Simplicity and McCall’s sewing patterns, along with the other major sewing pattern brands, will likely launch a new system for digital pattern downloads in the coming months. CSS Industries, which acquired McCall’s in 2016 and Simplicity in 2017, now owns all of the major sewing pattern brands.
In February, during an earnings call, CEO Chris Munyan emphasized the company’s goal of increasing digital sales. “Our opportunities going forward is to digitize patterns,” he said. “So today we have physical patterns, in the future – not far in the future – we’re going to be selling physical patterns and a huge comprehensive list of digitized patterns, where a home sewer can take that and put that on a printer, tile it out and do the same thing they could do with a physical tissue pattern.“
Other sources close to the company have indicated they are working on a smoother, more efficient PDF pattern system than has been previously available for ordering digital versions of these patterns. A date for the roll out of the new system has not been revealed yet.
Simplicity, McCall’s, and the other major sewing pattern brands have offered digital versions of their patterns since 2006, but sewers have consistently voiced complaints about the system. After a pattern is purchased, the customer has to install a special viewer, called PrintSew, onto their computer in order to download the file. The viewer limits customers to only being able to download the patterns on one computer with a limited license of one year which includes just three downloads. Additionally, the layout of the printed pages was notoriously inefficient.
In a blog post dated January 2012 and titled, “Why I Won’t Be Using Simplicity PrintSew Patterns Again,” Erin McKean of Dress A Day detailed her frustration. “ It’s ironic that Simplicity’s tagline is ‘Creativity Made Simple!’ because there is nothing simple about this,” she writes. “Simplicity (and the other big pattern companies) needs to figure this out pronto.” Yet the system remained unchanged. A review of PrintSew on PatternReview.com written last week by user camasquilter reads, “My advice is to avoid this website at all costs. It is the worst sewing experience I have ever had.”
In the meantime, hundreds, if not thousands, of independent pattern companies have popped up, many of them offering digital patterns from the beginning. Customers of these companies have become accustomed to getting instant, unlimited access to PDFs that are laid out efficiently for a home printer. Now, after 12 years with the same PrintSew system, it looks as though the major brands will be catching up. Details of the new system, including whether it will include a limited license, are not yet available.
Origin of PrintSew
Serial entrepreneur, David Shemula, and his daughter, Margot Grabie, own PrintSew.com. In 1999 Grabie was a freshman at California State University, Northridge, majoring in early childhood education. Shemula, who immigrated to the United States from Israel in 1965, advised her to start a business so that she’d have something to work on after graduation. Grabie enjoyed sewing so Shemula bought her the URL for sewingpatterns.com and in 2001, a year before graduation, they set up the first ecommerce site to sell sewing patterns.
SewingPatterns.com carried all of the major brands – McCall’s, Butterick, KwikSew, Simplicity, Vogue, New Look, and Burda – and overtime added some smaller companies. Grabie did all of the shipping and fulfillment and they handled customer service together.
By 2006 Shemula and Grabie could see that demand was building for a digital version of the patterns they were selling. They proposed the idea to the president of McCall’s at the time. ”He was receptive, but he was concerned about file sharing,” Shemula told me during a phone call earlier this week. To assuage his concerns Shemula created LockLizard, a patented viewer the customers would need to install in order to access their pattern files. With the viewer, McCall’s could limit the customer’s license in an attempt to prevent file sharing. At first, the patterns were only available on SewingPatterns.com, but within a few years both McCall’s and Simplicity began selling the download section on their own websites with Shemula and Grabie getting a small cut of each sale.
Each season the pattern companies send Shemula their files which he then digitally chops up into 8 ½” x 11” and A4 pages before uploading them to PrintSew. In a 2015 post on her blog, Artfully Alexa, Alexa Kanarowski explains what it was like to print a PrintSew file. “I downloaded my pattern and woah. It’s three parts, and the first two parts are 56 pages. Each. The setup is so bad,” she writes. “For a printable pattern it makes sense to have the pattern go in order of pieces, so you can easily print the pieces you want.”
