too much to ask ( just a little rant)

Re: too much to ask ( just a little rant)

Trish--please email me, and include your email addy. We gotta tawk. Cea

I wasn't gonna confess this, but the thrift stores in my area seem to get a fair number of uncut (even unopened) Burda and Kwik-Sew patterns. I seem to be unable to walk past them without putting them in my shopping basket. I have boxes full of them - mens', womens', childrens', household decoration....it's like a disease. I know that they are good patterns, and that someone, somewhere needs them....even if that someone isn't me. In the back of my mind, I'm thinking that when (if?) I retire, I'll list them on eBay, or make a web page..... I just hope my kids don't someday discover these boxes and ask, "What the heck was she thinking?"

Oh well, the last few patterns I've bought have been Vogue designer patterns, so maybe I've got a distorted idea of prices :-/ And yes, there are 1/2 price specials from time to time, but they never seem to be when I want to sew something!

Liz

And just how much do you spend on fabric, needles, thread and all the other notions?

A good pattern is crucial to a good result, and most patterns have more than one thing in them. Also, there are only so many variations on sleeves, necklines, skirt styles etc.so with a collection of a dozen or so GOOD patterns you can make more or less anything you like.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

The cure for this disease is to get a full set, or as much as you can afford, of Wild Ginger software products, learn the programs and figure out how many of those patterns you can recreate with the software, and then find a good home for the patterns you rescued. At least it cured me.

Aaaha.....you have just made my point! Add to the price of the patterns those other necessities and your haand sewn item has just become outrageously expensive if you can't manage to get a few of those things with a coupon or on sale. Mind you, I enjoy sewing and creating many items for my family and friends.....but, I also realize full well that I spend a fortune each month at the fabric store. When I am really "naughty" I can spend $1000 a month.......and sew it all up. And, a good pattern is adored as long as it fits....but I have growing kids and those patterns have to keep flowing into my house on a regular basis. I lived in England for a year and it was really hard to pay full price....really stifled the creative flexibility.....because I had to think so much before I bought each pattern. No stash. I am just happy for the good sales.....that's all. I wince when I see the regular price printed on the envelopes. Joy

But Melinda, I don't _use_ the patterns. I hoard them. ;-)

Look at it this way:

A decent wedding dress costs about £1000 'off the peg', and 3 times that for a bespoke one: a Vogue pattern costs £12, fabric £300. How can you afford NOT to do it? If I add another £300 for making a simple wedding dress for someone, they are STILL winning!

A decent bespoke gents natty suit cost £2000 last time I spoke to Gieves & Hawkes of 1, Saville Row: the pattern is £12, the fabric and findings, £100. How can you afford NOT to sew? Oh, and it was another £800 for the waistcoat!

And my wedding dress pattern did my dress and several costumes, the bridesmaid pattern was used 4 times, and Alan's suit pattern several times (suit, trousers, sports jacket... ). I NEVER begrudge the pattern price, though I get them at half price when I can, and I do make sure I use them a lot. I made a suit for me out of hand woven silk tweed. I could never have afforded to BUY one, but even including the pattern, this was affordable! The jacket pattern was a freebie with a magazine, I used the skirt from a Vogue pattern I got as a 'buy one, get one free' offer, and the silk cost me £15 in a sale!

It's very hard to make savings on 'ordinary' clothes, but you need to do them to hone the skills so they are good enough to make the stuff you DO make the big savings on, like the posh frocks, the wedding toggery, the gent's natty suiting, the Goretex jackets, the personalized items, and the clothes that fit non-standard people!

I get the pattern mag on 'prescription', so I buy a whole bunch at once on their 'buy one, get one free' coupon.

I did, too. But now I can stroke pattern options with my mouse and have a million patterns, and still have more room in my shoebo^C^C^C^C^C^C house, too.

Ah - you think this because you're comparing! And when we compare, we take our own situation as the paradigm, which it probably isn't. In the US, many more things are commoditised than in Europe. So we Europeans think of your pricing as 'cheap' , whereas you think of ours as 'expensive'. Which of us is right? Is either of us right?

My friend Sietske exclaims in disgust at the price of flower bulbs in France - how can you afford it? she says. But she's Dutch - bulbs cost 1 euro for 500 there - they're about 62 times more expensive here.)

Pattern pricing here in Yurrup is a constraint, but not necessarily an inconvenience. It makes you think about what you need, rather than impulse-buying. I can't afford to invest in patterns I won't use, so I choose very carefully and, as you suggested, I do make each pattern a number of times (I usually work through all the options in the pack too). Alter the neck a little, a sleeve a little, change the fabric, change the colour - it's a new garment.

This is why PMB seems like a bargain to me - compared with the price I usually pay for patterns, I didn't have to make many garments for the program to pay for itself.

:) Trish

You jest... I pulled out the bidding for one pattern I wanted at 70 dollars. It went for 72 and I was - ahem - rather cross.

This is what happens when you have a seriously bad Miyake habit;)

Trish

A good plan, but my JoAnn's never has the patterns I want (or if on the off chance they do the size I need) in stock when they're on sale. So I end up buying on-line or paying full price. Fortunately, if I like the pattern, I tend to make it more than once.

Maureen

IMS wrote:

What is a natty suit? Sandy E

Natty, to translate as best I can, is fancy/elegant/snazzy. You're talking in the range of custom-made Armani for looks and quality. This is opposed to buying a suit off the rack at "Warehouse for Men."

Slang: Gentleman's posh suit. At that price, VERY posh suit!