A Wholesale World
Truth be told, this post is really more of a journal for myself. Since our wholesale shop just opened (summer 2025), I wanted to record my wholesaling journey here. Besides that, I’ve been sharing my annual goals with you and I find that it helps me stay on track with my progress. For these reasons, I’m laying it all in this unedited post so buckle up and get ready for a super riveting story about XOXSEW’s slow journey to the wholesale world.
(If you’re looking for the wholesale shop and you stumbled into this space by accident, you can find all the details HERE.)
When XOXSEW first opened in 2019, selling paper patterns was not on the horizon. It was too business-y in a way that I knew would disrupt my creative outlet. It required a lot of work and it didn’t help that the whole process was unknown to me. Is it worth going the wholesale route? How do you convert a PDF file into a booklet? Where in the world do you get barcodes?
However, I was receiving requests to make printed patterns available. So in 2022, I paid a fellow designer for an hourlong consultation (worth it!). I was still a little apprehensive about it all, but I was ready to at least convert my PDF files — until a publisher reached out with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Hence, I shelved the task for another time.
After Modern Landscape Quilts was published (Dec. 2023), my non business-savvy mind needed a good refresher about the process of making and selling paper patterns. Since I figured it was important to get a new perspective, I paid a different fellow designer for another consultation. Still, I was unsure if this was the right path, but I wanted to get the ball rolling — until MQG reached out with a wonderful opportunity to produce a video for their education program. As you can imagine, I kinda took it as a sign to just forget the whole thing. 🤪
Eventually in late 2024, I finally carved a chunk of time to start and finish this giant task. The following months became a super busy time of converting files into PDF format, having the new files professionally tech edited, building a separate online shop for wholesale, reaching out to distributors and fabric shops, managing print orders and inventory, inspecting and packing booklets one-by-one, reorganizing the room, making a catalog, handling purchase orders, etc.
CONCERNS
I thought I’d jot down some of my biggest hang-ups because selling paper patterns, as opposed to digital ones, is a very different ball game.
Environmental Impact
Unlike digital files, a paper pattern needs to be:
Printed. Whew, this part was such a challenge. I researched a lot of printing companies, especially local ones. I also tried a company that worked with nearby printing facilities, but they couldn’t even pass the test sample (A). I looked for companies in my area to keep things local, but the options were either too expensive, unreliable, and/or unprofessional.
Packaged. In order to be displayed at fabric shops, each paper pattern needs to have a protective sleeve with a hang hole. Research for this was also a doozy, but I just couldn’t find a non-plastic alternative that was feasible. I went into a deep dive about types of plastic materials — which is equally engrossing as this blog post! In the end, I chose a type of plastic that’s considered recyclable.
On a side note: if you have a copy of our paper pattern, consider recycling or reusing the bag! They’re great for storing fabric swatches, paper templates, plus I believe the quart size is TSA approved. Don’t quote me though! Make sure to check your travel guidelines to confirm.Shipped. A paper pattern goes through quite an adventure moving from one place to another via planes, trucks, trains, and/or automobiles. It needs to be transported from the print shop to my office, then transported again, either directly to the customer, or to the distributor, who will then need to ship it to fabric shops. (That said, this is just one of the reasons why XOXSEW doesn’t have paper patterns available to the public.)
Human Power (or Lack Thereof)
We’re a small business. And by we, I mean me and occasionally my husband, who helps generate invoices/mailing labels and pack orders into boxes (B). But mostly, it’s just me in a 150 square foot room. This means in addition to the non-booklet responsibilities, I need to reformat PDF files into to booklet format, manage print orders, check each booklet for quality control, stuff each into its plastic packaging, take photos, list, and market them. This doesn’t include the other tasks that come with selling any physical product like inbox management, inventory, customer service, etc.
