Seamwork: experiment and thoughts

(Note: the following is not particularly positive. I've not generally been critical of a company before and I've not seen it done very much on blogs that I follow. On the other hand, this is about my personal experience of learning to sew, and I think it's important for me to be as honest as possible without tipping over into being unfair, which I don't think I have been. There, disclaimer done.)

When I first came across Seamwork, I thought it was the best idea ever. A steady stream of low-cost, simple patterns to fill practical gaps in your wardrobe? What's not to like? Of course, it was also PDF only, and at the time I didn't have a printer. I grumbled about that for a bit and moved on.

Between then and getting the printer, the Seamwork catalogue grew, and I started to wonder how many of the patterns I'd actually wear. The majority of the patterns are drafted with little to no difference between the finished measurement at the bust and waist and/or waist and hips, and I can't wear things like that. Their few concessions to waist-cinching are via drawstring, and I am not a drawstring woman. So even after gaining the means to print the patterns, I didn't sign up.

In May, I finally did. There were at least two patterns I actually wanted, and I'd got hold of a first month half price code, meaning I'd basically be paying £1 per pattern. The two patterns I wanted were the Astoria, a cropped sweater (and about the only real waist-emphasising pattern there), and the Wembley, a cropped cardigan. I started with the latter, because as you might have noticed, I've done a bit of a run of cropped sweaters and thought I probably ought to change it up a bit. 

After I signed up I heard some concerning things about the drafting in Seamwork patterns, so I wanted to do a trial run. I took the metre or so of shatter fabric left over from my jersey Anna that I knew I wasn't likely to use otherwise and set about it. 

I know this doesn't go with the outfit. I can't find an outfit that this will go with. But we're calling it a toile so it doesn't matter, right? 

This was a pretty quick project. They say two hours, which I think is broadly accurate. The body of the cardigan is constructed like any jersey top, and it's finished with bands at the waist, neck, and cuffs. Except mine doesn't have cuffs because I lost my cuff pieces after I cut them out and didn't notice until I'd already got rid of my scraps, so I just hemmed them with a twin needle in the usual way.

The pattern is quite basic, but that's not a complaint. For $3 per pattern I don't expect it to have a load of complicated design elements, and in fact I would prefer that it didn't. Their robe pattern, for example, was released at a time when I was really hankering after a new dressing gown, but I wanted a basic dressing gown, not a strange fussy thing with the ties on the sleeves. For this kind of subscription service I want basic. I want a simple A-line miniskirt, a standard-issue dressing gown, a pullover that's just a pullover, a no-frills pair of pyjama bottoms, the most basic-ass of basic cover-ups. I don't want things that are trying to be clever. The thing I dislike most about this cardigan is that it's longer in the front because it's trying to have a design element about it. 

...OK, that got away from me a bit. The point is, this is a pretty basic pattern, it's straightforward to make up, and the drafting seems fine. 

I suspect I will not get much wear out of this particular cardigan, largely due to fabric, but I would quite happily make another one, and when the leaves start falling off the trees I will be having a go at the Astoria.

Now here's the thing. I did not immediately unsubscribe after buying these two patterns, but I did unsubscribe after the second month. Partly because I've noticed that they're now charging $12 for individual Seamwork patterns outside of subscription, which seems extortionate and not something I especially want to support, and partly because I have absolutely no idea what other patterns I can get. I downloaded my last two in a panic (because if I've already paid for patterns, I am damn well getting patterns) before unsubscribing the night before the payment for the next month was due, and I'm not sure I'll ever get around to using them. Originally I thought, "OK, my body shape is an awkward one, I get why there wouldn't be a lot of cheap patterns for me," but that was when they were charging $7 per pattern outside the subscription model. $7 I understand. But for $12, which is basically what I expect to spend on a normal indie pattern in PDF, I don't think it's too much to ask for a bit of waist shaping, you know?

In any case, nothing's cost effective if you don't use it. $72 for 24 patterns across the course of the year is excellent value on paper, but I think I'll be better off spending that money on six patterns I'll actually use.