“They really didn’t care about conserving paper when they made this pattern into a printable pattern,” she writes. “There were multiple pieces of paper that would only have around a square inch of pattern and the rest of the paper be completely blank. I don’t think they optimized the pattern for printing at all, it seems like they left the pattern exactly the same as the tissue pattern, but just putting it on paper.” In the end, it took Kanarowski five hours to assemble the pattern.
All sales are directed to Shemula and he handles customer service, much of which he says he does from his smartphone. “I know that people are not happy about installing the viewer,” Shemula said. “But we’re so quick with the customer service.”
The design, layout, and usability of the PrintSew.com and SewingPatterns.com sites, and the LockLizard viewer, don’t seem to have been updated in many years and still have the aesthetic of the early web. There’s no direct contact information on either site, or indication of ownership leaving frustrated customers unsure whom to contact.
Shemula was unaware that CSS Industries was developing its own PDF system. He felt confident that his agreement with the sewing pattern companies was solid. “We made a verbal agreement in 2006 with the president of McCall’s,” he said. “He told me they would never pull out.”
What a clown Shemula is! The industry has moved on and left him and his shady practices behind
I would also like to suggest that simple pattern pieces – rectangles, squares – be given as dimensions. This would reduce the paper needs tremendously on many patterns.
Good idea. Long thin rectangular pieces might be sashes for I stance. Or straps for bags. 2″ times 24″ inside a small icon might be enough.
Wahts happen with printsew i cant Open the site and See my Patterns
How i can Open my pattern
I hope it supports print shop 36” paper.
Would like the option of Print Shop version as well for those who do not like or have time to spend sticking the tiles together.
Also, copyshop! I’d normally just buy the paper, but for out of print patterns copyshop files would be great. I won’t tape stuff together.
The Wild Ginger company let’s you move the pattern pieces around and select only the ones you want to print.
Guess I’m old school. I prefer to use the tissue pattern. I don’t have time to download, print, tape together, trace and finally get to cut out a pattern. Oh and don’t forget to make any adjustments to the pattern. I hope the company will take this into consideration when making changes to their patterns. It will be interesting to see what others think on this.
I am old school, and prefer tissue paper patterns.
I agree! I have often had to tile documents for my work and my child’s school projects… I can’t imagine doing this for my favorite hobby! (So far, I’ve managed to avoid it.)
Tiling documents and getting a quality result is a COMPLETE pain (in the knees, neck, back)… and the results are never as trustworthy as an original printed on a single piece of paper by a quality press.
Further, I can’t image cutting through taped up copier paper with a nice pair of sheers or a good rotary cutter (there was a reason our mothers and grandmothers never let us cut regular paper with their sewing sheers!). Nor can I imagine trying to tile dozens of pages of pattern tissue together (which IS available through Amazon)… and, one would still have to cut through the tape.
Does anyone have good solutions for this trend? I know we are inevitably headed in the direction of the pattern companies putting all of the printing costs–and, more importantly, all of the work!–on the end-users, but how can we get to a decent pattern that is not on regular paper with a bunch of tape? My daughter is learning to sew and I would love to help her solve these problems (short of buying her a wide format printer and an industrial laser cutter 🙂
I just put together a well-formatted PDF pattern tonight for a blouse. It took all of 20 minutes and came out perfectly.
My solution,learn to draft that way you don’t need a pattern bought from a manufacturer because you created it yourself.
How much are you discounting the price since I’m doing a large share of the prep? Can I order MY SIZE which would be a 6/8 overall length, sz 6 neck shoulder, 8 bust considering forward shoulder, 12 waist & 18 hip?
Hi Sue, The majority of independent sewing pattern designers offer digital patterns and they are typically priced the same as the print pattern. The value add for a digital pattern is instant access which many consumers feel is worth paying for. Some independent patterns designers have their files set up so that you can just print out your size.
Just to be clear, we are not associated with CSS Industries so we aren’t able to answer these questions in particular. When the new system launches you could direct your specific questions to them.
