I’ve been reading about everyone’s new favorite patterns from the spring collections of the Big 4 pattern companies, and have generally been doing a good job convincing myself that I DO NOT need any more new patterns, cute as they may be. But then I received an email from Schnittvision saying that all of their pattern collections are on sale for 25% off. And now my resolve is weakening quickly.
For those of you who are not yet familiar with Schnittvision, it’s custom pattern heaven on earth. Collections of wonderfully wearable patterns that are classic but still body conscious and chic. Each DVD is a complete wardrobe in itself with between a dozen and two dozen patterns, each with coats, jackets, skirts, dresses, blouses, pants, and tops. You put in your body measurements, and out comes a custom-fitted pattern. Considering that a single custom pattern from Burda can cost 40 Euros, the Schnittvision DVDs are a bargain at about 15-30 Euros apiece, and now 25% off!
So now I’m trying to convince myself that I don’t need any of these lovelies from volume 5 “New Classics”, volume 6 “Casual Classics”, and volume 7 “Neo Chic”, all perfectly sized for my own peculiar measurements:
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Seriously, you could be your own custom J.Crew with these DVDs. I already own the spectacular Volume 1 “New Basics”, and have sewn multiple garments from it, all of which have come out great in terms of sizing. I adapted the classic double breasted coat pattern to make my leopard trench and blue velvet coats back when I first started sewing, and I didn’t even make muslins because I didn’t even know what a muslin was at the time. And check out the fit, even on my strange munchkin figure!
So. Beautiful modern classics, great custom fit, a whole wardrobe of patterns on a DVD for about 25 Euros, plus a 25% discount on top of that until January 16th. What’s the catch? Well, they’re only in German. And not just the sewing instructions, but the instructions for how to use the software and do the printing and input your measurements and fit preferences too. So if you want a Schnittvision DVD (or seven), you’d better brush up on your Deutsch or have a proficient friend who’s willing to help you out. (No, the Selfish Seamstress is not volunteering to help. The Selfish Seamstress does not help. The very word disgusts her.)
Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), the language doesn’t pose a problem for me. The bigger problem is that I DON’T NEED ANY MORE PATTERNS. I just have to keep telling myself that. Covet.
47 comments
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January 8, 2010 at 9:48 am
Shelley
Ok, delurking to tell you how much I HATE that you just posted this. Please STOP trying to spend my money!!! : ) Love the blog – you crack me up daily.
January 8, 2010 at 4:30 pm
selfishseamstress
Mwahahaha. I knew I would get you to comment eventually. Now you belong to me.
January 8, 2010 at 10:16 am
Kerry
You are talented enough to rip off most of those designs without a pattern. Of course, now you have me coveting it…By the way, how munchkin like are you?
I’m a munchkin too and I have been collecting vintage patterns that are in semi-munchkin sizes, and a lot of them are similar to the styles your mom wore when she was younger. I might be able to help you out. Email me if you want to see what I have in the collection.
January 8, 2010 at 4:32 pm
selfishseamstress
:) I *could* draft them. And make a muslin. And adjust the draft. And make another muslin. More likely, I would *say* I’m going to draft them and then never get off my lazy butt and actually do it.
I’m about as munchkin as munchkin gets- 5’0″ and sub 32A. I think my inseam is probably about 14″ long :D
January 8, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Kerry
I’m slightly more munchkin than you – 4’11”, sub 32A. I think we probably have identical measurements. We should split the cost on the schnittvision and share patterns.
January 8, 2010 at 10:17 am
Jean
enabler! :)
January 8, 2010 at 10:53 am
Trudy Callan
I really love your blog; so I have given you an award. Please come to my blog to see how you can receive it. http://www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com
January 8, 2010 at 11:24 am
Amy
Hee hee–I think you’ve already talked yourself into getting the DVD :) Go for it!
January 8, 2010 at 4:33 pm
selfishseamstress
Wait a sec… I see what you’re trying to do– you’re trying to out-enable me! Very clever, Amy, using my own strength against me. You will be a worthwhile nemesis.
January 8, 2010 at 11:30 am
Karin
You make me want this stuff desperately…I am not an advanced sewer, and I don’t speak German. Then again, I do live in the EU (making postage cheaper), and my buddy down the street is German and might help me…
Oh dear, I am about to chuck 20 quid down the drain!
January 8, 2010 at 11:47 am
Helen
This makes me wish I had taken German instead of 4.5 years of French! Thanks for your posts. They make me laugh and I’m always reminded of your haikus whenever my husband asks me imploringly, “Can you fix this ripped pocket?”
