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Behind The Scenes / From The Workroom

The Plan For Megan Nielsen Sewing Patterns

I feel like sometimes i have a terrible habit of not telling you all what i’m up to until the very last minute. I don’t know why… maybe it’s nervousness. Whatever the case, I thought you might be interested in what I’m working on.

You may or may not know, but along with my clothing line, I actually sell sewing patterns too. It has only been maternity/nursing patterns and they’ve been in PDF form, as I lacked the resources to get them more professionally manufactured. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of PDF patterns – they’re a pain to create, and a pain for the customer to use. But regardless, they have been a huge success. Actually I’ve been blown away by how popular they are. So I’ve been wanting to change the way I do things. To move to more professional packaging, proper full size patterns, and no more PDF’s.

The trouble is, commerical patterns actually bother me too. Long time readers will remember me ranting from time to time about this. But there are just so many irritating things; the weird sizing, the tissue paper that rips for any and every reason, the strange layout of the instructions, the evil tiny envelope that no matter how hard you try you can never fit the pattern back into… So I’ve decided to make my patterns a little different. I’ll be using larger envelopes that are sturdy and have lots of room, patterns will be on translucent but sturdy paper, so they can be used over and over without tearing – and instructions will be clearly laid out in booklets. It’s been a lot of work. But I’m really excited.

And so while I’ve been working on re-grading my maternity patterns, and extending the sizing to be XS to XL for all patterns, and basically reworking how I do everythingI also started thinking about releasing the patterns from my clothing line. There seems to have been quite a bit of interest, so in the next few months I’ll be slowly releasing patterns from my past collections. I’ll be starting with the Darling Ranges dress from last fall – and then followed most likely by the Gumnut Coat and Banksia top from the same collection. And depending on how well they’re received, I’m planning on releasing the patterns to all my designs.

So that’s the plan. phew.

About Author

Meg is the Founder and Creative Director of Megan Nielsen Patterns, and is constantly dreaming up ideas for new sewing patterns and ways to make your sewing journey more enjoyable! She gets really excited about design details and is always trying to add way too many variations to our patterns.

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Jessica
12 years ago

I will be first in line to try out one of your patterns! Brilliant idea!!

Grace
12 years ago

YAY! How exciting. Can’t wait for the Darling Ranges dress pattern to release.

Sarah
12 years ago

AWESOME plans! I always wanted to buy your patterns, but figured I’d just have to wait til I got preggers :-P I love that you saw something you thought could be improved, and made it happen!

Stephanie
12 years ago

I’m very excited about this. I love your designs!

Trudy Callan
12 years ago

Exciting news. This is such a wonderful idea. I know it will be a huge success.

BiblioMOMia
12 years ago

HOLY COW, mama. You’ve been busy! I think it’s a remarkable idea and will be great for your business and your customer type. So exciting! I can’t wait to see more.

June
12 years ago

I am so proud of you. I feel like I’m watching the birth of a mega company. Congratulations!

Dallas Ann
Dallas Ann
12 years ago

Wow! What a lot of work!

I’m wondering how this will impact the price point of the patterns?

luvinthemommyhood
12 years ago

Ohhweeeeee! So excited! I’d love patterns for your clothing collection! Sounds fabulous!!! YOu go girl!! Love it!

Paunnet
12 years ago

YAY! I can’t wait! Although I must admit I was hoping for pdf patterns, since I live in Italy and shipping costs + customs controls usually kill me.

Annelise
Annelise
12 years ago

Such a great idea! When was the last time someone rethought patterns? Amazing idea! Can’t wait to see it!

Kristin
12 years ago

So excited about this post!! I LOVE pattern making (dork!) and am thrilled to hear about how you plan to revamp this! I’ve been eyeing some of the maternity patterns but thought I’d wait til I needed them again, haha!

Lydia
Lydia
12 years ago

First, I’m a huge fan of your blog. Just a thought, I have gotten some curtain patterns that I love from http://www.patemeadows.com. They come on nice thick paper in a large clear sealable plastic bag the size of an 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper (no wrestling required). Since they are a small, woman-owned business, they might be willing to share info on how they get their patterns manufactured with another small, woman-owned business.

Laura
12 years ago

How exciting! Sounds really fab. Also, looks beautiful from the pictures. Really great to see your aesthetic continuing right into the patterns
xxx

Rebekah
12 years ago

Can’t wait to try out your patterns. And I agree with you about the pdf and commercial pattern problems. I always make a version of the pattern in muslin or an old sheet so I can get rid of the tissue paper and reuse the pattern.

Veronica Darling
12 years ago

Hey – congrats! GREAT NEWS!

If you ever need a short petite person to try out your patterns for testing, let me know :) ;) xoxo

Sara Mack
Sara Mack
11 years ago

Yes please! Really looking forward to it!

Casey
11 years ago

Woo hoo! SO glad you finally announced it! ;) I know I’ve already gushed about a million times to you regarding the patterns, but I am SO excited! I think using the heavier paper is a great idea too; although (as I think I said already) a lot of indie companies have opted for the tissue route, I do prefer the heavier paper myself. I am a tracer anyway, and it’s just too annoying to try and trace a tissue pattern. ;) I cannot wait to see these come to fruition–and sew them up!

Firesparx
Firesparx
11 years ago

So exciting! More motivation for me to unearth my sewing machine from the room that is supposed to be a “Craft Room” but is more along the lines of a “Junk Room”. I can’t wait!

AnnS
11 years ago

Squeeeee! Thanks, Meg! Especially for your non-preggers ones too. You’ve been a busy woman, we will love seeing the new patterns!

Clare
Clare
11 years ago

Oh I am so excited! Your clothing is amazing! I can’t wait to try every one of your patterns!!! I hope that I can afford all of them. Maybe there should be a discount for buying a large quantity of patterns?
Thanks for all your hard work!

Jessie Heninger
11 years ago

Love it! I don’t know why but the booklet lay out of directions is so much easier then the giant fold-out map thingy, I hate that! So happy I actually made one of your maternity dresses for a friend and it turned out great so I can’t wait to do more.

TeaMyDear
11 years ago

I don’t mind PDF-patterns at all, I like having stuff on my computer and being able to reprint when I mess up! However, I also love beautiful paper things :-)
So I’m looking forward very much to your new patterns! Good luck with the plan!

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[…] be releasing more and more patterns. As you know, the Darling Ranges pattern was an experiment to see if there was demand for my patterns (beyond maternity wear) – and since it’s been such a smashing success, I will be […]