Discover the new Printed + PDF format

After more than five years of existence, I am delighted to announce that the customizable patterns are finally available in paper version on my online store. This is a project I have been thinking about for a long time, waiting for the right moment to launch... and 2025 is this year!

This launch didn't happen overnight: it took me about four months to bring this idea to fruition. In the age of instantaneity on social media, I wanted, through this article, to take you behind the scenes of this project and reveal all the steps that led to its realization.

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The genesis of the project

I'm always looking for new ways to evolve my craft, break the routine, and reinvent my way of working. Not only to maintain my motivation year after year, but also to ensure the sustainability of my business model—a major challenge in the current context. At the end of 2024, I decided to offer a paper version of the customizable patterns. A real challenge to achieve!

Step one: open Excel (my background as a management controller is still with me!) and do my calculations. Was the project viable given the particularity of customizable patterns, where two or three patterns are needed to sew a complete creation? What investment would it require? What would be the costs and the ideal selling price?

The product

What followed were long weeks of reflection on the format of the cover. How could I best optimize my A0 sheets? What packaging should I choose? At what price? How could I avoid plastic as much as possible? When you start with a blank page, anything is possible; it can seem dizzying, and it's difficult to make a choice.

The instruction booklets for the customizable patterns are particularly comprehensive and bulky, making them expensive to print and unsuitable for an affordable paper offering. The solution? A hybrid format : a pocket/booklet containing the essentials—cutting guides, size selection, and assembly instructions—while the illustrated step-by-step explanations remain available in PDF.

And because I wanted to add a practical and aesthetic touch, I included a little detail inspired by the Moleskine notebooks that I love so much: an elastic band to close the pocket and be able to slip in your traced pattern in addition to the board.

The online store

Another major challenge: updating my online store. How can I offer two versions of my patterns—digital and paper—without complicating the user experience? How can I integrate this new offering into my customization tool, which was developed specifically for my website?

And of course, how do I manage shipping efficiently? Thinking back to when I started ten years ago, copying every address onto the La Poste machine to send my Colissimo packages, I'm glad the solutions have evolved a lot since then. It should be much smoother and more efficient now :-) I'm looking forward to your orders to start figuring out my logistics routine.

The impression

Meanwhile, with the design of the pouches (finally!) finalized, I launched some printing tests to check that the result exactly matched my expectations. After validation, it was time to release my 45 patterns in this new format... And there, I discovered the scale of the work!

An intense week spent meticulously proofreading everything, tracking down the slightest typo, and checking every detail. A process I hadn't imagined would be so long, but essential to guaranteeing you a product that meets my expectations. Once the delivery was received, I launched into a session (with music) of assembling the covers. Probably the easiest part of the whole process! I shared a short video of this moment on Instagram .

Storage

I work from home, in a very pleasant space... but already quite full! Since it was impossible to expand the walls, we had to optimize the workshop to accommodate this new inventory. A major sort-out was necessary, and what a pleasure to clear out!

While rummaging, I found my first couture creations, the prototypes of my very first book, as well as press releases from the time when I was making wedding dresses. Precious memories that I treasure. Once the space was cleared, I invested in large closets to organize my storage. Shall I show you? 😊

And there it is, it's online ! 🎉 I hope my stock forecasts hold up (that's another thing I had to learn). I'll let you discover this new version of the patterns. I can't wait to prepare and ship your orders!

Happy customizing and beautiful sewing to you! ✨
Charlotte