Why you shouldn’t write off PDF patterns- read this if you are hesitant to buy PDF patterns instead of standard paper format.
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Welcome to Olivia Jane Handcrafted! I'm Meredith and this is my creative journal. Here you'll find loads of inspiration for a handmade wardrobe, home decor, bags, and quilts. I even have plenty of projects and tutorials to get you started or help you along the way.
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I’ve not had your success I must say in getting patterns printed at a reasonable cost at copy shops!. Business Depot (both here in Victoria BC) has charged me anywhere from $12 – $18 for exactly what you’re describing – a 36″ industrial printer in black and white. The other shop (Island blueprint) was rumoured to charge $5 for a pattern print out but I’ve never paid less than $12. Adding the cost of the pattern with the cost of printing it comes out pretty much the same as just buying the printed pattern but much less trouble! Pattern companies who offer only PDF are losing a lot of business – they are undoubtedly selling to the younger sewist but they are ruling out the older ones. Most PDF only designers have found that their business really didn’t grow until they offered printed patterns. I’m 63 and belong to a sewing group and NOT one woman in our group buys PDF – so I can’t imagine PDF only is good for business :) I have PDF patterns (because they were offered free) but I avoid them whenever possible. It’s just too much work. I believe that PDF patterns only shouldn’t cost more than $4 to compensate the sewist for all the extra work and expense they are going to have to go through to get their hands on the pattern to even get to the stage of cutting it out! Never mind pasting which is just completely insane :)
Interesting thoughts. I’m sold on PDF patterns, but absolutely won’t read a book online- I need the physical thing. So I wonder if its just a matter of what some are used to? I think of myself as very traditional for a “millennial” sewist. I do many things the old fashioned way simply because I think a lot of the older methods are better and yield items that will last longer. I, too, liked paper patterns better to begin with, but then it felt like a hassle to trace and store, so I tried PDFs. I didn’t totally love cutting and taping it together, but I was willing to trade off to have it right away. Using the copy shop totally sold me. Truly, the quality of the paper is better than either tissue or tracing paper, and I’m at a point in my life where I value my time so much more, so being able to spend $5-8 to save me two or more hours is not even a question- its the only thing for me to do that makes sense.
As far as there being a generational gap here, I do agree with you completely, but I wonder if its because the older generation is so good at what they currently do, they don’t see a need to try something new. From a business perspective, every single designer I know in both quilting and garments will hands down say that PDF is the best for their businesses, and with so many distributors dropping designers right and left (talking big name, not even indie), it makes very little fiscal sense to print and pack patterns for small quilt shops when they just aren’t selling well. There are many, many folks who will speak out against PDFs and swear up and down they will never buy that, so I wrote this post to show my experience and hopefully to straighten out the stigma there seems to be surrounding this. If you can track down the right printer, you truly can save a load of time and money in the end, unless of course you purchase a pattern and cut right into it for single size use.
Thank you for your thoughts! I know you sew a ton of garments, and I’m happy to hear your perspective. :)
Thank you for your considered and lengthy response Meredith! I think all of us in the PDF adverse camp are fearful that this direction will continue to grow and become the only option (like By Hand London). I understand the appeal of PDF (instant gratification, having a copy always in your files that can be reprinted anytime, on decent paper stock etc.) but the effort involved in putting the pattern together, or going off to a copy shop and explaining what it IS to someone else is off putting for many. Perhaps as you say, in quilting it makes a lot of sense or even in patterns with very few pieces like a Tee but in a jacket pattern for example with 48 pages to print off it’s just exhausting to contemplate :)
I am another one who does not like a PDF pattern, especially when they cost 16 dollars and the printed cousin cost 18 dollars. I agree I can not go into my local print shop for less then 12 dollars and get the actual pattern, not instruction printed. I am not a fan yet. I will wait for the printed patten in the mail
As a person currently designing a pattern $4.00 wouldn’t even cover her time and expense designing the pattern. I am not sure why people think this is cheap it really is not. It has definitely opened my my eyes into all the hard work that goes into creating a pattern. Designing, Drafting, Fitting, then paying graders, then finding testers, then sending it to production then finally marketing and hoping there is a buy in.. I have just began and all ready with the time invested have spent well over $2k and it has not gone to the graders yet. yes indeed McCalls and company can afford sales and such but the margin line is small on creating patterns!