Hi Abby, actually most indie pattern companies sell their pdf versions for a few dollars less than their printed versions.
You’re right. I’ve just taken a look at some of the larger indie pattern companies that offer both print and PDFs and the PDFs are $2-3 less. Thank you.
I have no intention of adding any additional work to my daily workload with patterns I must print and put together. And I’m not alone. I think, overall, the self-printed patterns will be a financial flop.
I live in a remote area and don’t have access to sewing patterns, so being able to print patterns on PrintSew has been great. Digital is the way to go.
SewingPatterns.com has lousy customer service – it seems that sometimes they don’t post the patterns you’ve ordered and paid for until after you email them to ask where they are (and then they arrive pretty quickly). And I’ve had a few times when they’ve sent me the wrong patterns; The other problem I’ve noticed a few times is where the pattern size ranges don’t match the original company’s website’s ranges (eg a McCalls pattern may be available in 16-24, but the SewingPatterns.com says 14-22).
On the other hand, their sale prices are good, and even with shipping to Australia included end up about the same price as on-sale patterns here, and they’re available online as soon as they’re available in the US (sometimes even sooner!) instead of having to wait six months for the shops here to carry them….
When I spoke with David Shemula he said the service was automated. In other words, when a customer orders a pattern the file is sent to them automatically within a few minutes. Still, you’re not the first person I’ve found who has experienced a longer delay and the need to contact customer service in order to get the file so perhaps the system is somewhat imperfect?
“We made a verbal agreement in 2006 with the president of McCall’s,” he said. “He told me they would never pull out.” Good luck with that verbal agreement.
Added to which the Chairman in 2006 is no longer the chairman today. good luck indeed!
As a shop owner, I am always thrilled for PDF patterns. Even though I don’t personally profit from the sale of the pattern, I can tell a customer that the pattern is available online. We offer the very best of the best in fabric, and the customer can see on my laptop how much fabric they will need. Then they go home and purchase the pattern on their own. It is so nice to be able to have a sample out and say “That pattern is available online”. The customer buys the fabric from me and can then print the pattern at home. It’s wonderful! So glad that the big companies are now going to make it easier.
Abby, thank you very much for always providing such helpful information in your newsleter. It is always a great read!
While I understand the benefits of Digital Patterns, especially for younger sewers, I sincerely hope paper patterns remain available. As an aging Baby Boomer, many of us are showing up with skin sensitivities to printer inks and metals. Paper patterns may be printed with soy inks, and those that use black ink on the tissue weight paper are lighly printed.
There’s no indication that paper patterns are going away. Many sewists find them to be really valuable for lots of reasons so I think they’ll be here for the long run.
When JoAnns has a pattern sale, it is much easier to buy the pattern and cut the tissue. If I want to buy a PDF pattern, I will buy it from an Indie company. They have not only worked hard on developing the pattern, illustrated pictures of the actual garment, explaining how to adjust the pattern to your size. Indie companies quickly respond to your questions. The big four companies often only have a drawing of their garments.
This will be a great step forward for opening up access to these patterns for seamstresses outside the US.
I purchased quite a few dihital patterns through http://www.sewing patterns.com which I downloaded to my computer but didn’t print out. Now I can’t open them because the Locklizard licence has run out and no-one from the website will answer my calls for support. I’m extremely annoyed and very wary about trying any other digital patterns.
Hello,
Impossible to loggin to printsew since a long time 2 or 3 months.
Are my patterns nearly 75, lost ? I bough all of them on the sewing pattern website, because they are cheaper.
I’m not very sûre than graduate was right : to be ok with the inche-square, i was obliged to print it : 95 %.
I found a link who work to mail at printsew : answer : server not OK.
Soryy, mistake, i am in Belgium.
Thanks
Yes its constantly down – Printsew has been down again for many weeks and now they are back up – still major problems and I cannot print my 400 patterns I have purchased over the years
Thank you for this article! I have been trying to access Printsew.com for 2 or 3 days to access some patterns I purchased a while back and it doesn’t even seem to load anymore. Just wondering if you have a list of some Indie companies I could check out? Also, as this article was several months ago, do you know if Simplicity/McCalls have actually launched their new system?
