The Sewing Place
The Emporia => In the wardrobe => Patterns Discussion => Topic started by: StitchinTime on January 22, 2020, 10:29:02 AM
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I saw on another sewing forum that the company that owns the "Big Four" (Vogue, Butterick, McCalls, Simplicity) has been acquired by a UK business.
I've watched the video the company has issued about the acquisition and it seems to be full of wrapping paper, greetings cards, party stuff and Christmas crackers - no mention of sewing patterns at all.
https://www.thedesigngroup.com/css-acquisition/
I'm not sure where sewing patterns are going to fit in their portfolio of activities.
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I don't see how the pattern lines are going to fit into the existing business either. (https://i.imgur.com/0yY8mge.png)
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There's some talk in professional sewing circles that they will be sold off soon because of the longevity of the pattern companies and some idea they are looking for buyers. Also some business experts are predicting being shuttered due to the current market of independent patterns/sewing decline/younger sewers not using patterns.
Nothing I can prove or point to, but rumors on other groups I belong to, both professional sewing and stock market (and I own stock in CSS).
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Different company - it's not the wallpaper people, it's the crafting people:
https://www.cssindustries.com/our-brands/
There's an analysis of the situation from the industry perspective here:
https://craftindustryalliance.org/mccalls-simplicity-merger-points-market-impact-independent-sewing-pattern-companies/
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The acquisition by CSS happened a few years ago, I believe. That analysis is interesting @HenriettaMaria. I've only skimmed through it but it suggests that people are beginning to favour indie brands over the Big4 (especially the instant download from indie brands and also suggests the Big4 have difficult instructions. I love Style Arc patterns but the instructions are really minimal - give me Big4 instructions any day.
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Many of the indie pattern companies also have poor markings, wrong instructions or even missing instructions. I used to hate it when one of my girls brought in an indie pattern to make. Half of the info I wanted wasn’t there.
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I'm not sure that the quality argument works any more. The worst pattern I have made up for many years (by a country mile) was Butterick - it failed in terms of instructions (clarity and accuracy), pattern pieces not fitting together and the cut and size of the actual design.
Setting aside Style Arc's very basic instructions, I find that the indie pattern companies tend to have excellent instructions, often illustrated with photos.
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I smell a business opportunity for teachers of pattern drafting! When you've drafted your own pattern you don't need instructions :D
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If the 'big 4' ultimately disappears, I wouldn't mourn. I have enough that suits my style and there is a lot that is already out of print. I have no interest in the so-called 'indies'.
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If the 'big 4' ultimately disappears, I wouldn't mourn. I have enough that suits my style and there is a lot that is already out of print. I have no interest in the so-called 'indies'.
I would as I love their vintage patterns. They are useful for when I do dramas and some I have made to wear IRL.
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I too would be sad if the Big 4 disappeared. I don't like all their stuff but there's enough of interest to keep me going and I love being able transform designer pattens into something that will fit, and hopefully suit little old me (well maybe not so little :D ).
On the indie front as well as Style Arc I like Pearl Red Moon. She does some very original lagenlook wearble art designs - not everone's taste if course but I love them. However if you read her blog you will see that she makes a pittance from her patterns and she is constantly having her designs ripped off and copied which sadly she doesn't seem.to be able to do anything about.
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I haven't made up a Big 4 pattern since I came back to sewing 8 years ago. They just don't seem to fit me whereas the Indies I have used do. I'm small so maybe it's the 'extra' size allowance that they factor in? I keep thinking I'll try one of my old patterns but the thought that they won't fit really puts me off.
Must admit I've not seen anything that I 'must have' in their books in years.
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@Acorn I agree that the Big 4 aren’t as good as they used to be. And I’ve come across some really bad errors and terrible instructions. But they generally mark the bust point, etc. And yes some of the indie pattern companies are good. But I have come across some reallyl dire ones. And many of these patterns aren’t produced by pattern cutters but by people who like sewing and think they'll have a go. :S. I think it’s insulting to ask the public to pay quite a lot of money, often more than the Big 4, for what is essentially an amateur job which you then have to print yourself if it’s a pdf.
I always suggest people look at the About Me piece.
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I always suggest people look at the About Me piece.
@Ohsewsimple
I'm intrigued to know what is the "About Me piece"?
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'About me' is just what it says and tells readers the aims and ambitions.
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@annieeg The About me piece is the bit where a blogger/pattern maker tells the reader about themselves. Always useful to read as you can view their work with a better perspective.
Re. the big four - I use mostly Vogue and McCalls and would be very disappointed if they disappear.
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There was a recent article in the Telegraph headed "Why sewing your own clothes is making a stylish comeback". First part copied and pasted below. It might eventually make us very fashionable to sew instead of, as happened to me, looking at me like I was something on the bottom of her shoe. I only recently started using an Indie pattern and sometimes found them having too much in or not to the point, but I do like them but it would be shame if the Big 4 disappeared.
22 JANUARY 2020 • 6:00AM
Every single thing in Lydia Higginson’s wardrobe
has been made by her very own hands, from her
woollen coats to her dungarees and lace bras.
‘Except my socks,’ she says. ‘They’re the only things I still
buy because they’re mostly knitted and I don’t really
knit. But everything else I’ve made from scratch.’
The 26-year-old has known how to make clothes ever
since she was a child and her mum, a curtain maker,
taught her how to use a sewing machine. Like most
women, though, Higginson’s wardrobe was made up of
shop-bought clothes - until 2016, when she made a
radical decision to give away her entire wardrobe and
replace it with items she’d made herself.
‘I loved the idea of making all of my clothes myself,’ she
explains. ‘To know where every single thing came from.
