Help Fund a Dream! Imagine Gnats Indiegogo is a go!

Working with pattern designers to get patterns to market isn’t something I’d set out to do. It’s one of those doors that opened because of other work that I’d been doing, and it’s been a really fun surprise. I love collaborative effort! That’s not new – working together with Adrianna is what got us both blogging in the first place. We talk back and forth about what we’re working on and what we’re posting and how to make adjustments along the way.

Helping pattern designers has a similar feel. I’m the digital drawing, layout and design girl in the equation, and each designer I work with has her own way of doing things. Realistically, any pattern designer can learn to use software to do what I do themselves. But the ones I work with are so engrossed in pattern creation and test sewing that stopping to jump on a big new learning curve would only slow them down. Instead of tearing hair out they get to sew samples and do the other 15,210 things on their to do list.

At whatever point in the development process they’re ready to involve me I hop in to help. Sometimes it’s a little help. Sometimes it’s help with major adjustments. Sometimes it’s pep talk. All of it is so rewarding and gives me a unique perspective on what happens behind the scenes that I get geeky excited about. And I’m so proud to see projects and patterns launch.

One of the designers I feel lucky to get to work with is Rachael of imagine gnats. She started out with a little etsy shop, selling small sewn items to help support her family and also to give her a creative outlet in a corporate world. She’s now getting ready to launch her patterns in print! Today I’m sharing her indiegogo campaign to help her move along her path.

Here she is in her own words talking about her work:

it’s come a long way in just five years… from a hobby to a full-time job. my love of sewing and design has grown as well, and now my own sewing patterns help and inspire others to create.

i am proud to have created patterns for garments that are easy to sew and easy to wear. imagine gnats patterns feature classic silhouettes with a modern twist that incorporate clever details and practical techniques

currently, my patterns are all offered as printable pdfs. the money raised on indiegogo will help cover the costs of an initial run of paper patterns, which means sharing my designs with even more sewists and inspiring more people.

for the cost of one pattern, you can help me reach my goal AND be one of the first to get the printed pattern of your choice. for a little bit more, you can get a full set of imagine gnats printed patterns. plus, early bird specials offer even better deals for the first contributors!

my initial print run will include 500 each of my existing five garment patterns. all of the money raised will go directly to that effort. once patterns are printed, i begin the selling and distribution phase.

i would love for you to tweet, share on facebook, email your friends and family… anything that will get the word out. every share helps and is so appreciated.

By participating, you’re helping fund Rachael’s print run and leap into the world of print pattern sales but you’ll also get at least the value of your contribution back in patterns or shop products. And for those of you who’d like to WIN a full set of her PDF patterns for free, you can do that too! (Or gift them to someone if you contribute to the campaign and also win the giveaway!)

Just comment once below to enter and we’ll choose a winner on Friday. In your comment, tell me– is there a leap you’re thinking of making?