Now, it is working for old purchased patterns. BUT it is impossible to buy new dowload pattern printable ! ANYWHERE !
New system : i don’t believe, impossible to buy a Simplicty, on Simplicity website dowload.
I bough it “paper version”.
Pierrette
Is printsew working for you? It’s not taking me anywhere!
No. Sorry : only working one week in last october !
Since nothing !
Hi filed a complaint with the BBB 2weeks ago.. idk what good that will do but I had to at least try. I’ve purchased quite a few patterns that I now have no access to and with the site being down I cant even open the one on my computer.. It says ‘server connection error’. Sheesh!
Hello, I found out that printsew doesn’t work anymore just few days ago, and I am pretty desperate.
I can’t find information anywhere but here, where I read your comments.
I hadn’t the chance to print all of the patterns I bought, I downloaded them but, obiviously, they are connected to the site and the files doesen’t work. Yay….!
Someone of you have been able to get any solution?
I sent a mail to the site, but I don’t think they will reply to me….
I have the exact same problem. Yesterday I wanted to visit printsew and saw that the site was down. I still have several patterns I want to print out! I have had several problems with printsew in the past but so far I always was able to solve it with the customer service but I don’t think that it will be that easy this time. I would be happy if anyone has any news on this.
I just recently spoke with someone at CSS and I can say with some certainty that the PrintSew contract has been terminated. Some McCalls patterns are now available as digital downloads, no special software needed. I realize that doesn’t help you to access the digital patterns you bought in the past when the company used PrintSew, but that’s the update as far as I know. I feel certain that PrintSew is not coming back.
I have downloaded the new locklizard version and downloades my purchased patterns and it worked but still cant buy any download and print patterns from sewingpattetns.com its still postal delivery only
Shutting down the Printsew site without notification is akin to daylight robbery and makes me very upset! I had purchased at least a dozen patterns still to print.
Ah the joys of the internet. Here today, gone tomorrow.
Lesson learner – don’t leave anything in the cloud!
For people like me who do not live in the USA
the digital patterns are fantastic and printsew was a very good option,
but now, where were the digital patterns that I bought?
Who can I claim?
Very bad of Printsew that disappeared without warning.
And I hope the companies of MCcalls, Vogue, Simplicity, New Look
put on sale all your available patterns in version to download.
Since to order them by mail, it´s expensive and take time to arrive
Print sew paper are more expansive than a paper pattern : paper + INK + tape !!!!!
I’m living in Belgium, I buy my pattern in UK.
Yes I had over 400 patterns – cant print them now.. pathetic.
If they are no longer connected to the major pattern companies – why not let us have standard PDFs of our purchased patterns – which they got the money for… they shouldnt care about piracy now….
I am NOT going to share the files – I just want them for me – and t be able to store them online digitally – not drawers and drawers of printed pattern
I received a reply as to why the download option was no longer available on sewingpatterns.com. David stated that the issue was being worked on and would be resolved shortly so I could make my purchases….this was back in April. I visited the sewingpatterns.com site recently and still no download option. Makes me sad because, although the printing, taping was a pain, it was a good way to build my patterns stash without having to deal with traffic and rude store clerks. I did notice that sometimes the lines on patterns pieces did not line up exactly but just used my curves and rulers and adjusted them as needed. I sent another inquiry on when the download option would be available again about 3 or so weeks ago….crickets…..no response. So sad this is no longer available.
As far as I know, CSS Industries is working to digitize their back catalog and is slowly releasing the patterns as digital patterns, not with the old PrintSew system. There are already several available on the McCalls website.
Hi, What about all the patterns I have at the printsew.com site? I can see them and download them but I cannot open them so I cannot use them. I paid for them and there is no one to help me access them.
