Even printers with the best intentions become mysteriously confusing sometimes, and when you’re trying to print a sewing pattern you need as little mystery as possible! Here’s our best advice from afar and the print settings that have worked for us! Hopefully they’ll de-mystify the printing process for you too!
What is a Hacking Guide?
A hacking guide is really a possibility guide. It’s a collection of really good ideas and how to make them happen. It’s taking lots of the options (the ones we can think of, though there are surely more) and laying them all out on the table. Read all about Hacking Guides here.
What will I get in a PDF pattern download?
The pattern will come to you as a zip file.
Once you unzip the file, you’ll have a Pattern Folder which contains an Instructions PDF, a Print-at-Home Pattern PDF, a Copy Shop Pattern PDF (usually A0 size). If you are using the Print-at-Home option, you will use your home printer to print the pattern on many regular pieces of paper which you will then tape together to make the pattern.
Here’s an example of how a print-at-home pattern is divided up into smaller pieces of paper that get taped together:
How do I download the PDF patterns I’ve purchased from Etsy?
When you purchase a pdf pattern, Etsy will send you a confirmation email with a download link for the pattern. Since these are zip files, we recommend that you wait to download them to a computer, and not a phone!
You can also access and download the files from your Etsy Profile, under “Purchases and Reviews” when logged in on desktop. To the right of the purchase, it should say “Ready to Download” and have a button that says “Download Files”!
Just a heads up, sometimes the download links take a few moments to appear, while Etsy processes the payment. (Usually this is pretty instantaneous!) Also, the Etsy mobile app doesn’t have download links — just the web browser!
I bought a pattern but Etsy never sent the download link! Or I had it once but I lost it! What do I do?
First place to look is in your Etsy Profile, under Purchases and Reviews. Or in your spam folder, just to double check for the automatic email Etsy sends with the links to download the files. But sometimes the system glitches and those avenues don’t work…
Send us a message on Etsy with your order number, and we’ll be happy to re-send your files to you! Or if you can’t log into Etsy, send us an email at hello@allwellworkshop.com with your order number and we’ll help get it figured out!
My pattern isn’t printing correctly! What do I do?
Check out our Printing Help Page! It has all our best tips for printing your sewing pattern at home! Printers are unruly, and weird stuff happens sometimes that we don’t know how to troubleshoot. Please understand that we can’t solve all printer problems, and all of our best tips and tricks (that solve the problems in the vast majority of cases) are outlined in the Printing Help Page! If it’s really not working for you and you need a refund for your pattern purchase, we’ll be very happy to work with you to make that happen – just reach out!
Okay, I’ve printed out my pattern – how do I put it together?
It’s kind of like a puzzle. Cut off the margin on two of the sides of every page (we like to cut the right and bottom margins) then align the alignment circles and tape the pages together. We usually work all the way across a row, then continue with the row below it and so on. Accuracy is important here, so work slowly and carefully! Watch a movie! Listen to a podcast! Each pattern has a guide to show you how all the pages will be arranged, and they’re also marked with Letters and Numbers. The numbers refer to the rows (horizontal) and the letters refer to the columns (vertical). It’s slightly tedious, but we promise the pattern is worth the time spent tiling the pattern!
Is my pattern missing a page?
It might seem like it is but it isn’t! We work hard to think sustainably and thoughtfully about resources, so all of our patterns are designed to print on as few pages as possible. If a page doesn’t print, it’s because it has no pattern content on it! Many of our patterns use this strategy in the print-at-home file, and we get questions about it sometimes. You can see an example of this in the example pattern above – that section of missing paper in the bottom left hand corner is missing because those would print as blank pages – better to use that paper for something else!
Why don’t you offer print patterns?
We do not have any printed versions of our digital pdf patterns available, but print versions of the All Well Box Top, the All Well Cardigan Coat, and eight of our bag patterns are available all together in our book, How to Sew Clothes! Find out lots more about our book and order it here!
If you want a printed version of our digital pdf patterns without needing to print it yourself at home, head to your local copy shop or check out pdfplotting.com or Spool and Spindle! And check out our prints and zines in our etsy shop!
Can I sell items I made using your patterns?
All of our sewing patterns are licensed for personal use only. This means that you can make as many items using the patterns for yourself or to give as gifts as you’d like, but you can’t sell items made from our patterns. Feel free to reach out to us (hello@allwellworkshop.com) about this if you have further questions!
Can I teach your pattern as a class or workshop at my local sewing shop / studio?
It depends on the details, but most often the answer is “yes”! We love sewing classes and local sewing shops and it’s always exciting when our patterns become workshops! You’ll need to buy a license of the pattern for each person involved in the class. Reach out to us at hello@allwellworkshop.com to tell us about your idea – often we can give you a bulk discount on the pattern licensing! If you’d like to teach a class with the All Well Full Moon Bag, our free pattern, you are very welcome to do so – but we’d love to know about it so we can be excited with you!
