A new on-line community designed by a member of the sewing community, for the benefit of the sewing community

Disclaimer: this is not an ad, I just find Threadloop to be very useful. I have a paid account, but many of the most useful features may also be accessed at the free tier of membership.

I have been using Instagram in some form or other since 2014.  My saved folder on Instagram titled “to sew someday” predates my sewing hobby by at least five years.  But let’s be honest, Instagram has been a frustrating place for years, and every change to the algorithm only makes it more difficult to use as a resource for sewing inspiration and sewing community.   Thankfully there is a much better alternative.

For people familiar with Ravelry, Threadloop is basically the equivalent resource for people who sew, started, developed, and cared for by people who sew. One can use it for free (after making an account) or one can pay a little bit each month and access a few fancier features.  There are no ads. No sponsored posts.  No constant awareness that your browsing behavior is being manipulated to create maximum shareholder value (because it isn’t).   Instead there is an ever growing searchable trove of  patterns that can be easily filtered for a variety of terms, from the very general to the very specific, and a real feeling of community. 

Threadloop  serves not only as a platform for finding patterns, but it is also a platform for people to post photos of the clothing they made, sharing their thoughts, modifications, and reviews.  For those so inclined, it also has features that allow you to create an inventory and track  all of your sewing supplies, and features that let you organize and curate pattern wishlists, and many general discussion threads (including ones that list which pattern companies are offering discounts during this month – this one is for August .  

Discussion mostly takes place in English, but patterns may be searched by language – and German language patterns appear to be well represented.

When I found myself with exactly a meter and a half of 8oz cotton twill this spring and a desperate need for some sort of pants/shorts/culottes I turned to Threadloop and immediately found a variety of wonderful patterns that fit my requirements (I ultimately went the Harry Utility Pants, more on those in a later post).  

Basically I cannot say enough good things about Threadloop.  It has become the starting point for all of my sewing projects, and my favorite website to explore.  Find me there as SELU. 

Unrelated: I am experimenting with posting my longer blog posts separately  in German and English.  This definitely takes longer, but it may be a little less confusing to read, and will allow readers to filter blog posts by language.   Let me know what you think.