2024 - Year in review!

I know I’m going to sound old but, 2024 just flew by, didn’t it? I understand what people mean when they say every year goes by quicker the older you get… I think having a child makes it go even faster still, at least for me, because I focus so much on my daughters milestones and progress. 

It’s easy to only look ahead and not realise what we’ve accomplished. That’s very true for me and this business. So I thought I would take some time to look back at 2024 and remember everything that happened, to see how far I’ve actually come. 
At the beginning of 2024 I decided I was going to give this business another year. I’ve spent sooo many hours, so much energy and effort on this business over the years and I’ve never made a profit. At the end of 2023 I was at a point where Ploen Patterns was breaking even, I didn’t need to take money from my day job to cover business expenses anymore. A really exciting point to reach but it didn’t feel that way. Because I thought this point was going to come so much earlier. I decided to give Ploen Patterns a chance to make some profit in 2024 and if I didn’t manage it I would quit. 
And you know what? I actually reached the point where the business is making a small profit almost every month! Not a big change from years before but still significant to me. So now at the beginning of 2025 I’m encouraged to continue and keep going. I want to explore more ways to evolve what I do at Ploen Patterns, create more helpful content, release more inspiring patterns and focus more on my YouTube channel. I’m so happy you’re following along and supporting me! 
Let’s look at some important things that happened in 2024!

In January I had a pattern released in Tauko Magazine! This was such a fun experience. I love Tauko and I was honoured they chose this design for their January issue. I’m now working on releasing this patterns in my own shop (I need to re-grade it and adjust some things to make it fit into my size range and style of instructions etc). The Flöde dress - coming soon! 

In February I attended my first craft fair and sold my paper patterns. I sold over 40 patterns this weekend and it felt like a great start to the year. It exceeded all my wildest expectations I had for this fair and I decided to come back. 

In March I made a few things for my daughter! The cutest sleep sack and a cute upcycling project. A dress I rarely used turned into a top for me and sooo cute dungarees for Juli! 

In April I released my first online course Better Fit Academy! 3 people joined in the first launch. A lot less than I had hoped for but still so exciting. It was a great group and we had so much fun during the course. After the first batch of students Better Fit Academy became an on demand course (with occasional live Q&A sessions). Creating this course taught me so much and I’m so happy I did it. This year I have to figure out how to do effective marketing and bring in more students. The course material is soooo good (not just my opinion but it’s what my student feedback says too, yay!)
At the moment I’ve had 9 students join Better Fit Academy - I’m so grateful to all of you and so excited for your exciting learning journey you have ahead of you.

In May I focused on Better Fit Academy. I filmed, edited, and uploaded lots of lessons to my platform and got amazing reviews from my students! This is one of the hardest and most fun things I’ve done in my business! 
Another big thing in May - two additional patterns were released in Tauko magazine again! The Fors top and Ström trousers. These patterns will also be released on my website in 2025, I just have to adjust everything to fit my sizing and brand etc. 

Also in May, my Silje skirt pattern was released in the Pattern Pages Magazine! Two patterns released in one month sounds crazy but I designed and worked on them many many months before they were released.

In June, I attended a design fare and sold 0 patterns… everything you try can’t be a success… 

In July we went on a month-long trip to Malaysia! This was so much fun 🤩 Some of my partner’s relatives live there and they were so happy to meet Juli. When we got back home Juli turned 1 year! 🎂

In August, I turned 30! And I returned to my day job for real after maternity leave!

In September, I released my Idun dress pattern in my extended size range! I had an amazing group of testers 👏✂️

In October I attended a big craft fair for the second time! It didn’t go as well as the first time but it was still a fun experience. I also released the Silje skirt pattern!

In November, I had a free masterclass where I covered how to create a better fit and then I welcomed a new group of students into Better Fit Academy!

In December, I made a cute Christmas dress for my daughter!

When looking back at the year I realise how much I actually got done and I’m glad I didn’t quit! 🥳 

Now I want to make this year the best one yet for Ploen Patterns. So excited to keep releasing new sewing patterns, help more students in Better Fit Academy and help my amazing followers create a me-made wardrobe!

Until next time,

Happy Sewing!

/Josefine

Ploen Patterns