a different way to become a designer
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The other day, I began sharing with you my story about transitioning into becoming a clothing and pattern designer. I told you how I left my job to return to school and learn the art of creating sewing patterns. I also mentioned that I’d tell you more about the approach I’ve developed for teaching the patternmaking techniques I use when designing my sewing patterns. Well, today is the day I fulfill that promise.
What we're doing when we customize patterns here on the blog is quite similar to what professional patternmakers do. Established apparel companies typically have a collection of block patterns—these are patterns that fit well and have proven successful for that company. Creating and grading these patterns into various sizes requires a lot of time and expertise. However, once a pattern is perfected, it becomes a block pattern that can be modified in countless ways.
A block pattern allows patternmakers to develop new designs without starting from scratch every single time. After all, if you already have a pattern that fits well, why not use it as a foundation to create other styles that also fit well? This ensures a consistent fit across a brand's collection.
When working with block patterns, patternmakers are essentially customizing their base pattern. Once they've developed a block, they build upon it, creating variation after variation. Mastering the ability to customize all the key components of a block pattern gives patternmakers the flexibility to bring nearly any design idea to life. Take a block dress pattern, for instance. By adding a Peter Pan collar and pleats to the skirt, you instantly create a new style. Does that make sense?
As I reflected on this process, I realized that if I crafted a high-quality block pattern for you, I could walk you through customizing every detail—piece by piece, step by step. And if I provided comprehensive instructions, covering all the possible elements of the block and demonstrating how to modify each in multiple ways, you'd be able to achieve what I originally aimed to do when I first moved to New York—before I ever enrolled in patternmaking school. You could design your own garments, develop patterns using the block as your starting point, and sew the final product.
With this block pattern and set of customization instructions, you’d be able to design and create your own patterns just like professional designers and patternmakers—without needing years of training and experience. And you wouldn’t have to begin from scratch every time.
Now, you might think this sounds complex, but trust me, it’s not. I know you can do it because we’ve been guiding you through similar processes with our customizing tutorials on the blog.
Since I was so passionate about teaching you these skills, and I’ve seen your interest through your responses to our tutorials and the questions you’ve asked over the years, it seemed logical to compile everything into one cohesive resource. And the best format for that would be a book.
But before we dive deeper, let’s talk about craft books. Have you noticed that many people write one and never write another? Here’s why. Writing a craft book today doesn’t make much financial sense for most authors. People usually write books to boost their visibility or establish credibility. It’s like a calling card—if you’ve written a book, you gain a certain level of prestige. People respect book authors. You can host book signings and events, and people will take you seriously. But in reality, authors don’t earn much money from a craft book.
It took about two years to write my first book, from the initial drafting to the final print. That doesn’t include the time I spent conceptualizing the projects or promoting the book when it launched. My first book ended up with 20 complete sewing patterns, each with detailed instructions. That’s roughly five years’ worth of new Oliver + S patterns for us.
Today, most books sell on Amazon at prices far below the publisher’s suggested retail price. These discounts affect the author’s earnings significantly. Want to guess how much I earn per copy of *Oliver + S Little Things to Sew* (with a suggested retail price of $27.50) sold on Amazon? Take a moment to think about it. Close your eyes and come up with your best estimate.
Alright, I’m still here. What did you guess? Ten dollars? Five? Three? No. For every copy sold on Amazon, I earn 55 cents. Not because Todd got a bad deal with the publisher, but because that’s simply how the book industry works today. It works well for someone like J.K. Rowling, but not for craft book authors.
My first book sold fairly well, according to our publisher. As of the latest report, we’ve sold around 20,000 copies. If you do the math, you’ll see that it’s impossible for me to write another book under these conditions. Even if we had doubled our sales, the numbers wouldn’t add up. Despite our publisher’s encouragement over the years, Todd and I couldn’t justify the effort. Writing a book takes two years, during which I wouldn’t have time to design many sewing patterns, yet I’d be working just as hard, if not harder. Feeding our family solely on book sales isn’t feasible—not even with our modest expenses.
But I was determined to write this book. I obsessed over it for a long time. Eventually, we decided to self-publish. It was the only way we could make this project viable.
For this new book, we handled everything ourselves: writing, illustrating, photography, design, printing, and distribution—just like we do with our sewing patterns. It was an exhilarating challenge to take on all these roles, but it also allowed us to justify writing another book since we retained control of the publishing process and earned more per copy sold.
However, I’ll admit it’s nerve-wracking to know that I’ve invested a couple of years into this project and committed to printing thousands of copies before selling any. To some extent, we’re risking a lot with this endeavor. Two years of our time and significant financial investment are at stake. Yet, we embrace challenges and are willing to take calculated risks.
We were so passionate about this concept and empowering you to become a designer that we believed it was worth it. And we hope you agree.
The outcome of all this effort is a unique guide that walks you through every step of designing a dress, modifying the pattern, and sewing it. You won’t need to quit your job or spend a year studying to accomplish this.
I’ll share how it all came together and what the final book looks like on Thursday. I can’t wait! Are you excited too?
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