The ‘Make it Safe’ guide for sewing patterns. GPSR considerations

GPSR for sewing patterns. Creating a Risk Analysis and Safety Statement for Printed Pattern safety, for sewing and other crafts.

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Do you know how to carry out a risk analysis on a paper pattern? This blog post is primarily aimed at those who create sewing patterns. However, knitting designers, crochet designers, quilting designers, and other craft designers may also find it useful, especially if they sell their designs in print rather than just as digital PDFs.

In this post, I will be focusing on GPSR, and how to be compliant. As part of that, I will also be briefly examining the following areas of legislation, to see if they may apply to those who sell printed craft patterns.

1. REACH. Regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals

2. EU Deforestation legislation

3. Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR)

While looking at these regulations, I will be focusing on a simple, common sense approach for the designer of sewing patterns and other craft patterns. Because, while these regulations are important, they do not actually require impossible demands from small designers. Instead, they generally ask only a small amount of common sense and awareness.

What is the difference between selling a PDF pattern and a printed pattern?

So far, all my GPSR guides have targeted those who sell digital PDF downloads of their patterns. In this guide, I will discuss printed products. First, I will briefly explain why we might want to sell our patterns in printed format and how it might even be a growing part of our industry. After that, I will show how we can create products to sell on Etsy and other platforms that meet GPSR requirements. This way, we can safely sell them into the EU.

As with the other guides I have created, the overall message is clear: there are very few risks associated with a paper sewing pattern. This should not be an issue that causes a designer an inordinate amount of stress. The regulations should be easy to apply, enabling your business to thrive.

Why Printed Patterns?

Traditionally, if we wanted to buy a sewing pattern, we went to the fabric store. There, we found stands of patterns mostly produced by the big four companies. If we wanted a knitting or crochet pattern, the tradition in some parts of the world was that these were produced by the yarn companies. We would go to the yarn store, look through the available paper patterns, and select our next knitting or crochet project. We would also buy the yarn to make it at the same time.

In other traditions, yarn companies didn’t sell patterns directly. Instead, they were published in magazines, which also came in physical form. Until about the mid-2000s, patterns always came on paper.

Pattern changes in recent years

With the wave of technological innovation over the last 25 years, digital patterns have come to dominate many crafts. They are very convenient and reduce costs since we don’t have to pay for printing. However, they don’t suit everybody. Digital patterns can shift the burden of printing from the creator to the customer, which isn’t always easy or straightforward.

Many people still love purchasing printed patterns, especially within the field of sewing patterns. If I purchase a pattern online from an independent sewing designer, I often end up printing out numerous A4 sheets of paper. These then need to be taped together, creating one large sheet that needs to be cut up. This process is labor-intensive and frustrating.

Many sewers still buy old-fashioned, traditional printed patterns on tissue paper inside an envelope. It’s not only sewers who prefer this format. In a survey I ran on a local Irish Facebook group for knitters and crocheters, about 80% of respondents said that, in their dream scenario, they would most like to purchase their knitting and crochet patterns by going to the yarn store and looking through physical patterns. The advantages are obvious.

And changes on the way…

Last weekend, news broke that the parent company of the big pattern companies has gone into liquidation. What this means for the world of sewing and craft patterns in general remains to be seen. Will somebody purchase the company and continue producing sewing patterns? Or are the days of mainstream sewing patterns sold in fabric shops coming to an end?

Personally, I would be very sorry to see them go. I like buying a sewing pattern on one big sheet of tissue paper. It saves me from the hassle of taping A4 sheets together from my printer, which is more expensive, time-consuming, fiddly, and frustrating.

I suspect more designers, especially sewing designers, but also those in knitting, crochet, and other crafts, will begin to see that selling print patterns will be a way to expand their customer base. However, that brings us to GPSR. All my guides so far have been for the designer selling PDF patterns as digital downloads. What changes when we sell our patterns on paper?

