AWOL Sewjo

Gah. I hadn't realized that it's been nearly two months since I've posted anything here.  I have gotten a few messages and emails wondering where I've been, and I thank everyone who has sent those.

The truth is that I've been dealing with Life for the past few months and a disturbing lack of sewjo. The lack of sewjo has killed any desire that I've had to blog about sewing, and with my nearly non-existent free time, I've been writing about other non-sewing related things (not writing on a blog or anything, though).

I am really hoping that this is all just temporary, but in the past few months, I've been dealing with the following things:

• My preschool-aged daughter has started getting up a lot earlier in the morning than she used to. If you'll recall, I used to get up and sew before work in the morning. That hasn't been happening because I'm usually putting on my "mommy hat" as soon as I'm waking up these days. 
• Husband has turned into a gym rat and typically goes in the evening after I get home from work. This means that I need to be a mommy after work and thus, there goes any evening time that I had to sew.
• Husband also had surgery related to his chronic acid reflux issue, so there's been that, too.
• And here's the big one:  My mom moved up to the Seattle area and lives about 10 minutes away from us now. (If you've been following my blog for a while, you might recall that we lost my dad to cancer about a year ago.)  Having her so close by and trying to help her adjust and keep her spirits up has been a learning experience. Yes, I know that I need to set some boundaries, but I'm still not yet sure what boundaries I'm comfortable with yet.

On a related note to the last item, I've started a personal writing project related to my dad and what we went through with his illness. It's something that I've felt like I needed to do for a while but wasn't emotionally ready to tackle until recently. I may or may not seek to do anything with it beyond letting it sit in Google docs--I'm really hoping to put a humorous spin on some topics that people don't really talk about publicly (at least in the US). We'll see.

So that's the deal with me. I am still trying to sew a bit here and there, but it's going monumentally slow, which is frustrating. I've been working on the same shirtdress (from a McCall's pattern) for the past month. I have finished a few things that I haven't photographed or blogged--my favorite of which has been the Blank Slate Rivage Raglan (okay, I was a tester for that one), which I love because it has the PERFECT amount of easy--not too baggy and not too tight. Sometimes you hit a homerun with a simple pattern!

I am hoping that when my life calms down a bit and I figure out what sort of time management adjustments I need to make, my sewing will become more inspired and I will want to start blogging again. In the meantime, I am still writing my occasional posts over at the Curvy Sewing Collective, which I know that many of you follow. :)

PatternReview: Plus Sized thread trainwreck

I hadn't planned to write this post, but I wanted to open a discussion about a trainwreck of a thread that happened in the PatternReview forums last weekend. I tried to let this go, but it's been bothering me. While I wouldn't normally post about a PR thread here on my blog, but based on what happened there, I felt that taking things off of PR was the best place to voice my concerns. I feel that the "trainwreck thread" is indicative of some bigger issues in that community.

 

The Incident

 

So...what actually happened?

I was browsing the PatternReview forums over the weekend, and a new thread in the low-traffic forums caught my eye. The title of the thread was "Plus Size Resources," and the thread was started by Madeline, a new PatternReview employee, who is supposed to be helping out with order fulfillment, customer service, and site blog posts, among other things.  Here is the original, first post (captured by a savvy reader and later re-posted on a GOMI thread):

I am collecting information that pertains to plus size pattern companies, online fabric stores that cater to plus size people, and other companies that provide things for plus size sewists. Please comment below and let me know what are your favorite pattern companies, fabric stores, etc who cater to you.

We all want to look like giant tomatoes, right?

Um, what?

I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, figuring that she was either putting something together for a PatternReview blog post or for the upcoming "plus size" sewing contest, so I posted a few pattern companies with inclusive size ranges and asked what she meant by "fabric stores that cater to plus size people," since I, and all of the other plus size sewists I know, all shop at the same places that thinner women shop at.

