The discussions I’ve seen about the recent sale of the legacy sewing pattern brands to a liquidator mostly seem to focus on them not keeping up with modern methods and preferences - meaning their late adoption of pdf files and lack of projector patterns. I do think it’s characteristic of our times that customers more than ever expect their individual preferences to be catered to, but I’m happy to go along doing things the way I’ve always done them, so what do I know?
My own preference has been for the pattern magazines. I really like getting Burda or Ottobre in the mail (snail mail!) and having a little fashion magazine with 20-30 patterns included. Browsing them is fun, and not much storage space is needed for the magazine format. After the magazines, my choice has been Style Arc, but that is because of their styles, not because I heart pdfs. And then there are a few other indies that I will try if I like the style
So, along with the rest of the crowd, I’ve been buying way fewer of the big 4 than I used to. Last year I think I bought 6 patterns, and whether they were Simplicity, Butterick, McCall’s, or Vogue, is anyone’s guess. Except for Vogue, the difference between the brands seemed negligible.
When I heard the big 4 might be going away, I would have loved to have a last catalog browse for old time’s sake. But Jo Ann’s is already gone. So I headed to Half Price Books, where they usually have a bookcase of patterns to look at.
And look what I found for $15! It’s even in my size. I can’t wait to make it.
I hope that the pattern companies find a way to continue on and wish I had some advice that would save them. They’ve given me much, much enjoyment as well as a special bond with my grandmother. If they must die, I’m glad to have had one last thrill of anticipation and exciting possibilities looking at patterns.
But I really hope that they won’t be gone for good.