January 8, 2010 at 11:50 am
Jessica
Wow! I’ve never heard of this before and definitely covet now…Thanks…I’d buy it in a heartbeat (German instructions and all) except I can’t bring myself to spend more on the shipping than on the DVD (22,90 EUR). Urg…my husband is very understanding of my addiction, but I don’t think I could justify that. I might have to settle for trying to draft my own versions of the few jackets and pants that I really loved.
January 8, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Katie
Oh dear. My mother and brother speak Deutsch. And my mother is a bigger sewing enabler than you are. I may be in trouble here.
January 8, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Pavlina
bleh, that’s still 50 USD and I have to print them out. No thanks. I can draft those myself much cheaper. :)
January 8, 2010 at 12:57 pm
woolcat
covet… but I think I understood “nicht Mac kompatibel” so I can resist!
January 8, 2010 at 4:37 pm
selfishseamstress
Yeah– it’s time for me to build a Windows partition on my Mac. But it feels so wrong to repartition a hard disk and install a secondary operating system just so you can print out sewing patterns. Priorities are all wrong!
January 8, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Cisa Barry
Belted brown skirt: To.Die.For
January 8, 2010 at 1:54 pm
redcatbicycliste
A pox on your house for bringing this to my attention! For I don’t need anymore patterns, too. But these patterns, this custom-fit system, sounds marvelous.
January 8, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Laura M.
Holy insanity, that sounds awesome. It seems the selfish seamstress understands the meaning of “covet” and probably “envy”…I am sure that all of us who don’t end up buying one will envy you and covet your amazing creations! ;-D Great blog by the way!
January 8, 2010 at 2:38 pm
cidell
Have I mentioned I know like five words of German despite having spent three years there as a child? Luckily, I’m still friends with my BFF from then and have a local sewing friend who is a native speaker. So, there ;)
January 8, 2010 at 2:55 pm
when i am empress
please, please, let some nice american or other english-speaking and, selfishly, Mac-using, pattern-maker read these comments and see how many of us long for custom, stylish patterns.
if we are so desperate that we’d buy them in a language we can’t read, think how we’d flock to buy them if they were available in english.
January 8, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Amy
I didn’t know this existed either. This is a whole new world! I’m wondering if I can remember enough of 4 years of high school German to make it worth my while. Or, did we even get advanced enough words in 4 years of high school German??? I still have my German dictionary though… it’s a start – right??? Now to convince myself I have the time to do any of this!
January 8, 2010 at 4:24 pm
lin3arossa
Habe gerade 3 CDs bestellt. Nun bräuchte ich nur noch die Zeit…
January 8, 2010 at 5:05 pm
selfishseamstress
Oohhhh ich bin so eifersüchtig! Viel Spass beim nähen!
January 8, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Belinda (sew4Fun)
Thanks for the heads up on the sale. I have one of Schnittvision’s collections and really like it. I don’t speak or read German but I found it easy to use. Then again I have learnt the German Mueller drafting method which helps a lot.
January 8, 2010 at 7:37 pm
cdnmich
Your coats turned out beautiful! I bought the Neo Chic dvd and I copied a lot of the instructions to Word, then ran through the google translator – since I don’t know a lick of German! It helped enough to get by, but the instructions for each outfit are very sparse anyway. I have not made anything yet but I did print off the pants to my measurements and it was very easy. I am looking forward to seeing how these ‘made to measure’ outfits turn out!
January 8, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Kayy
I would have thought that buying these collections and then blogging about all of the extremely cute and perfectly-fitting clothes you make from them, thereby giving those of us who do not understand German many more reasons to think you are astonishingly clever, would be right in keeping with your selfish seamstress self — No??
January 8, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Linda L
Never heard of this source. Love your coat!
January 9, 2010 at 12:57 am
Pamela D
I was thinking I could ask my husband, who has lived and worked in Germany, to help me with the German…but then I remembered that when I lived in Spain I used to cajole my Spanish teacher into helping me with Patrones, the Spanish version of Burda WOF. It was all to no avail, as the language for sewing is specialized and she had no clue what half the terms meant. I usually muddled through just fine, even though most of the terms weren’t even in my Spanish-English dictionary.
Now that I think of it my husband might be able to help. The other night he demanded a count of the “lengths of fabric” I had purchased this year. I was impressed with his correct usage of the term “length of fabric.” Even more so, I was relieved he had not asked for a yardage count. His mind was whirring with mental calculations. I doubt I fooled him.
