the help of a friend who is a lot more experienced than I (I’m a novice). She took my measurements and we cut out the appropriate size but the shoulders of the dress are much too wide for me anyway. Lesson learned, I can’t trust pattern sizes. Next time I’ll make a muslin first…
Pattern companies are getting better but most projects assume some previous sewing knowledge unless they’re specific Learn-to-Sew, It’s Sew Easy (etc) lines which Simplicity and McCalls (part of Butterick and Vogue) now offer. The bold typed words in current patterns have a glossary of definitions on the front page of the instructions or, on older patterns, the pattern tissue itself. It gets more complicated because each pattern can be written by a seperate individual, and some companies simply purchase a pattern and the instructions directly from a designer. (That one specifically is an Elaine Heigl design which I’ve found have odd directions.) I work at a fabric store and while sewing/making store displays we do come across errors in the pattern envelopes, tissue or directions and once notified the companies are very good about correcting them immediately. Nowadays there are various websites that offer pattern reviews which can be handy if you’re sewing something unfamiliar (ie a dress if you’re a quilter, or a bear if you typically make home dec.) but there is still an assumption of basic skills and terminology.
That clears many things up! I would love to get one of the easy to sew patterns and see how they differ. I didn't see a definition of the bolder words on my pattern, but now I'm going to take another look. Maybe it is on the tissue. I do think there is an assumption of more than basic sewing skills in the majority of patterns. I'm wondering if that assumption is fair to make today.
I’m a newbie at this pattern stuff. My first one is this exact same bear pattern…I was thrilled to see your comments! The dart seam is driving me crazy!!
I completely agree. The instructions in commercial patterns are the worst. I buy very few patterns for that very reason.
In my profession I write technical documents for the non-technical user so I know they could do a much better job at presenting their materials.
On a few of the patterns I like and use over again I actually re-wrote the instructions so they would be easier to understand.
Glad to know that I’m not the only one!
Joyce, you confirm for me that there is indeed a way to write technical instructions for a non-technical user. I'm wondering why the mainstream pattern companies generally choose not to do this. What do you think their motivation is? Clearly they want and need to sell their products, but in my experience once you've bought one you aren't likely to buy another given how hard they are to use.
heh. I was typing that on an iphone while foggy sick..
This makes more sense -> “new sewists are STEERING to online tutorials”
So… i have a computer programming background and I have frequently thought about how much like computer programming is to designing sewing programs. Or one follows a sewing pattern, like a computer follows a program. I probably should sit down and type out a blog post to elaborate. 🙂 It would be fun.
For example:
Good programming practice dictates that you should never have lines of codes that repeat or copied from one part of the program to the other. If you are repeating code, it should be pulled out and made into a function. Then the function can be called. This is more efficient resource-wise and it lowers the chance of bugs, and makes editing the program easier. Sewing terminology and pattern conventions are a lot like program functions and coding styles.
It is more efficient on a large scale and probably less prone to errors to do it that way. The problem is that this generation of sewists where never taught the conventions and terminology. So we are unable to follow these “programs”.
I’m not judging whether one style is better than the other, but giving different perspective. 🙂
That’s a very good analogy, and I agree.
A “dart seam” would be a seam that forms a dart. If I don’t know what a dart is, I definitely need more instruction before thinking I can just jump in and start sewing a pattern, of any type.
I always assumed that words in bold print were so that if you don’t know what this basic word is, you can check the glossary provided, or look it up in a basic sewing book (like I mention below). And if you do know what it means, it serves as a shortcut glance to work through the instructions.
In the beginning… the first instruction I got from another person, was when I was 12 years old: how to thread a needle, make a knot, and hand sew a running stitch and a felled hem on an apron, which I never finished.
After I chose to teach myself to sew, at age 26, I started with reading the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. It covers almost all those “jargon” words and the basics of dressmaking and tailoring. I also started watching Sewing with Nancy on Public TV (PBS). I never had an issue understanding a commercial pattern.
Over the years, I eventually attended many sewing expos and took specialty classes. My best investment in learning has been a subscription to Threads magazine.