I make mostly quilts so kinda different than if folks want garment patterns, but I agree – I’m sold on pdf. When I want it I want it NOW and it’s so much easier to ‘store’. I print only what I need – often not the entire pattern. I may just need dimensions or whatever, and then will refer back to the screen as needed. I have very few patterns printed out to save – I’ll just access them as I need them on my computer. Good topic tho – I’ll link in my next newsletter.
Thanks, Debbie! Its one of those topics that I think brings fear to the minds of many, but seeing the practical pro’s of PDFs makes it much less of a daunting change.
Paper.
Not all pdf patterns come with a copy shop option. The time discussing how to do this with my copy shop and then an extra trip to get the paper? It ended up costing me double the pattern price ( pattern $$ + $7.50 + car trip + time). And it took longer than waiting to receive a paper pattern in the mail ( not offered as an option). In my worldwide pledge to save crap from landfills, I sell older patterns on etsy. PDF’s have no future. They provide no historical moment for the future. They are basically a one-trick pony except for if you lose or gain a size. I also rarely make a clothing pattern twice. If I do, it’s traced with my tweaks to make it better. I like looking at paper instructions too. I can flip ahead trying to figure out what the pattern designer means with their interestingly worded instruction. Following instructions on my smarty pants phone or hauling my laptop into my sewing room are awkward and limiting. I admit I’m old school, but I’ve tried both and after this last dress (only offered as a pdf), I prefer a paper option.
I understand where you are coming from, and I think its a matter of what you are used to. If you are amazing at tracing patterns and can do it quickly and efficiently and don’t mind waiting on the pattern to arrive, paper is a great option. I personally hate paying for shipping and I don’t like the wait. For me, I always pay less for a PDF pattern (normally $10-12 as opposed to $16-20 for paper), then I will email the copyshop file to Office Depot which is five minutes away. I wait for the call, and go pick it up and for me its a huge time saver, which equals money for me. I think one big way we are different is that I don’t ever buy a pattern I don’t plan to make multiple times because that’s a big way I justify making my own clothes anyway. Otherwise its very expensive. While I don’t find it inconvenient to use my phone or computer which are both very portable and easy to carry where I need, I do get not liking to read off a computer or device. I will always choose a hard copy book over an ebook, so I can understand your love of the tangible paper booklet.
I don’t know of any pattern company indie or big name that would agree with the economics of paper over PDF, but time will tell how that goes.
I appreciate your thoughts on the matter, and I’m glad you have found what works well for you. Happy sewing! :)
I like both. PDF because it’s instant and convenient when I can just print only the size I need. But I really love old vintage paper patterns.
I do like PDF because its quick. The cutting and taping is annoying, but the last time I tried to order a couple paper patterns, they wanted to charge me $20 for shipping! Yikes! So, I went with the PDF version. Wish I was closer to a copy shop, but don’t want to make a trip to town to get it printed. I do like your storage idea. I’ve been searching for a better way to store them. I hope I can source some pattern hooks for a reasonable price.
Any luck with the hooks? I have a plenty. If you want to shoot me an email I can probably send you some to try out. I think they were a fantastic investment!
I think you said that you pay for the pdf file and then you pay an additional $8 at Office Depot, to print the pdf pattern. That in itself is very expensive..
Yes. Pretty much any pattern company charges at least $2 less for a PDF than paper pattern. And then I don’t pay shipping which saves me a total of at least $8, which I’m more than happy to pay for the copy shop print out because I have the freedom to do it as many times as I want. For me its just easier and saves me a load of time which for me is money. Someone mentioned only making a pattern once, but I would say if that’s the case, its almost never worth it to buy any garment pattern. :)
The reason I do not like PDF patterns is because if I am making a blouse or dress etc I want to be able to see through the tissue paper so I can match prints or find the placement. I can’t do that with a printed regular paper. I may want a design in a particular spot
I prefer PDF patterns as I live in Australia and can get them instantly plus there is the storage factor,efiles are easier to store
I’m totally team PDF too! I love the ease of the PDF patterns. I find paper patterns (of the big 4) have way too much ease to suit my taste.
Thank you, just the nudge I needed. For awhile I’ve been meaning to look into copy shop pattern printing prices and just haven’t done it. So glad to read this and realize it really is affordable. Now no more excuses to put off making those Sew House Seven Nehalem pants!
You make some interesting point Olivia, but as a full-time pattern designer, I can tell you that there IS a really good reason why the pdf version might be the same price as the hard-copy, and that would be because of distributors requirements. I depend on a substantial part of my income from distributors, but they would keep my patterns for very long if I was “under-cutting” them by selling it cheaper on my website in pdf format. Just something to keep in mind.
Excellent post and great tips thanks for sharing!