• A few other PR posters also posted in response things like, "You mean, where do I get my tentmaking supplies?" and other jokes along that line.
• The OP then returns and states that she's a new PR employee and that she was trying to find some new corporate sponsors for PR that were more friendly to plus sizes.
• The forum posters pointed out that she had asked some odd questions and that most of what she was asking could easily be found via Google. 
• There was a bunch of weirdness where the OP edited posts, got argumentative, made a few "sorry not sorry" posts, and said some weird things about the Eiffel tower. As more people called her out on her actions and suggested more diplomatic ways to pose her questions, she appeared to get angrier. More apologies along the lines of "I'm sorry your feelings were hurt" without actually apologizing for what she said or how she framed her question, etc.
• Finally a mod locked the thread.
• The next day, Deepika posted something about the OP being a new employee who was learning.
• Fairly soon after that, the thread was deleted, reminding us all where the "Deletka" nickname came from.

(For those interested, there's a funnier recap in the "Hate Read" thread on GOMI. No, I'm not a hamcat, but I do lurk.)

 

PatternReview, Inclusivity, Censorship, and You

 

I see two major issues with last weekend's incident: censorship and inclusivity.

PatternReview moderators have a long history of deleting forum threads when the threads get too heated. An overwhelming number of these deleted threads are political in nature. I can remember a handful of non-political threads getting heated and deleted though--there was a particularly infamous one on breastfeeding, and of course, a thread calling out the PR moderators for too heavily moderating the forums.

The only reason that I can think of for the "Plus Size Resource" thread getting deleted is that it made PatternReview look bad. The OP's responses lacked maturity and professionalism, and of course, that reflects poorly on PR. Unlike most deleted threads, the PR members participating in the thread weren't slinging insults at each other or otherwise at each others' throats. In fact, many of them wrote thoughtful and insightful posts as to how plus sized people are treated, both in the sewing industry and in society in general. I would have liked to have seen the thread remain open because it brought up some painful, but important points to many of us who fall outside of a Misses' size range.
 
I don't feel that PatternReview is a particularly inclusive community. The community demographic has gotten narrower and narrower in the ~8 years that I've been a member. Whereas there used to be a decent number of plus sized members who'd regularly post pattern reviews, that number has waned considerably in recent years.

For most "contests", most of winners determined by votes from fellow PR members. These winners are nearly always slender and are always well-photographed. If someone raises this concern in the PR forums, someone will point out that "Debbie won the such-and-such contest." Well yes, Debbie, did win a couple of contests...and I think those contest wins were probably about six years ago at this point. The "young, thin, and slim" contest advantage was brought up enough times that last year, some members nominated the idea of having an "Over 50" and a "Plus size" contest to level the playing field for those parts of the community.  There were actually then people who bitched that a "plus size" contest wasn't inclusive to thinner members.

Burda Plus Sack of Shame

The contests aren't the only part of PR where I don't feel entirely comfortable, though. While the forums can be great places to ask questions and get help quickly, I also see a lot of body snark there. The body snark doesn't just come from the size 6 "ladies who lunch" who complain "OMG, my thighs are so fat!" One woman wrote a post where she was clearly offended that someone had checked the "plus size" and "regular" boxes on an old pattern review, causing the "plus size" designation to persist to all future reviews, because she was NOT a plus size. Personally, I've had some rather rude comments posted on reviews that I've made (under the guise of "helping" or telling me what was "flattering"), and I know that I'm not alone in those experiences.

When the Curvy Sewing Collective launched last year, I'd hoped that it might become my new online sewing "home" and that I could leave PR behind. At this point, I feel like the CSC is still finding its footing, and the forums don't see enough activity to really be a viable replacement for PR yet. Many communities have growing pains, though, so I'm still holding out hope that interaction level will increase at the CSC, making the CSC will become a viable alternative to PR.

For those of you reading this post, I have a few questions:

• Do you participate on PatternReview? Why or why not?
• If you are on PR, does PR have issues with inclusivity (or lack of it) and censorship?
• What do you expect and want to see in your ideal online sewing community?

Note that I won't delete your comments if you disagree with me. (The only comments that I will consider deleting here are ones that contain body snark, because hey, you've got most of the rest of the Internet for that.)

Quick hits and random bits

I still don't have a finished project to show you. I did finish that pattern that I tested on time, but won't be able to blog about it until release. Actually, ideally, I won't blog about it until I've made another version from the final pattern and then can show you the "before" and "after" photos, which may or may not be interesting.

In the meantime, here's what's going on with me:

• I've cut out the StyleArc Elle pants and put them aside. Actually those were cut out just before I started on that pattern test, and that's the only reason that they were put aside.
  