Threads (Taunton Press) now has beginner DVDs, books, online resources. If anyone wants to learn to sew, I would recommend their materials as being the best, most comprehensive, accurate, and informative.
I don’t think that having all commercial patterns in beginner language, or with beginner explanations of every term, is possible or even desirable. It would make patterns (as many independent patterns are) too verbose, and too expensive. You shouldn’t need to buy a book or booklet for every design you want to make because every word is defined within.
Beginners need to recognize that they are beginners. Start with items made for them, and work their way up to more complicated projects. Learning the language of a craft is part of the process. Why think of one’s self an expert at the first step? Learn the basics and you have a skill for life.
AH! I know exaclty where you are coming from! I bought a superb scandinavian book with some super sweet toy patterns in it but it is in German. But I thought ‘Hey, how hard can it be?’ Try following directions in German!!! I managed reasonably well… and then started making it up as I went along… then I saw your blog and was horribly inspired to give it a go myself. And I did! I made a terribly sweet rabbit and then a Rhino. My next adventure I feel might be something like a dinosaur or a lion. So really, I should say thankyou pattern makers for making the instructions like German (haha) because I would never have fallen over your blog and never have had the chance to be so inspired! =)
(And as for clothes patterns? AAAA!! Pull my hair out trying to understand. Made the mistake of getting a few german patterns too… AAAAAAA!! I am grateful to anyone willing to share how to’s and I love you tube!!)
I started out sewing toys when I was about 9-10 years old and I started out with kits for kids so they eased you in a bit more gently. However, even now, I find quite those major patterns a bit hard to follow. Thankfully, when it comes to plush, I now have 20 years experience to guide me so I rarely follow the instructions BUT commercially made patters are very badly written (I find the same with knitting patterns too sometimes) and so many people rely on them too much. They tend to expect you to follow the instructions rather than explore the way that toys are constructed.
I consider myself lucky – someone showed me how to sew when I was eight and I taught myself from that point. I used commercial patterns because that was all that was available and when I didn’t understand something I just made it up. And yep, there were a LOT of mistakes. I think being so young helped as I didn’t know I should be frustrated – I just kept trying. By the time I was a teen I had figured out most of the instructions but it wasn’t until many, many years later I discovered all the tips and tricks they don’t share – the ones that make such a difference in how your project ends up.
This comment is from Mimi Kirchner (http://mimikirchner.com/blog/). For some reason her comment didn’t post properly:
“I learned to sew from commercial patterns and so maybe that is why I am biased (undefined sewing term!) towards them.
I like how the directions are written out and also diagrammed. Once you know the “code”, you can usually figure out how to do the project without reading anything- and that is how I like it. If I can’t figure it out from the pictures, THEN I read.
The craft and doll clothes patterns are not designed for beginners. Starting with a stuffed animal and failing is not surprising- it would be like trying to cook for the first time and using Gourmet Magazine! In both cases there is an assumption that the user knows the basics.
Another thing- the language is standardized. What seems odd at first, such as Dart, is the same in every pattern you’d buy. Unless you were only buying beginners Learn to Sew patterns, it would quickly become very annoying if every pattern explained all of these terms.
Lastly, who spends full price on a commercial pattern? They are on sale at JoAnns all the time for $1!
And, after saying all that, I don’t actually use patterns for clothing any more- they just don’t seem to fit me right and I have no patience for altering them. I now use my favorite clothing as pattern pieces and remake them. Luckily though, since I made clothing for many years from those patterns, I have a pretty good idea of how to put on a collar or set a sleeve.”
I learnt to sew from patterns in a classroom situation… so I really don’t remember when i started knowing the main ‘terms’. I am far from an experienced sewer though, i have two large sewing encyclopedias and i get craft books, AND the patterns need to be well photographed and have the line drawings – i like to do things from sight mostly, reading things sometimes just will not sink in. Then there is my mum, who is amazing at following patterns and is often my backup. I have had so many patterns turn out wrong though – that i have all but given up on most except for the most basic things. Unless its a built by wendy book or sewing craft book. Would love to do a pattern drafting course eventually. I figure it would help me get my head around sizing patterns for bodies a bit better.