It feels honest. It can feel so frenzied in the fashion
industry, with brands preparing seasons in advance and
[high street stores launching] 52 collections a year. But
home-sewing is so responsive, and obviously it’s more
[environmentally-friendly]. As soon it starts to get cold, I
bring out all my wools and think about lovely, cosy
jumpers and coats, and if I have an event, I make myself
something beautiful for it.’
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In the US, cost is a major factor. I've read for years everyone pointing out not everywhere gets those prices, but it is a consideration.
At 99 cents, I bought whatever. At $1.99 I cut back a bit. I'm paying $3.19 with a club membership online or $1-5 in store, $5-6 for Vogue, and I buy 10-20 a year.
Compare that to the only Indie I buy StyleArc: I have about 15 since I started buying the a decade ago, with half of them being PDFs. $10-20 a pop curtails the amount I buy considerably. As in, I haven't even looked at Style Arc in almost 6 months...I buy only when I need something specific that I can't find bargain prices in the Big 4. And then there is the Amazon issue where if you buy a paper pattern, you don't get the freebie and paper patterns from AU is cost prohibitive for me with shipping being $20+ regularly, so PDFs wind up winning (which is another issue).
Fit is another issue. While SA is patterned well, I still have a lot to do to make it fit my body since I am not their fit model body type. I have less to do with Butterick and Simplicity (of which I am the fit model body type), so starting from a company that is closer to my body shape is always easier to make the pattern fit then to redraft it. But all patterns have to be walked to check for error since it happens regardless of what brand.
Not everyone is a fan of the indies. I'm not. Big 4 goes away, I'll quit buying patterns if Indies are my only choice for a variety of issues: quality, style and the whole community revolving around them which has put me off for years. I see no reason to pay premium prices for patterns I can either draft myself or go to the pattern stash and pull out and frankenpattern.
My biggest issue is the dumbing down of patterns...everything is so simple (which has a place) but not everything I make I want to be "easy". I want design options and none of them, indie to big 4, are giving that. Hot Patterns a few years ago had the owners stating that those that sew were not trained or skilled enough to follow advanced patterns...a trend that you see throughout the sewing world.
Lot of issues with patterns no matter where you fall.
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Here is the blog post (https://mademywardrobe.com/news//measureayear) that Lydia wrote.
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@Kwaaked you pay much less than we do in the UK for the Big 4 patterns. To some extent fair enough as they are US patterns and have to be imported into the UK and the value of the £ has gone down a lot. You can pay £17 (>$22) for a full price top of the range Vogue in the UK (although I don't think many people buy them full price). Even in a half price in a UK sale - which we don't get as often as the US - that's still well over 10 dollars a pop!
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I suspect this has been asked/answered before but how do you find a pattern company's 'fit model body type' please?
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Beside the full description of each pattern there's a line with a triangle, box etc which refers to the body type the pattern is suitable for. Is that what you mean @Sewingsue ? It's quite small.
I must admit I ignore advice about figure type... but then I have been known to ignore advice in general......
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Beside the full description of each pattern there's a line with a triangle, box etc which refers to the body type the pattern is suitable for. Is that what you mean @Sewingsue ? It's quite small.
I must admit I ignore advice about figure type... but then I have been known to ignore advice in general......
I know about those symbols and thought that the Big 4 did patterns for all figure types. I thought that 'fit model body type' meant that some companies designed for specific shapes and it helped if you went with the company that designed for your shape.
Maybe I am just misreading and confusing myself - would not be unusual.
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Some tell you like Sewaholic for pears. Some has been in magazines for years and have told people and are known like the big 4 (hourglass). Big 4 have figure analysis, as well that's been stated.e
Thing is, you can draft for one type, like the Big 4 with hourglass, but a style can fit a multitude of bodies.
Style Arc tends to be either an inverted triangle or column to me, but I have to do a lot of redrafting to my waist and shoulders as well as an FBA.
Mostly, you look at the measurements they use and/or the pattern and it emerges as to what shape they draft for.
@Tamnymore I did point out it was a US concern. I know you guys pay as much for Big 4 as we do for indies, so it evens out across the board, but we tend to be somewhat country blinded by things. In the US we also tend to sew less, so we're likely not as much of a concern globally as other countries that still sew more often.
Saying that, it will be interesting to see what happens with price. UK brand bought it, but the printers and stuff will most likely remain in Kansas.
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@Sewingsue this has some info and is useful if you need to know what cup size they are drafting for.
Otherwise as Kwaaked said, check out their size/measurement chart. If there is finished measurements that’s even better!
http://curvysewingcollective.com/a-guide-to-pattern-cup-sizes-and-a-handy-reference/
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The Sandra Betzina Today's Fit patterns at Vogue are siized slightly differently from their main range - larger round the tum - which is fine by me.
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The Sandra Betzina Today's Fit patterns at Vogue are siized slightly differently from their main range - larger round the tum - which is fine by me.
Also, the Betzina bust point is 3/4" lower then Vogue standard. It might also be more of a C cup but don't quote me. I'm not sure where my notes are. Sandra had hundreds of women traipse through her studio so she could measure them in detail. Her target is the more mature, over 45, approaching menopause body and those that are living with the body changes so common.
I had a fitting class with her, where she praised my excellent posture. :loveit: She then laughed and said too bad nobody designs for that anymore. Have you noticed the increase of patterns with back seams that aren't needed style wise? It's to accommodate tweaking for our ever rounding backs. Even teens are rounding from constantly being hunched over a phone.
PS: I got the last laugh on Sandra. My "excellent" posture I learned last year is due to my spinal abnormality. I lack the typical spinal curvature. I just thought a lot of you were sway backed. :)