  

  

  StyleArc Elle pant
  

• I've cut out and set aside the HotPatterns Sakura Bomber jacket. This one was also started and put aside for pattern testing. I actually put this aside because on the morning that I was going to actually start sewing it, I felt more like cutting things out, and so I cut out the Elle pants instead.

• Neither of these are difficult patterns at all and should be relatively quick sews, but oooh....shiney! Seeing all of the coat posts from everyone, including the Leanne Marshall coat sewalong on Pattern Review kicked my butt into gear on really wanting to get going on that coat.

Simplicity Leanne Marshall coat

I did cut out my paper pattern pieces and have just gotten started on my initial round of my standard alterations (petiting, FBA, etc). The sleeve checks out to be an okay width if I were wearing it over something close-fitting, but as a coat, I think I'm going to want to widen it some. (Sometimes I need to increase sleeve width; sometimes I don't. Toddler mom arms, I guess.)  I am hoping to get a muslin at least partially sewn over the long Thanksgiving weekend that we have in the US. Early reports from the online sewing community are that the coat lacks the ease that a coat should and that the zipper instructions are a disaster, so this could be an interesting project. I'll be making the final version from a gorgeous peacock blue wool that I bought from Fashionista Fabrics a few years ago. It's been sitting around waiting for the perfect pattern and for my skills to catch up, and I think it's finally time to bring this fabric out of my stash.

• I took advantage of Crafty's Black Friday sale and signed up for the two sloper classes from Suzy Furrer (skirt and bodice sloper) for $19.95 each. I don't see myself tackling these before the first of the new year, but I do really want to give them a try. With my fitting issues, I am hoping that these will be a huge help to fitting wovens and/or maybe trying my hand at drafting something for myself.
• At the moment, I am signed up to attend the trunk show with Jen from Grainline Studios at a local fabric shop, Drygood Designs on Saturday morning. I'm really looking forward to this and have never attended a trunk show before; HOWEVER, according to weather underground, it's supposed to snow all night Friday night into Saturday morning, which would put a crimp in those plans. As I'm sure you're completely shocked to read, I drive a Prius, which doesn't exactly have all-wheel drive, and snow happens so rarely in the Seattle area that our streets won't likely be plowed, so that leaves me with no safe way to get to the trunk show. I had been hoping to try on an Archer sample, get an idea of what sort of FBA (and other alterations) I'd need and be able to skip a first muslin on that one. On the other hand, I can think of far worse ways to spend a Saturday morning than playing in the snow with my family.

 Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I am hoping that my next non-pattern news post will include photos of the Leanne Marshall coat muslin. IF that muslin is a total disaster (I don't expect it to be, though), I'm going to move on and muslin the new Butterick coat pattern with cup sizes instead (Butterick B6143).

Whatever happened to....[Pattern Company]?

Lately, it seems like every time you sneeze, a new indie pattern company pops up somewhere. I've been realizing just how many of these are popping up since I started writing my This Week in Patterns posts a couple of months ago. Especially with so many of these companies offering basic, similar designs, I'm really wondering if and when the bubble is going to burst for some of these newcomers. I just don't see this being sustainable from a market perspective. I mean, how many kimono-sleeve tops and A-line skirts does a person need?

I've been thinking a bit lately about the indie pattern companies that were around when I first started sewing in 2007, and a few immediately spring to mind that are no longer around or actively releasing patterns. 

Gone or MIA

• Betsy Ross Patterns: Before Colette and other hold-your-hand-while-sewing vintage-inspired indies arose, there were Betsy Ross Patterns. (I think I learned about them via Bust Magazine.)
  At the time, they were the only indie that I could recall that was targeting younger sewists. Most indies at that time seemed geared more towards art-to-wear or a much more mature aesthetic than mine, so Betsy Ross intrigued me.
  
  I never sewed any of their patterns, however. Even though I was much thinner back then, their largest size still topped out at a 41" bust and a 45" hip. My bust was slightly larger and hips were smaller than that, and I just figured that I was out of luck with their patterns. They closed up shop a few years ago, and now you can't even find a link to their website via google.
  
  

  

  Betsy Ross - cropped jacket
  

• Go Patterns: Not to be confused with current kids' pattern company Go To Patterns, Go Patterns was an indie that produced sewing patterns focusing on couture techniques. The had a Little Black Dress sheath dress pattern that was all the rage on Pattern Review for a while. Then they released a second pattern (a cape), and then...nothing.
  