Understanding GPSR. Quick guide for craft designers

GPSR stands for General Product Safety Regulations. It is an EU law stating that you can only sell products to EU residents if you meet certain basic safety standards. What does this mean for you if you live outside the EU but want to target the EU market with your craft designs?

It means four things:

1. You need to carry out a risk analysis on your product to show that you have understood any safety concerns, and keep documentation to prove this.
2. You need to have a safety statement on your product if it carries any risks.
3. You need to have a unique product code.
4. You need to have your name and contact details clearly on your product.

Additionally, if you live outside the EU, you need an EU representative who can hold records about your products and answer questions if asked.

If you’re an independent designer selling sewing patterns on Etsy, Shopify, or other online sales platforms, you can choose to meet these criteria, or you have the option to not sell to the EU. Etsy settings make it easy to set up your store so your products only show to certain markets.

But if you do wish to sell to the EU, how do you create a risk analysis and safety statement for a product such as a printed sewing pattern?

Safety Statement for a Printed Sewing Pattern

So what would the risk analysis and safety statement for a printed sewing pattern look like?
Much like with digital downloads, the first thing that strikes us when we think about how to do a risk analysis or write a safety statement for a sewing pattern is that there are very few risks. It’s hard to craft a long detailed form to show evidence that you asked yourself an awful lot of questions about this product when, the product itself is inherently safe. How does one hurt oneself with a sewing pattern? There aren’t many risks beyond the occasional paper cut. But to be GPSR compliant, we need to dig just a little bit deeper than that.

There are 3 areas of legislation that are worth considering. The most important one concerns safe inks, paper and print that are free from harmful chemicals that could be toxic. This is the only one that directly impacts safety. It’s also worth taking time to consider 2 other areas of regulations about deforestation and recycling.

Risk Analysis for paper patterns and REACH

So what other dangers within physical printed paper goods should be considered?

First of all, there are actually some risks within the print industry itself. Many inks are based on chemicals which can be highly toxic. Many other chemicals are also used in the paper production industry. Therefore, a range of regulations exist to ensure only safe, non toxic chemicals are used. In the EU, the main legislation is called REACH. These regulations apply not to you the designer, but to the printer who prints your pattern, or the manufacturer of inks you pop in your printer at home.

Your risks have already been managed further back down the production line. Unless the printing company you use, or the supplier of ink for your home printer, is breaking the law, your product will be a safe one. Because the inks and chemicals will already be meeting regulations. And the regulations are similar in all western countries, so wherever you live, the products legally available to you on your home market should meet EU standards.

Therefore, the good news is that your responsibility to your customer does not extend past quickly checking that the print company or ink supplier for your home printer meets regulations.

But how can you do this? Ideally, you can assume that a reputable company supplying printer inks or printed products is compliant with legislation, and simply ask yourself ‘Am I using a reputable company?’

Contacting your printer

However, it is better to dig a little deeper than that, and confirm for yourself. To do this, you will probably need to contact the company directly. In an examination of 10 printing companies a cross Ireland, the UK and the US, I found none had this information easily available on their web sites. Therefore, it is likely a designer will need to email their printers and ask for their chemical safety data sheets and information about their complaint under REACH.

It could read something like this: “I am considering using your print company to print paper copies of my sewing (or other craft) patterns. I need to check that you are compliant with EU regulations REACH for use of chemicals in printing, and the EU Deforestation Regulations. Can you please provide me with your chemical safety data sheets, and let me know if you are in compliance with REACH, please?”

Chemical safety and the pattern designer

As a final note on this topic, its worth remembering that your responsibility is not only to your customer but also to yourself. The biggest risk is to the person standing over the printer. Many inks that can be used in home printing are still known to be significant triggers for asthma and other allergies. It is worth doing a separate safety assessment for yourself even though it doesn’t come under your GPSR responsibilities. Ask yourself: Is the room my printer is located in well ventilated? What do I know about the potential risks within the ink that my printer uses?