Schnittvision coats, jackets and trousers are more detailed than most Vogue designer patterns. They’re inspiring. Thanks for the temptation.
January 9, 2010 at 6:17 am
Stacey
Yeah, I clearly need volumes 3, 5 and 6. I haven’t figured the Euros to dollars conversion yet, nor have I figured out how I will read the patterns, but I still NEED these DVDs. Besides, isn’t this better than buying two copies of the same pattern in two sizes because I’ve been slowly losing weight and I don’t know what size I’ll be when I get around to making them? And when I think of the money I’ll save not buying muslin, well, then I’m really ahead, right? Have I convinced anyone yet???
January 9, 2010 at 7:58 am
Meredith P
Alas, I don’t read German, and Google Translate is not helping. Do these patterns include ALL sizes? IOW I put in MY own unique measurements (NOT petite) and I get patterns too? So as I lose weight, I can use the same discs? I need to find a German student to navigate the web site :-)
January 9, 2010 at 11:40 am
Evie
Ok…New Year’s resolution No 1…”I don’t need any more patterns”.
New Year’s resolution No 2…look to J Crew and Banara Republic for inspiration for my 2010 sewing!
Who cares that I don’t speak German…that’s what translation software is for.
Sigh!!!!! I think I’m scuppered!
January 9, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Trudy Callan
The coats you’ve made are awesome and I love your dress in the previous post.
I have too many patterns, too. It’s hard to not buy more, though.
Trudy
http://www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com
January 10, 2010 at 4:18 am
Miss-g
I wish there was an English language version… sob!
January 10, 2010 at 10:40 pm
erinrx2
Oh, gee. Thanks for bringing these to my attention. That was all I needed was something else to want. :)
January 11, 2010 at 10:11 am
Three-for-one pattern giveaway…. err, trade! « The Selfish Seamstress
[…] 11, 2010 in covet, stuff for you | Tags: patterns, Vogue 2925 Just when I resolved not to buy any more patterns, I discovered Vogue 2925 on Amanda’s blog and found the jacket of my dreams. Very petite […]
January 12, 2010 at 2:05 am
Marie-Christine
I didn’t know about this either.. you’re a mine of useful info :-). I have a question though, which your munchkin self-description may not allow you to answer: is it possible to adjust cup size with schnittvision? Because I’d investigated the Russian equivalent (Lekala) and they had the heinous fault of not being able to adjust bust size. If I have to do a manual fba, fuck it, I’m buying paper.. Any size limit that you can see in schnittvision? Their designs are by far the best of the custom world, it must be the Berlin influence..
As to the German, well, I’ve done Burda long enough in the original that I should be able to wing it a bit?
January 13, 2010 at 12:39 pm
selfishseamstress
Marie-Christine: According to Schnittvision, the patterns will accommodate sizes 32-50 in European sizing. I am a very very short size 32, and the patterns I have made with the software fit me just fine. You don’t actually specify a cup size. You put in your bust measurement, chest measurement, etc. and the resulting pattern reflects those measurements. I haven’t had to do any manual SBAs so far with it! I guess you have to be careful about taking you measurements precisely though.
January 14, 2010 at 5:19 am
Marie-Christine
Ha ha! Separate chest and bust measurements are the basis of cup size, so it sounds like just the ticket. Those patterns do look yummy.. Did I mention I love both your coats??
January 18, 2010 at 8:29 pm
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[…] saw this post about Schnittvision patterns over on The Selfish Seamstress’s blog recently. I felt […]
February 2, 2010 at 2:51 pm
hungryPanda
I downloaded the demo version and it looks easy enough to figure out so I decided to order one. Google translate + cut & paste = great help! I really need to get my blog going so I can post what I make..
April 3, 2010 at 5:24 pm
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May 11, 2010 at 6:26 am
elle
Where did you find the license # on your installation disc? I can’t find it, and I seem to need it.
May 11, 2010 at 7:13 am
Liara
Mine was included on a piece of paper when the CD came in the mail.
December 11, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Tj
Thanks for this info! SO I went and bought cds 1, 6 and 7 last night selecting the paypal payment option. I get this message at the end saying they’ll get back to me via email but nothing’s happened yet. Is this normal? PS I used google translate to get everything in english and that’s what I’ll use to make the actual clothes..
December 11, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Liara
From what I remember, that is what happened. They sent an email with the total. Then you sign in to paypal and there’s a selection to send a payment to someone. You put in their email address (it’ll be in the email, something with paypal in the beginning) and the amount total in euros, and paypal converts it for you. Good luck!
February 11, 2013 at 5:26 am
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