This post started of as “One for the Kiwis” and was well-timed because recently I’ve found myself whining lamenting about the cost of postage that certain websites charge us to send things down to this little corner of the globe. Honestly, it can be ridiculous. But now there is a new option for us Kiwis, yay!
The wonderful Penny of dressesandme has launched her online pattern store stocking Indie patterns. She currently only has Sewaholic but Cake and Victory patterns are on their way and I hope she’ll get some more of our favourites in soon.
So if you are a Kiwi and thinking about joining in this month but need to buy a pattern then you should check her shop out. If you buy two patterns or more, postage is free.
I’ve had my calculator out and done a little bit of mathematics, it is indeed a much cheaper option! Let’s show her our support so that she can stock more and more labels and then we can have All The Patterns.
Go, buy, sew! 🙂
Right, next! There are a couple of other sew alongs happening this month that tie in nicely to our theme and I thought it was worth mentioning them here, click on the images for more info:
Hummingbird 30 Minutes A Day Sewalong – June 17-27 2013
DIdYouMakeThat Pyjama Party – Sewaholic Tofino Style
And lastly I was thinking about compiling a list of all the independent pattern companies but there are a couple of great bloggers who have already done all the hard work so instead of reinventing the sewing machine, here are their links:
A Good Wardrobe’s Independent Pattern Designers List
CurlsnSkirls’ Independent Pattern Designers List
How are you getting along with your Indie sewing? Some of you have already completed one (or more) item(s) and are moving on to another you awesome speedy stitchers you!
I’ll be starting on my Lady Grey this weekend so I’ll share some progress with you next week. I’ll also be starting on a top secret project that ties into Indie Pattern Month. I have been given the OK to blog about it but there will be a big reveal and I like the fun of keeping it a bit of secret until then. It’s all very exciting!
For now, here is a sneak peak of my fabric choice, some charcoal double knit (I’ve never sewn with double knit before!) and a left over piece of Rayon from an earlier project.
I think it’s going to be super pretty!
the curious kiwi 
Also, Sarah from sew squirrel.com.au has a shop that sells heaps of indie patterns and Julie patterns (I think there’s 72 in total) plus a couple of haberdashery things. She charges $3 postage to NZ – and when I ordered some patterns and she sent them in two lots (some were out of stock) she only charged once for postage. And it only took a couple of days to arrive.
Ps yay for fellow Wellington sewers 🙂
Awesome, sounds like a great source for patterns.
Yay for all the Wellington sewers, there are more of us out there than you might think 😉
OMG….. I’ve found you again!! I was a avid follower some time ago, then lost you. Looking forward to catching up 🙂
Yay, welcome back 🙂
Those fabrics look amazing together! I love them!
Thanks, I think it’s going to be fabulous! 🙂
Well, this is good news! I get them from SewSquirrel (or at least, I did before my self-imposed new sewing pattern buying ban – not helping the house deposit!) but it’s only marginally cheaper once you factor in the AUD-NZD exchange rate and shipping.
I’ve never heard of sew squirrel before – I guess any saving is a bonus, maybe faster postage too 🙂
Thanks for the shout out! Cake patterns have arrived from printer and are on there wa to NZ – woohoo!
Yay, and yummy, more pattens, more! 😉
I agree postage is just a killer! Love that Penny has taken the leap on behalf of all of us here in NZ. I too have spied your fabric labels, I was just thinking the other day that I really need to label my stash so I can remember how much I paid so I can start to cost out each garment. Your labels are soon cute.
We are so lucky someone has taken the initiative 🙂 Ahh yes, my fabric labels, I should do a post one day soon about how I keep track and organise my stash. I just like to remember (when I finally use a piece) where it came from and how much it cost. I don’t stress about pricing out each project but sometimes if a piece was particularly cheap and it ends up being a really nice garment it’s a bonus.
Oh my, I’ve just checked out one of those lists, there’s so many independent pattern companies. Three cheers to dressesandme for starting up a shop.
Buy them all Nikki 😉
Hi as a fellow kiwi I agree that the horrendous postage is a stumbling block to purchasing these patterns. Even Style Arc from across the ditch are postage expensive. I have just discovered a Russian pattern site where you plug in your measurements and the pattern is available for download. The price is modest and you can download a freebie to try. Link is http://www.lekala.co/. Looking forward to seeing what people make for this sewalong.
The Lekala patterns are great, I just bought 2 of their CDs for only a few dollars each but have yet to try them.
I recently was about to order a couple of Hotpatterns on sale (now out of print and therefore only hard copy versions). When I looked at the postage I was horrified; it was so high there was not way even 50% off the price of the patterns could induce me to purchase. I have made some progress on my sewing; finished a few seams yesterday and hope to complete one garment on the weekend.
Argh the dreaded postage calculator. I was looking at buying some of those cute Simplicity vintage posters, I added 5 to the cart (to make up minimums and I thought I could share with some friends) the posters totalled NZD$60 and the postage was also NZD$60! Crazy!
Hi – just noticed your fabric labels – cool idea – want to tell us more about this approach? I’m of to check out the dressesandme web site- so exciting
Oh yes, those are my nerdy fabric labels, hehe, I like to remember where I got my fabric from when I finally use it and how much it cost. One day soon I will do a post on how I organise (and keep track of!) my fabric stash 🙂