Peach Patterns

Goodbye Wink Designs, Hello Peach Patterns....

There's been a bit of sneaky behind-the-scenes work going on around here.  

As you know if you've been following along here, I've always designed patterns with the aim of making clothes for my two amazing girls that will fit them well and that they'll be happy to wear.  Luckily that grew into a little business making patterns that a whole group of sewing friends and customers would love.  

But as my girls grow and their tastes change (along with my own) I feel the need to shake things up a bit with some new ideas and challenges.  And so, I'm a little sad (and a lot excited) to wave goodbye to "Wink Designs" and to announce the launch of my new adventure "Peach Patterns".

What "Peach Patterns" is all about: 

• A brand that's in line with the fresh simplicity of the patterns and one that actually incorporates the word "Patterns".

• A look that is minimal and modern but still pretty and with a little nod to retro style (which, after all, inspires an awful lot of childrens' sewing and pattern design).  

• More variety in the patterns (not just dresses!)  with some pants, shorts, tops and leggings (and a jacket perhaps?).

• Larger sizes.  So far, I've mainly stopped as Size 8 and will aim to offer more patterns up to Size 12.

• A range of quality patterns that you can trust, ones that are among the best of the best and that are supported by great tutorials, online support and inspiration that together help you get the best out of your patterns and sewing. 

• Above all, patterns that enable you to make great quality finished garments that your child will love, that you had fun sewing and will get that "Wow, did you really make that?" reaction.....

Wink Designs has had so many lovely customers who've given great reviews, feedback and encouragement.  I'll by no means be throwing out all their old favourite patterns.  They will still be there along with some great new styles. 

Thanks so much for all your support and please let me know what you think about the changes as you see them filtering through.  

The new look is now live here on etsy (come over, check it out - you can use the discount code below) AND stay tuned for a stand-alone website which is my current little work-in-progress.

 

P.S. You can still access the content on this blog for the time being but soon I'll be blogging via my new site at www.peachpatterns.com

 

After Easter, I'll be calling for testers for my first Peach Patterns release - a cool new lounge pants/ harem pants pattern.  I've been busily churning out wearable samples for my girls and they're loving them.  A good sign!  Keep an eye out if you're interested in signing up to test.....

From Wink Designs: Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas

All the best to Wink Designs customers and readers for a wonderful Christmas and New Year.....

Wink Designs on Vacation

Our European trip starts tomorrow and I want to enjoy our time away without feeling the need to be constantly tied to a device.  So rather than trying to manage the shop on the go, I've reluctantly decided to put it on vacation mode for the next 6 weeks.

The good news is that you can still head over to one of these stockists, all which have the full range of Wink Designs patterns:

Pink Chalk Fabrics

Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops

Patterns Only

 

 

Thank you so much for your support of Wink Designs.  I'm looking forward to releasing the leggings and other knit basics patterns in the next few months (and I also have another few pattern ideas up my sleeve)....

Finally on Facebook

Yes, finally, Wink Designs is liking, sharing and linking with the best of them in the big FB playground (although I totally have my training wheels on!).

Click here to hop over and "Like" me, pretty please!  I'll be offering Facebook pattern specials, sharing tutorials, inspiration, links and other bits and pieces of Facebook-y fun.

New: Wink Designs pattern bundles

I'm now offering a discount when you buy multiple Wink Designs patterns.  You can choose any full priced patterns listed in my etsy shop to make up the following bundles:

2 Pattern Bundle: 15% off;

3 Pattern Bundle: 20% off;

4 Pattern Bundle: 25% off;

5 Pattern Bundle: 30% off.

New Pattern :: Wink Designs Madeline Dress

There's no denying that there's something special about a Peter Pan collar dress for a little girl.  I've wanted to design such a pattern for some time but was stuck on whether to make an oversized, small, pointed or rounded collar. 

After much ogling of Pinterest pins, I settled on a petite, narrow collar with a classic rounded design.  When it comes to Peter Pan collars, less is more I decided....

So here it is, the "Madeline Dress" pattern named after little Madeline of the storybooks who, of course, carries off this style to perfection.

    

Other design features are sweet, square pockets with a fold-down flaps made in contrast fabric and a buttoned closure at the upper back of the dress.  The gathered skirt is pleasantly full and play-friendly - plenty of room for climbing, running etc.