  

  

  Go Patterns sleeveless dress
  

  
  Their patterns were above my skill level, but I liked their sophisticated designs and liked that they targeted more advanced sewists (for when I was ready for that).

Lower Profiles

• Jalie Patterns: While still definitely an active pattern company, Jalie released its last batch of patterns in May of this past year. However, their last two releases before that were in March 2013 and October 2011. I love the large size ranges of their patterns (covering both my two-year-old daughter and my plus sized self), but wow, they go a long time between releases. Their solid drafting and instructions has earned them a loyal following, so I doubt they're in any danger of disappearing.
• Knipmode Magazine: In my early days of sewing, the big pattern magazines for women were Burda Fashion (before being rebranded as BurdaStyle), Ottobre Woman, and Knipmode, a Dutch magazine whose garments often had interesting draping and seaming details. They had several online distributors where you could easily order single issues in the US, and a steady stream of reviews on Pattern Review. A few years ago, though, they had a few management changes and their magazines became difficult to obtain in the US. On top of that, their designs got a lot more basic and a lot less original. You just don't see them mentioned much any more, although I guess you can buy a lot of their patterns as PDF downloads now.

The Current Crop of Indies

Of the current crop of indies, I wonder if we're already starting to see some yellow flags. Cake Patterns had a very public (and very unprofessional) social media meltdown last year and has barely been heard from since. By Hand London stopped all sales of PDF patterns, possibly because those PDF sales were cutting into the sales of their overstock of print patterns. I've read posts from other bloggers where a designer got snippy with them on their blog because of a less-than-glowing review. I have to wonder what the business plans are for these companies, given some of this head-scratching behavior.

The other thing that really stands out to me now that I've been paying a lot closer attention to pattern releases is that beyond slight differences in online personalities, I can't really differentiate between a lot of the newer indies. In a crowded market space, smaller companies have to find a strong niche to thrive, and I really wonder what the niche is for some of these designers. What makes you different from one hundred or so other indie designers out there, and why should I buy your pattern? Especially when so many of your patterns look like other patterns out there? And why does it seem like so many indie designers are targeting a beginner sewing market? With a few exceptions, where are my indie patterns for fly-front trousers, jeans, jackets, and coats?

Final Thoughts

On a contrasting note, I threw my hat in the ring and was selected to test a new pattern by a new designer. I volunteered to do so because she posted a pic of an earlier version of the design, and I loved it. It's very "me", and when I do eventually post photos, you'll know in a heartbeat why I was interested in this pattern for myself. There are also some very unique things about the construction and seaming of this pattern, and I'm really excited about it. There's a new type of welt pocket involved that I've never seen before. I'll actually *gasp* learn a new technique from this project! To me, that's the sort of thing that makes an indie pattern worth the extra cost.

Around the world blog hop

L over at You sew, girl! has invited me to participate in the Around the World Blog Hop. I "met" L online on Pattern Review way back around the time that I started sewing in 2007.  At the time, we were both struggling with trying to fit our short, curvy figures. (I'd recently lost a lot of weight at that time, which I wound up re-gaining in subsequent years.) I always felt like we had a lot in common, even though we've never met in person: we're about the same age, both have degrees in STEM fields, and have very independent personalities.

As part of the blog hop, we are asked to answer four questions and invite up to three other bloggers to participate.

About Me

I was born in Chicago to Chicago-native parents, but we moved to San Diego, California when I was four years old when my dad's job was transferred there. I have been told that certain words still have a slight Chicago-twang to them when I pronounce them. My dad is of half-Danish and half-Swedish descent, so for better or for worse, I often identify with a lot of the midwestern Scandinavian stereotypes. My parents are still together (40+ years!), and I have one brother, who is a little less than four years younger than I am.

Danish open-faced sandwich

I grew up in San Diego, played clarinet in my high school band, and did a lot of the dumb things that high school band kids do. After high school, I wanted to get as far away from San Diego as in-state college tuition would let me go, so I headed to UC Santa Cruz, home of the Banana Slugs. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in marine biology and soon found out that it was impossible to find a paid position doing field research with only a bachelor's degree. Having a BA in a scientific field led to me working as a lab tech at a biotech company in San Diego (HATED that), which, in a round about way, led to me doing software QA and training for a genomics software company in Palo Alto. I stayed in the Bay Area during the dot-com boom and bust and have the accompanying war stores to show for it. During that time I "settled in" to a career as a technical writer because I found software interesting, and it paid the bills.

