Podcast Episode #260: Jess Barrera of Sallie Tomato
In this podcast interview, Jess Barrera talks about how she built her bag sewing pattern and supplies business, Sallie Tomato.
Podcast Episode #238: Gretchen Hirsch
In this podcast interview, sewing pattern designer Gretchen Hirsch traces the development of her career from working in publishing to starting a blog to writing books and creating an indie sewing pattern company.
Podcast Episode #202: Wendy Ward
In this podcast episode, sewing pattern designer and teacher Wendy Ward talks about her career path from working for a fast fashion brand to learning about sustainable sewing practices to teaching and authoring sewing books.
McCalls Printing Plant to Close By the End of the Year
The McCalls printing plant in Manhattan, Kansas, will shut down at the end of 2021. The plant, currently employs 85 people and prints and folds sewing pattern tissue.
Podcast Episode #148: Sarah Kirsten
On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building a new sewing blog and business with my guest, Sarah Kirsten Anderson of the blog and sewing […]
Simplicity and McCall’s Likely to Launch New Digital Pattern System Shortly
Simplicity and McCalls 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 McCalls in 2016 and Simplicity in 2017, now owns all of the major sewing pattern brands.
McCall’s Simplicity Merger Points to the Market Impact of Independent Sewing Pattern Companies
The home sewing industry is sorely lacking in good longitudinal data. The Association for Creative Industries does a survey every few years about the crafts industry as a whole, and Quilts, Inc. does the same for quilting but granular data about the sewing pattern market is very hard to come by. This makes it hard to know how the industry is changing.
Those of us who are involved in the sewing community know that over the past 10-15 years independent sewing pattern designers have poured onto the scene, many of them creating thriving businesses with lots of momentum. This year, I think we’re seeing hard evidence of their impact on the industry for the first time.
Podcast Episode #63: Jenny Rushmore of Cashmerette Patterns
On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about the ins and outs of starting an indie sewing pattern business with my guest, Jenny Rushmore. We recorded […]