22 March 2012

One Week, One Pattern: Fascinating Statistical Analysis

If you're not already excited about the start of OWOP! on Saturday, my fascinating quantitative and qualitative analysis of participants' tastes and habits will have you jumping up and down in no time! At the time of writing, 91 people have signed up to One Week, One Pattern, pledging to wear things they've made from one sewing pattern all week. Want to see some pie charts? You've come to the right place...



First let's look at the patterns being used by company. Colette Patterns is a clear favourite with OWOP-ers, which we could probably have guessed already knowing what a strong following they have developed with sewing bloggers. Joint second most popular for OWOP are Simplicity and self-drafted patterns. I was initially surprised by how many people (me included) have chosen patterns they've made themselves, but if you think about it, it makes sense that the most wearable patterns can be those that you have customised for your own individual style and body shape. Burda came in third, followed by Sewaholic, McCalls and Vogue in joint fourth place - good work by Sewaholic, a relatively new company, for rivalling the big guys! It's also great to see a fairly long tail of smaller designers including, a couple of which I hadn't heard of before.


Looking at the type of garment chosen, it's not surprising that tops came out on top, as they're easy to restyle. Skirts as another separate are also popular, but why is it that we sew so few pairs of trousers? Oh yes, I remember, because they're so ruddy difficult to fit! Well, that's why I don't sew trousers (or have given up twice) - what about you? I'm determined to finish a pair soon though. You can remind me I said that.

Asked why they chose their OWOP! pattern, the most common reasons given were that the patterns are quick to make; simple shapes that are easy to restyle and dress up or down; comfortable, flattering and provide a great fit; and versatile with different variations available. Have a look at the submissions in the comments on this post if you want to read more.

  

And the most used patterns by OWOP-ers? SorbettoRenfrew and Violet. Looking at the simple shapes it's easy to see why they are considered wearable and remixable. I'm often drawn to patterns with fancy details and unusual style lines, the kind of thing you can't buy in the shops. But it's also good to sew things that you'll wear on those days when you don't want to "dress up", or even the kind of thing you'd wear out running, for yoga or to sleep in.

Speaking of sleeping, are you still awake or have I out-geeked myself with this post?! If you're still reading, your reward is advance notice of some exciting (like, actually exciting - not pie charts) prizes to be won in three - yes, three! - giveaways next week. I really wish I could enter! In the meantime, please do try to out-geek me - do you have any "interesting" observations about the OWOP! data?

UPDATE: Due to popular demand (well, two people asking), I've put the data into a google docs spreadsheet so you can create your own statistical analyses. Wooooooooop!

[Soundtrack: 'Chartsengrafs' by Grandaddy]