Same here. After some time and effort trying to get some action from David Sharma to access my patterns and MUCH anger directed towards him, I’ve given them up, realised I was scammed and moved on. I now get my digital patterns from an independent company in Australia. I love their patterns, they fit well and the customer service is great.
I have been digitizing vintage patterns, and have really had success in formatting them for print in line with many of the instruction booklets. I put together a frame, if you will, for each page that shows where to cut it, how to line it up with the next page, and the layout does not leave you with a line across the bottom of one page, for instance. It’s all very neatly and efficiently fit together for printing on any page size you wish, large format down to letter size.
I’ve graded many of the patterns up to bigger sizes since they were only available in the one size you bought. It’s been a really fun project!
Wow wonderful
I can tell the pattern industry is changing. However, I don’t want to have to deal with the piecing, tapeing, cutting, etc. I think this will cripple the pattern industry because sewers will have variable problems as stated in the many comments I’ve read. Lets face it, in a perfect world everyone would not minding doing all that extra work themselves, but many people have yet to understand how to deal with a computer, printer, etc…it’s a different world. I have a large supply of printed patterns I’ve collected over the years and I will probably use those patterns in the future and ignore the digital ones coming on the market. I am quite computer literate, but I don’t have time for the extra work involved in these downloaded patterns. If it comes to using this self-print method, I will either use my printed patterns I already have, or stop sewing. I don’t think I am alone.
That’s too bad, Betty. It’s really not difficult and once you’ve done it once you might see the plus side in being able to instantly access a new pattern and print it infinitely at home (no more tracing) on sturdy paper. It truly only takes a short amount of time. The world is changing and that can be a good thing.
If no one minds printing their own patterns why is the Pattern Review website full of people asking where the best place is to go and get their pdf files printed at a copyship, complaining about the inaccuracy of fitting tiles together, the difficulty of storing such patterns and the added cost of downloading the pattern along with paying to have them printed. Not to mention the fact that in Canada, Staples and other copyshops won’t print them. As far as I am concerned going digital is just a profit grab
I suggest Simplicity form strategic partnerships with fabric stores to offer a printing service to customers for digital patterns to be printed in their stores. The average home sewer may not want to invest in a big plot printer so the pattern can be printed on a large sheet of paper. I definitely don’t have the time to print and tape letter or legal size paper together to then cut out after forming a pattern piece just to see a project.
I would appreciate a set up where I can go into a fabric store and print from my cloud storage a digitised pattern I bought from Simplicity. I would just pay the fabric store for my printout.
It’s awful. I purchased soooo many patterns a few years back through Sewingpatterns.com – the site still exists but they don’t honor anything you purchased previously. I have sent them numerous emails which have all gone unanswered. I am so disappointed that I didn’t print out all of the ones which I purchased. All were the vintage repos available at the time and now printsew.com no longer exists which puts me out of pocket and out of sewing patterns.
I used this service as I live in Mexico and I wasn’t able to buy and get the printed patterns shipped to me. And now I am sooo bummed that everything I spent my hard-earned cash on has been scammed, essentially, away from me.
Heather, I too am in this situation and I was of the understanding that if you purchased it digitally, it was yours to keep (and I refer to all things digital). Not revamp the website and delete all the previous purchases. The “1yr license” was a later addition, when I first started using sewingpatterns.com there was no time limit. I live in Australia and a printed pattern is approx $20, sewingpatterns.com offered then for about $6! It was so much more affordable. If I’d known then the affordability would be moot when they erased my access I’d have been more wary. I have also sent an email which has been ignored.
Years later and this still isn’t resolved.
I don’t believe electronic patterns will ever be accepted. There is too much customer work involved…we have too much to do already..
The best part of a digital file is that it can be projected onto the fabric and cut. If you don’t have the know how to digitally grade or adjust you can trace the desired piece, grade/adjust then cut. There are many ways to do this and have been for sometime, as most would like to spend more time sewing and creating. Time is precious after all.
As for companies taking money for digital patterns and then preventing access to them, surely that’s theft of some kind?!