Rigidity
Digital patterns are great for pattern designers because, for the most part, you can shift release dates as needed. Paper patterns are different! While it’s possible to say, adjust release dates, the whole process makes it harder to do so because in many cases, you’re collaborating with fabric companies on top of fulfilling deadlines dates with your distributor(s).
Moreover, if you happen to catch any errors in a digital pattern, you have the flexibility to update the file right away and inform customers of changes. For paper patterns, once it goes to print, that’s it! You’re either stuck with that inventory, or you have to pay to reprint the booklets.
Cost
Ooh, this is a big topic that will need to be unpacked for another time. For simplicity, I’ll stick to the actual physical product — this means I won’t even include labor and the value of my creative work into this mix!
In general, the profit margin of one unit is significantly lower than its digital counterpart due to:
Printing. The cost to print a paper pattern varies by multiple factors. It can range from about 80 cents to 3 dollars depending on your order quantity, number of pages, etc.
Shipping. Whether it’s the printing company delivering my booklets, packaging materials sent to me, or driving orders to the UPS/FedEx/USPS, anything that involves moving a physical product costs money!
Wholesale price - The standard wholesale price of a paper pattern is typically about half of the retail price. (e.g. if a digital pattern is $10, the wholesale price of a paper pattern is $5)
Distributor discount - This is where you sell each unit at an even lower price to the distributor. After all, they’re also working to help get paper patterns into the right hands.
Storage
Where do I put them? I had to do a lot of reorganizing to fit the boxes of printed patterns and packaging materials in my room — and this doesn’t include the patterns that are not yet available in printed format. As I’m looking at my space, I’m honestly not sure where I’m gonna fit the boxes for my future patterns (C). 😅
Time
Ahh, life’s most precious commodity. While I love quilting (it’s a time when I can blissfully tune everything out and find my calm), what gets me energized is designing and writing quilt patterns. However, a big chunk of what happens in the sewing room is neither of those things lol. The following chart may not be accurate, but it represents how it feels time is spent in any given week. Long story short, I was reluctant to give up my creative time.
Time Spent in My Sewing Room
ON THE OTHER HAND…
While paper patterns come with a lot of “baggage”, here’s the flip side:
Readability
Some customers simply prefer instructions that are not on the screen. Hey, I get it because I’m one of them! When I test my pattern or someone else’s, I personally find it easier to read and take notes on printed paper.
Some customers also don’t have easy access to a printer or a local print shop, making it a challenge for digital patterns with templates that need to be printed. (At this time, XOXSEW only carries paper patterns that don’t involve paper templates. We’re working hard to make it happen but it requires additional cost, time, and labor, and as stated before, we’re a one-person operation. 😅)
Income
Let’s be real. I have a husband who’s supportive in every way, including financially! His job, not XOXSEW, pays the bills. But he works in the Hollywood industry, which has been struggling since 2023. This is the biggest driving force as to why I’m working a lot harder now. It’s been a huge privilege to let XOXSEW grow at its own pace over the years, but it simply needs to generate more income to help support our family.
Anyhow, I talked about the cost of paper pattern production. While there’s a low profit margin for each unit, wholesale allows larger profits through a higher volume of sales.
Marketing
The shop needs to reach a wider audience. However, the unpredictability of social media trends, and really, the general sign of the times, make it really challenging to sell anything these days.
Expanding the shop’s reach via wholesale partially solves that. (It’s a little too early to tell, but now that the hardest part (aka starting something) is done, overall, I’m happy that XOXSEW now has wholesale capabilities.
CONCLUSION
Wow, I’m really glad I journaled my thoughts and experience about the wholesale world. Sometimes, it’s difficult to see progress when you’re in the thick of it so as I’m typing this up, it’s nice to step back and recognize how much work was done over the past several months. This business direction for XOXSEW was never what I expected to go but it’s rewarding to see my patterns in print, and I have to admit, there’s also an excitement in sending my patterns off to distributors. Anyhow, I’m proud that XOXSEW made some strides this year! If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading my unedited thoughts.
