You Can't Sell Clothes Made from Store-Bought Patterns
This was my first obstacle on the road to creating the own clothing line.
You see, the pattern in the store doesn’t belong to you. You can use them to make as many garments as you want, but selling those garments as your own is fraud.
"Hmm…
What if I altered the pattern?
No, that wouldn’t work either. I’d have to recreate the entire pattern in order to reproduce my design.
I need a pattern maker."
So, I set out to find a pattern maker.
And by “set out,” I mean…Googled.
I came across a book called How to Start a Fashion Company by Cherie Bixler.
It was short and to the point — the kind of book you could finish in one sitting.
I visited the author’s website and read through every page. That took another day or two, but it all seemed doable. I could hardly wait to start.
What I haven’t mentioned yet is that I was a stay-at-home, homeschooling mother of five.
Though you could probably finish the book in one sitting, it took me about a week — because I was making notes… and dinner. Doing laundry. Bathing people. Doing hair (and cutting hair). Reading bedtime stories. Teaching. Going on field trips. Mediating disputes. Wifing.
My family has always been my priority.
But we’ll get to that later.
Calling the Author
I was sitting in the library parking lot when I finally got up the nerve to call the author. She claimed to be not only a professional pattern maker for instantly recognizable fashion labels, but also a mentor with the kind of industry contacts that could be very useful to a new designer.
My children loved the library. One of our favorite things to do in a new town was find the local one. So this day wasn’t unlike most — except that, instead of going inside with the kids right away, I let the older ones take the littles in and told them I’d be right behind them. Then I made the call.
I felt so small and insignificant, trying to be brief so as not to take up too much of what I was sure was very valuable time. Apologizing for contacting her, I remember saying,
“I’m not a company. I’m just a mom with an idea. I’ve read your entire website and devoured your book — I was just wondering where you’d suggest I start. I mean… if you make such suggestions.”
Ms. Bixler was kind and professional, insisting I call her Cherie. She assured me I had just as much right to her services as anyone else. She suggested I sketch the designs I needed patterns for, text them to her, and we’d go from there.
Eager to begin, I stopped by the store, bought a sketch pad and pencils — and just like that, I’d taken my first step.