I feel two ways about this. Sewing is a skill, like carpentry, or baking. it is kind of amazing to me that people think that just buying a pattern means you have the skills to sew it. It undervalues the skill set involved- and I find that troubling. Just because it is a traditionally female pastime does not make it less of a skill.People should expect to work at it, take lessons, etc. Who buys a tennis racket and think that means that they now know how to play tennis?
On the other hand, there are a lot less people to teach sewing around. As a skill, it is less common. There are not moms and grandmoms everywhere to consult. Many of the traditional skills are now being taught by the virtual village of the internet. I think this is a good thing. Prior to our lovely internet, there was the library, and that was obviously not as varied or easily searchable as the internet. I like sewing, I think more people should sew. I took a class when I wanted to learn to do so, driving quite far and paying for it. In return, I learned the skill set that got me started.
I don’t necessarily think it is the pattern company’s job to teach us to sew- I think it is reasonable to expect that they clearly state, on the OUTSIDE of the package, what skills would be required. They don’t do this, nor are the stores cool about you opening the package and looking at the instructions.If pattern companies made it easier to figure out what was required, it would be good for them, as the more people who sew, the more buy instructions.
All that said, i usually don’t give the instructions more than a passing glance. I just figure it out as I go.
Laura,
You have some really excellent points here. Sewing is a skill, a fine skill, and it is like carpentry, or even auto mechanics. And those comparisons are made even better because they are to traditionally male fields. Just because I buy a saw and a book or a wrench and an instruction manual doesn't mean I can build a house or repair my car. So why assume that sewing should be easy or intuitive, just because it is traditionally women's work (although I'll point out that men have been tailors for generations).
And yet, sewing is a skill that many people in today's world yearn to master. People with money to buy fabrics, notions, and patterns to turn those materials into something beautiful. The pictures on the pattern envelopes look so promising. I think the pattern industry could step up and face the reality that many people don't have the skills or training that perhaps women once had, but they still have the desire to create.
What I'm hearing from the comments here is that overall we aren't buying these patterns even though we care deeply about sewing. But maybe we would buy them more if they were easier to follow, or if it was easier to figure out what was expected. Instead, they are asking us to purchase a closed and sealed envelope which, once we open it, contains complex instructions that can be difficult to follow even for experienced sewists.
I am lucky in coming from a generation that took ‘needlework’ in school throughout my teenage years, as well as having a mother and sister who made their own clothes. So I was making my own outfits from an early age and was familiar with the terminology.
However, I do agree that bought patterns are very confusing even if you are familiar with sewing, let alone for a beginner. Although I don’t sew my own clothes much any more, when I do use a pattern I tend to sit and read through it first and then pretty much do my own thing. Often the printed instructions over-complicate matters and a novice may well end up totally lost and give up.
Interestingly, I make a lot of small soft toys using Japanese pattern books. Now, I don’t speak or read Japanese in any shape or form, but their patterns are so clear to use as they always have detailed drawings of each stage – I don’t think I have ever had to give up on a pattern due to it being too difficult. I notice in their craft magazines that pretty much all sewn items have this method in conjunction with the written instructions. Perhaps it’s time the Western world took heed and stopped assuming we all went to tailoring school!
In the meantime, thank goodness for libraries and the internet – if you have the enthusiasm and determination, you can pretty much teach yourself most crafts.
I agree with Mimi! I learned on commercial patterns, and once you learn the terms, you always know what to do. Stay-stitching was always a confusing one for me, but you kind of trust that they know what you need to do and why.
Someone gave me some fabric at my baby shower and I was on vacation, so I was able to go to the store, find a commercial teddy bear pattern for .99 or 1.99, cut and sew a 2 pattern piece stuffed animal in less than an hour. Now if someone could tell me how to make a face that looked good on the bear, I could finally finish him up!