Variations on the basic design are endless: as you will see from the links I've provided below, my lovely pattern testers have made dresses with and without collars, with contrasting and single prints and with contrast hemline bands.

     

The pattern is in PDF format available as an instant download from my etsy shop (for all of October at a 25% discounted introductory price of $7.50).  

It comes in sizes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 and there are full sized pattern pieces for all sizes - no drafting or seam-adding necessary on any of the pieces.  

Both metric & imperial measurements are included and, as always, I've tried to minimise the amount of printing & taping necessary.  (The pattern prints on both A4 and American letter paper sizes and there is a printing guide to help you ensure you've scaled the pattern correctly while printing.)  Here are some sample pages:

The nicest thing about this design, I think, is that it works equally well in special fabrics as a party dress or as a fun every-day dress in comfy cotton prints.

Thank you so much to pattern testers Janice, Kate & Anna for their enthusiastic sewing and thoughtful comments.  You can see the amazing dresses they made here, here & here.

Selling PDFs The Easy Way :: by My Poppet

Many of you know the wonderfully talented Cinti of My Poppet or at least, like me, have followed her crafty adventures for many years through her blog. Colourful, quirky, retro and the rest(!) - her posts and tutorials are always inspiring and uplifting.

Along with her creative talent, I've always admired Cinti for having the knack of being able to explain technical and business-y issues in ways that are easy to relate to and understand.

Cinti's new ebook "Selling PDFs The Easy Way" is one such example.  It's crammed with useful info for crafty and creative people who want to branch out and sell their products: patterns, tutorials, illustrations, art, recipes, ebooks and other know-how via digital channels.

Image source: My Poppet

As someone who fits into this category and who has often searched high and low for the sort of information Cinti offers, I'm here to tell you that it's not easy to find and certainly not in such a well written, comprehensive package.

There are real life case studies from a diverse group of PDF/digital sellers and even a few well-chosen words of wisdom from yours truly recounting my pattern selling experience with Wink Designs over the last 4 years.

"Selling PDFs the Easy Way" covers the gamut from creating to selling to marketing your PDFs.  Digital delivery options from the popular etsy and Big Cartel through to a whole host of other platforms such as Fetch, Shopify and E-Junkie are discussed in depth.  A highly recommended read!

You can read more about the ebook in Cinti's blog post here.

Little Ellie Dress : Pattern tester pics

I haven't yet shared photos of the amazing dresses that the pattern testers made using the Little Ellie Dress pattern.

This one in white linen and chevron print by Janice of So-Cal Sewing Mom shows off her daughter's cuteness to perfection:

Jen of Lea & Lars made one for her daughter in a pretty sea green and floral combo.

                       

This one is by Suzy of Floating World in a fabulous Liberty birdcage print.  

                   

And these are the work of Kate of Two Little Banshees.  Kate went the extra mile with her fabulous duo of dresses.  Love the dresses, love the smiles!

             

The pattern is in Sizes 1-8 and available in my etsy and craftumi shops.

Digital products: New instant download Etsy feature

Great news for buyers and sellers of digital products on etsy.  E-books, PDF patterns etc. can now be directly uploaded to etsy listings so that when a buyer purchases that listing the files are available immediately from their "Purchases" page.

Having buyers in lots of different timezones means that as sellers we're often asleep or not "at work" when sales come in.  So now there's no panic to fill orders for the seller and instant gratification for the buyer!  A total win win!  Thank you etsy....(more information on the etsy blog here).

Source: art by wiley via amazing miniatures

All Wink Designs patterns are now available as an instant download.  Also, only a few more days left to take advantage of 20% discount on the newest (Little Ellie Dress) pattern.  Enter LITTLEELLIE123 at checkout...

Birthday & Easter special

Easter Sunday falls on my birthday this year so if I'm good it'll be Easter eggs and birthday presents for me on the same day.  The reason I'm posting though is to let you know I've put an "Easter Special" listing in my etsy store.

        
Purchase the Easter Special listing from now until Easter Monday eve and you'll receive 2 PDF sewing patterns for the price of 1 (tell me which 2 you'd like at checkout).  

That's around $20 worth of patterns for just under $10.  Woo hoo!

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter.....