PDF Sewing Patterns Vs Traditional Patterns

PDF sewing patterns are quickly growing to become a super popular alternative to traditional sewing patterns. But if you are wondering what the difference is then this article is for you. I should say that I make and sell my own PDF sewing patterns on Etsy, so I am, of course, a little bit biased. However, I will give you my honest opinion of the pros and cons for both PDF sewing patterns and traditional patterns.

Traditional Sewing Patterns

Firstly, what is a Traditional Sewing Pattern?

Traditional sewing patterns are physical patterns that you would generally buy in a craft store or the haberdashery section of a shop. There are 4 companies, known as ‘the Big 4’, that most commonly sell these types of patterns.

Pros

  • Since they are physical patterns, you don’t need to worry about printing or taping pages together but will just have one large pattern to work from
  • The paper is generally thin, think tissue paper, so it is easy to pin on fabric
  • There are TONNES of patterns available generally in a wide range of sizes
  • They are widely available in sewing stores

Cons

  • If you are likely to use the pattern more than once or may change size, then you have to trace the pattern as you can’t replace the original without buying it again
  • The sizing can be very confusing and very different to high street sizing
  • They are often in more outdated styles (This is just my opinion!)
  • The instructions can be quite hard to understand if you don’t know a lot of sewing terminology

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PDF Sewing Patterns

What about PDF Patterns?

PDF Patterns are digitally downloadable patterns that you can print on a regular printer at home. You can often find them for sale on Sewing Blogs and platforms like Etsy

Pros

  • Since they are PDFs, they can be downloaded and printed from anywhere in the world!
  • PDF Patterns are more likely to follow newer high street trends as they don’t have to be mass produced but are just digital files
  • Most sewists will find that these patterns are also generally easier to understand. Lots of PDF patterns are made with beginners in mind and often they will also have YouTube tutorials to help you
  • They can be super inexpensive. This does depend on the pattern maker, but since there are very low overhead costs of digital patterns, they can often be cheaper than traditional patterns
  • You have a copy of the pattern forever and can reprint as often as you want

Cons

  • Printing and taping together pattern pieces, especially for bigger garments, can be very time consuming. (Although you could take them to a print shop in A0 size!)
  • If something goes wrong with printing you have to print all over again
  • PDF Patterns often waste a lot of paper. Additionally, ink can get pretty expensive. 
  • They are likely to undergo less checks than the traditional commercial patterns and so sizing or instructions could be a bit off
  • There are loads of patterns out there and you might find it difficult to know which brands are reliable

So, what's better, traditional sewing patterns or PDF sewing Patterns?

As I said earlier, I am pretty biased here. But I genuinely believe that PDF Patterns are the future of at home sewing. If you have been struggling to understand traditional patterns or find it hard to find cute and trendy patterns, I would really recommend checking out PDF Patterns instead. Having said that, I totally get the appeal of not having to print the pattern out yourself.  If this is a concern, I  would recommend looking into print shops near you. My local print shop charges £2 to print an A0 file, and my patterns cost £4.98 so in totally this is around £7. This still works out as cheaper than most traditional patterns would be.

If you want to check out Right Side Patterns PDF Patterns then click here, and if you want to know more about using them then click here