In 2002, I moved back to San Diego to be closer to my family. In 2005, I met my husband through an online social group, and we started dating in 2006.

David and me at Tony Gwynn's Hall-of-Fame induction ceremony, Cooperstown, NY (2007)

Frustrated with RTW and looking for a new creative outlet, I started sewing in 2007. I was hooked, and have been sewing ever since. David and I were married in 2009, and after a few fertility-related bumps in the road, had our beautiful daughter, Eva in 2012.

Last year, life threw us another curveball when I was unexpectedly laid off from my job. We had just sold the condo that I'd bought back in my bachelorette days, and with no ties to San Diego outside of my parents, I accepted a job offer from a Large, Seattle-based Tech Company, and so we relocated to the Pacific Northwest. I've actually gotten to experience seasons and see snow since moving up here! Plus, the fabric shopping here is WAY better than it was in San Diego.

What am I working on?

In the immediate future, I've got a couple of projects for my daughter in-process and on deck. My husband commented about a week ago that Eva didn't really have any lightweight jackets or sweaters that fit her any more, so I just started on the Blank Slate Patterns Zippy Jacket for her.

In progress: Blank Slate patterns Zippy Jacket

Like anyone else who sews for a daughter/niece/granddaughter, I'll be making an Elsa dress for Eva's Halloween costume this year. As a feminist, I really detest the whole Disney princess thing, but for reasons that are at least a whole other blog post, I really love Frozen and its positive messages (not just for girls, but for everyone), and Eva loves the movie, too. I'll be making the Simplicity version of the dress:

Simplicity's Frozen costume patterns

For myself, I'll be participating in the Curvy Sewing Collective's wrap dress sewalong, which starts in a week. (I still haven't decided between my candidate patterns, yet.)

On top of that, I pulled out my fabric and pattern for a new winter coat, which I desperately need before the temperatures drop into the 30s. And, as the esteemed Debbie Cook recently commented, I really need to just make the Colette Hawthorn already.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I'm not sure that I have a set genre? Plus sized sewist/sewing blogger? Yup, I'm that, but I also sew a fair amount for my daughter--in fact, I've been sewing quite a bit for her lately because she shot up in height over the summer.

I do think that my work/blogging differs a bit from some of the other plus sized sewing bloggers out there in that I largely sew casual clothes. With a toddler and a corporate job in an extremely casual work environment, wiggle dresses don't really have a place in my lifestyle. I wear mostly knit tops and jeans or knit dresses most of the time, and my sewing reflects this. As far as my blogging goes, I ramble a lot about patterns that I'd like to sew, and sometimes I touch on subjects related to being a plus sized sewist. Body shaming makes me sad and angry, and my posts reflect this.

How does my writing/creative process work?

With sewing for myself, I really struggle between balancing "needs" and wardrobe holes with "Oooh, shiny!" I also tend to procrastinate on projects for myself when I know that fitting will be a PIA.

When I sew for Eva, it's a little easier for me to focus on sewing things that she needs, and as a growing kid, there's always something that she needs, and it seems like there's always a cute pattern that I want to sew that fits that need.

As far as writing and blogging go, I'll typically blog about a finished project (successful or unsuccessful) as soon as I have a photo or two of myself wearing the garment. For my non-finished project posts, I have a bunch of "draft" posts saved where I'll jot down bits and pieces of that I want to talk about. I try to blog at least twice a week--one post is usually a "finished project" post, and then the other post is typically something else sewing-related. Usually, the "something else" post comes from one of the draft posts that I've fleshed out. Occasionally, something will happen that will inspire me to write (such as the recent launch of a new plus sized indie pattern company), and I'll just whip up a post on the spot.

Next up on the blog tour....

I've asked BeaJay of On the Road to Sew Where to be our next stop on the Around the World Blog Hop. BeaJay sews a lot of wonderful clothing with StyleArc patterns, and I love her always positive and encouraging attitude. I'm also working on lining up another blogger or two to participate.