I have an old craft book on the other hand, that I have to make my own paper patterns, either tracing or enlarging by drawing out a grid, adding my own seam allowances, and it makes me nervous what the final product will be.
Buy yourself some clear, wash-away stabilizer.
Take a piece of paper, cut it to the same size as the toy’s face. Draw (or trace) the face you want. Do it in sections, if the face has shape.
Now trace that final face onto the wash-away stabilizer and pin it on the toy (again… sections if needed). Make sure you like it.
Embroider right through it, apply safety eyes, etc. When done, pull away the excess stabilizer, then wash away the rest.
Perfect toy/doll face… done!
One first sewing project I did (aside from middle school home ec) was a quilt and bear pattern (the bear looked very similar to the one you have pictured). The bear actually was made of patchwork that was then sewed to muslin, so it was quite complicated, but I figured it out. Since then I’ve made some children’s clothing and a few things for myself using commercial patterns, and while I do think some of the instructions can be confusing, I don’t think they’ve been awful. But in recent years, being able to Google specific techniques has been handy. I do agree with the commenter who noted that you can’t please everyone… experienced folks would be annoyed at long descriptions of how to do a dart if they already know how to do it, while beginners would be frustrated without them.
My first attempt to sew in high school were pretty frustrating. I couldn’t understand the language (I thought PRESSING meant pushing on the seam with my finger!) and I gave up on sewing from patterns for a while. Now, though, as with Mimi, I like having standard language and a standard format – it makes things easier and faster – but it took taking a sewing class to learn all the techniques that they talk about.
I think it’s appropriate that the pattern companies assume a certain amount of knowledge, though – the pattern is there just for you to follow in order to make something specific, not to teach you how to sew.
Hello,
I realise this is a late addition to a really lovely post… however, I would like to thank you for making me feel NORMAL! I have bought several dress patterns which were all extraordinary failures. The sort of mess-ups that you almost want to applaud for being so utterly awful. Despite how I measured and double checked, anything I made looked horrid. Then I moved onto bear patterns; dutifully pasted the tissue pattern to card, transferred these to fabric, read and nearly memorised instructions, only to fail. They looked wretched. I was furious with myself for not “getting” it and moved onto making quilts… ahhhh the joy of getting something right!!!
Recently I bought two of your patterns one for Lovey Dovey and one for the Bear with Blankie. They have both saved my sanity! The picture instructions are probably what do it – as I am very visual.
So thank you and to the others that commented here for making me realise that it’s normal to have to practise… and to be a bit kinder to myself!
Have a wonderful 2013.
Best thoughts,
Claudine
Thank you so much, Claudine. I think step-by-step photos really make all the difference.
I came here because I have the same problem and reading through the responses realized that while their are many experienced sewers commenting not one of them addressed the initial question/problem. Could maybe someone answer the question of what the heck a “dart seam” is on a stuffed animal’s butt. I know what a dart is and a seam but the way these instructions are it doesn’t make any sense. These aren’t darts like everyone is use to, these are some weird notches in the animals butt that I can’t figure out if they are for a tail or to make its butt round or both. There isn’t any pictures of what it’s behind is suppose to look like and the illustrations are not helpful. I’ve searched online and no one has addressed this particular problem. So maybe someone out there can break it down? Please?
Dart seam explanations:
1) A seam that forms a dart.
2) A large dart with the excess center fabric already removed.
3) A V shape edge that is sewn together to a point.
4) A seam shaped like a dart that causes shaping in the item just as a dart would.
I sent you an email, June!
Please, help. I have that EXACT teddy bear pattern. I am completely lost. I know what a dart is, but this pattern is gibberish to me.
I’m sorry, but I can’t really help with that.
Abby..Hi! I am literally making the pattern you started this blog with now and am really struggling with the final foot dart seams. Are you able to explain in clear language how this goes as I am stumped,
I am making a memory bear from a retiring nurse’s uniform and really want it come out nicely.
Many thanks in advance.
Jane
I’m sorry, Jane, but I no longer have that pattern.