Sew Sew Def Magazine Review

Just a little late... O_o

I forgot. I kept meaning to review it but I was sewing so.much!! that I was writing posts for that stuff and the review fell by the wayside.

Disclosure: I was provided a free issue to review. I did not purchase *this* issue but of course, thoughts and opinions are my own.

On with it!

Sew Sew Def Magazine

From the About Us landing page:

SewSew Def is published twelve times a year by Mimi G Style and Norris Danta Ford. Mimi G Style has specialized in presenting sewing tutorials, patterns and inspiration for years and Norris Danta Ford who just began sewing six short months ago has dedicated himself to creating a community for men who sew. Now Sew Sew Def will be providing a multi-cultural sewing magazine that will feature sewing projects, articles, and inspiration for both women and men in the sewing community.

 

We're devoted to filling each issue of Sew Sew Def with on-trend, modern and fresh projects along with two digital pdf patterns in each issue. We will be producing fun features from garment construction to in-depth interviews with sew-lebrities,  home decor projects, fun finds, easy projects and step by step instructions.

 

Along with the digital magazine Sew Sew Def also provides content for SewSew Def TV

I received Issue 2, with Ashley Nell Tipton on the cover. I loves me some Project Runway and no matter how much I might end up complaining about it; I will never not watch it!!

The two patterns included this month were for swimwear. While both are cute and I am always yelling GO INDIE!! when it comes to swim and activewear; I likely won't get use from these. Well, maybe the trunks for my son...but that swuimsuit on an almost 40-year old F-cup? Not.Ever.Gonna.Happen! LOL!

This issue also included the Thread Theory Finlayson sweater and Mimi's casual jumpsuit pattern. There was a deadline to download these two freebies that I missed by my own fault. That's okay!!

Neutral:

It felt like a ton of articles. On one hand, there was a mix of how-to and just personal blog-like entries; which is nice. But it also felt like a lot.

Price. It's $10 for a single issue or $110 for a 12-month subscription. I pay $7.50/Burda with a sub and ~$11 (depending on the exchange rate) for Ottobre. Different, I know, magazine full of patterns vs magazine full of content with some patterns. I'm just saying the price tag doesn't bother me.

What could be better:

• Editing. I am not a writer by any means, but when reading, typos, syntax and grammar errors manage to leap out at me. It is a little irksome! Not nearly as bad as when I'm reading an article on the website of a major publication or when I've found horrible errors in books published by huge outfits (that you imagine have a TEAM of editors...) but still a bit irksome. Obviously you want individual contributors to retain their voice; but those articles still need editing.
• I get WHY there will be 1 men's/1 women's pattern in each issue but obviously that isn't a big draw for me.

What I love:

• The ads are really low-key and very well disbursed throughout the magazine. Not overbearing at all.
• The new pattern picks and fabric trends. I love clothing but fashion? Not so much. I don't follow strictly "fashion bloggers" but I do check in on some of the more fashion forward sewers to see what's "in".
• The "what we're listening to" music piece made me smile. I love music. SO MUCH!
• A very diverse body of contributors. I hope this remains this way. There's way too much "uber popular bloggers sharing other uber popular bloggers" stuff. Hopefully this continues and we don't just see big named Indies represented over and over
• All the men's stuff. I love when any underserved market is getting a little light shined!
• Visually - it looks great. Fantastic color and a layout that works well. Technically; I appreciated clickable links going where they need to go. I do wonder if there's a concern down the line of links "breaking".
• I love that they are even doing this! It is fun to see sewing expanding. It makes me happy! I also love that they have such big named sponsors.

I probably won't subscribe but may purchase individual issues depending on the content / patterns. Mimi has a HUGE following with many beginners who enjoy the tutorials and video help that Mimi provides for construction. There's a large focus on easy-to-sew patterns and providing a bit more hand-holding while constructing commercial patterns. This is GREAT because anything that brings people to the dark side into the realm of sewing is fine by me! But obviously, I'm past the beginner/advanced beginner stage and don't require much construction help.

I do think you should check it out if you're interested!