Will you produce my sewing pattern?
Because we are so excited to be focusing on producing our All Well patterns, we aren’t taking outside projects at this time – though we may offer consultation, etc. in the future. For now, if you’re curious about producing sewing patterns, reach out via email (hello@allwellworkshop.com) and we would be happy to share the resources we’ve used to produce ours! We also wrote a blog post about how we develop sewing pattern instructions at all well!
Where do you get your leather straps? What about your zippers?
We’ve been sourcing from some great etsy shops lately for our samples! Find leather here and zippers here. Lots of our other tools and notions come from Gold Star Tool and Wawak.
How do you find so much secondhand fabric?
Sheer willpower and commitment! Haha. We regularly check out our local Creative Reuse store and local thrift store linens sections for treasures, and there’s a huge annual secondhand fabric sale in Amy’s area where she stocks up. It’s really important to us to source materials sustainably and responsibly, and using secondhand and deadstock fabric as much as possible is part of that. It’s also much cheaper than buying new fabric, so it significantly helps keep costs and overhead down.
Can people of any gender sew/wear garments and bags from the patterns?
The garment and bag patterns are not gendered and we’ve heard from lots of people who’ve sewn and enjoyed them. Keep in mind that most of our testers have been women or non-binary people, so you may find that you want to make fit adjustments when you’re making your test garment. The instructions provide notes on places you might want to add or remove length, or otherwise pay attention to decisions you’re making along the way to get them just how you’d like them.
Are your patterns available in any languages other than English?
Sorry, not at the moment!
What are your favorite business tools?
For our website, we use squarespace. We digitize our patterns in Sketch and use Procreate for our drawings and illustrations. We often edit photos in VSCO and the free Adobe Lightroom app. Amy and Amelia both have an iPad Pro with an apple pencil and that has been a major productivity gamechanger. All our instruction booklets are published from Google Docs, with booklet making in Spectrolite (a free Mac desktop app that ANEMONE makes!). We use Facetime lots to have meetings from afar! Also, both of us find writing morning pages (a la The Artist’s Way) surprisingly helpful!
Have questions about How to Sew Clothes? Read on!
Where can I get a copy of How to Sew Clothes?
Anywhere books are sold! Find How to Sew Clothes at Amazon, Bookshop, Powells, IndieBound, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Book Depository, Indigo and bookstores near you.
Can I find How to Sew Clothes if I don’t live in the US?
Yes! Finding How to Sew Clothes outside of the U.S. is totally possible! You can get the book through Amazon (for example, the UK, Canada, and Australia) as well as other major retailers with international reach. Book Depository, Waterstones, and Bookshop ship internationally. Or try asking at your local bookstore! They should be able to get a copy for you. (The ISBN is 9781419762024!) Measurements in the book are given in inches and metric.
Is there an e-book of How to Sew Clothes? Does the book come with digital patterns in addition to the print patterns?
Nope! The book is only available in hardcover, with an envelope of printed patterns in the back. It does not have any digital components — but if you’re looking for digital patterns, instructions you can read on your computer or things to print at home, there are a lot of non-book things on our website you might like!
What are the pattern sheets like?
The book has two big pattern sheets, that come in an envelope! They’re both printed double sided and are intended to be traced onto other sheets of paper. Some of the pattern pieces overlap, but not too many — but you still don’t want to cut these pattern sheets up, because there are other patterns on the back.
Can I hand sew these patterns?
We wrote the book with machine sewing in mind. If you’re a beginner learning to sew clothes, and are buying your first sewing machine or using to learn one for the first time, we have help for that in the book. You definitely can hand sew these (or any!) clothes. Hand sewing uses different sets of skills and is a different thing — that you might want to get into! — but this book doesn’t have specific instructions geared towards it.
Can I carry How to Sew Clothes in my shop / bookstore / retail outlet?
Yes! How to Sew Clothes is published by Abrams, with ISBN 9781419762024. If you already have a book ordering connection set up, you might be able to find it just by looking up the title or ISBN. For any questions about ordering books for retail or other outlets, please contact Julian Benayoun, Trade & International Sales Assistant, jbenayoun -at- abramsbooks.com for more information.
Can I get discounts on How to Sew Clothes for purchasing in bulk / for special use?
Definitely! Abrams books are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use. Special editions can also be created to specification. For details, contact specialsales -at- abramsbooks.com or write to Abrams, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Have more questions?
Have an idea? Curious about our work? Want to collaborate? Need to get in touch? We love to make things and teach and learn, and we also love to get to know the people who use our patterns – send us a note about whatever’s on your mind and we’ll get to back to you as soon as we can! Use this form, or send us an email directly at hello@allwellworkshop.com!
P.S. — A QUICK NOTE: We’re working slowly right now! You can still reach out with questions or issues, but just be patient.