Design Review: Recap

First things first: we have two giveaway winners!

The pattern : Camie! Contact me girl, you didn't leave your email :)


The fabric: Elizabeth!


Congrats! Expect an email from me asking for address details soon.

This is the last post in these series! I've really enjoyed reading your elaborate and honest answers to my questions. I know it's been said a lot, but the joy of knowing that there are all these super nice people out there reading my words, is just so so great. To be honest, I'm not much of a commenter myself, and I'm also not the kind of person who shouts out every three lines how much I love you. Just know that I do really appreciate you being here. Reading your answers, even though they were anonymous, made me feel like I got to know you a little bit better.

Now get ready for some piecharts!

Paper Goods

Most of you like to get your pattern by mail, or have the option to choose. This outcome gives me the final push to go for physical patterns. When it comes to pattern paper, I guess I'll have to do my best to find something that is not tissue but still see through! I love working with this in between paper I'm using, we'll just have to find out if there's a printer who can handle it.

When it comes to your favourite package, Papercut was a winner because of it's size, but Deer & Doe is a close second. One thing that was mentioned a lot was that the package should be big enough to store the pattern after use. Sturdyness and thus durability is also very important. There is a limit to the size, because a lot of you have a box to store patterns in, and the package should also fit in there. That's why some of you did not choose Papercut even though it's perfect for storing your used pattern afterwards.

Style & Size

I was happy to read that most of you liked my idea of modern, clean and edgy patterns. A bit of statistical bias though, the fact that you read my blog already indicates that you like what I do. The word 'practical' also came up a lot. Seeing that I'll be living in a firetruck for a year, I'm guessing this will definitely be a theme :). Pants were mentioned too. I also liked the contradiction in your answers: some were looking for something more 'original', while others said 'nothing is ever new'. I do think that the world does not need another Darling Ranges/Sureau/Clara though. I'll be looking to complement or add to what is already there, not make my own version of the same.

You were almost all on the same line when it comes to variations though: for 90% of you variations make it more likely for you to buy a pattern. And I agree: Indie patterns are not cheap, so you'll want to be able to use it more than once. It was also mentioned a couple of times that you don't consider sleeve lengths to be true variations, which I also agree with.

Then something about size... 78% of you do not usually fall within one size column. That's a lot! I myself usually span 4 size columns, so I know what it's like. I've just finalized my size chart, and I did a lot of research on them. I hope I've come close to the most common measurements, but this outcome just shows that it doesn't matter that much. I think it means I chould focus on explaining how to cut the pattern when you don't fall into one size column. Your comments on finished garment measurements are noted, too!

Instructions

I have to say that these answers are less easy to capture into piecharts. Which is entirely due to the fact that I should have asked better questions, ofcourse. Making good surveys is not easy!

As you can see the booklet is the most preferred shape of instructions. I can't make final decisions on these yet, but it's good to know we're mostly on the same page. The same goes for the type of diagrams. I suspect it'll be easier for me to make clear illustrations than good photographs anyway.

The overall impression that I got about the amount of information is that more is more. If I combine your answers, instructions should be elaborate and precise but written in simple English, and there should be enough illustrations for those who don't read instructions and/or are more experienced. Recommended fabric and seam finishes are also appreciated. I like what Tilly did, providing a simple checklist with the pattern and providing a step-by-step sewalong with photo's. There's room for innovation here and I'll have to think on that some more. I think that not only the content but also the design and layout of the information will play a big role in making everything understandable.

That's it folks! Thanks again so much for your feedback, you've helped me making decisions and also you've helped yourself by participating in my design process. I'll never be able to please everyone, but I hope this way I'll create stuff that's mostly in line with your needs and wishes. Cheers!