Questions for your Risk Analysis

Bearing all this in mind the first question that we can ask on a risk analysis for printed sewing patterns is:

1. Am I ordering inks or printing from a reputable company?

2. Have I asked that company whether they are compliant with REACH?

Safe and Sustainable Packaging

Do you use plastic around the paper wallet of your sewing pattern? This could be a potential source of suffocation for babies or small children. If so, include a small note on the safety statement warning of its prompt disposal and keeping it away from babies.

Beyond that obvious consideration, it is also worth knowing that a new act will be coming into force in the EU in August 2026. This is the EU regulation on Packaging Waste. You don’t need to do anything about this for the next year, but it may be worth taking note now that it will come into force in 2026. if you are ready early, that would be a great sales point. What this means is that your packaging you use for your pattern should be.

Made of recycled materials

or

Made of virgin materials which are recyclable

Ideally both – recycled materials which can be recycled again. (Paper is great for this, but many plastics can be recycled over and over.)

Questions on packaging to add to your risk analysis

Does the packaging pose a risk of suffocation for babies or small children?

Additional question for future compliance: Is the packaging recyclable?

Deforestation regulations

Regulations in the EU state that “any operator or trader” (that’s you, if you sell printed patterns) “who places these commodities on the EU market, or exports from it, must be able to prove that the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation”.

In other words, you need to be able to prove that your paper pattern was not printed on paper produced by deforestation.

You, the designer writing sewing or other patterns, will not be in charge of where the wood pulp for your pattern came from, however. So the solution to this is to check the website site of your printing company or paper manufacturer. While the REACH information was not easily found on the printing companies I examined. I found it easy to discover environmental policies across a range of printing companies. Therefore, it is likely this concern can be answered with just a few clicks of the mouse, and checking your print companies web site.

Question on deforestation for your risk analysis

The deforestation issue is part of your obligations as a seller of patterns. It’s arguable whether it is a safety issue. It’s therefore up to you if you include it in your risk analysis or not. I would personally add it in, as it’s something you should check, it only takes a couple of moments, and it’s as good a place to put it as any. Once you have checked you are compliant, that becomes a marketing advantage. Brag about it!

Any other considerations for sewing pattern safety?

So far, we have seen that the main risk with printed products is the chemical toxins that may be contained within dyes and inks. All you as a designer need to do is quickly check that your printer or ink supplier is complaint with the law. You only need to do this once, unless you change supplier. There are other areas of legislation which cover the environmental impacts of producing print products, and risk to future generations.

But are their any other concerns?

For those that sell large sheets of paper for garments, it ma be worthwhile adding a quick friendly note on ergonomic impact of managing huge sheets of paper. Do you know how to prevent back strain when spreading out a paper pattern for a dress that will take up the whole of the craft room floor? Do you have any tips or tricks for your sewers, to manage this better? If so, it would be an advantage to share them

A Brief Word About Not Overdoing Safety Statements

Over the weekend, I was looking for some sewing books to purchase. I came across one that included a safety warning not to use near overhead power lines. (???!!!???) When writing safety statements for our craft products, we should highlight real potential risks for users. However, we should not write them in a way that does more harm than good.

A book is an inherently safe product, and very few books need a safety warning of any sort. When we write ridiculous warnings, we encourage people to ignore safety warnings altogether. As GPSR has come into force, I’ve seen a few of these made up, silly, safety warnings on products. Manufacturers and retailers possibly feel they should say something, so they grab any old warning, and plop it on the packaging.

A safety statement for a sewing pattern may include a note to dispose of the outer plastic wrapper carefully because of the risk to babies and small children. If you used recycled paper packaging, you don’t need the statement. A safety note may include information about potential allergens and dyes in the print. However, this is unlikely if you have used a good source of ink or a printer with better quality inks.

If your printed sewing pattern is not huge, not wrapped in plastic, and uses only high-quality dyes, then, much like a book, it doesn’t need a safety statement. It’s better not to make up ridiculous and inappropriate safety warnings.

Summary questions for a risk analysis for a printed sewing pattern.

If you are using a GPSR rep (such as myself), they will probably provide you with a risk analysis form to use for your patterns. If you live in the EEA or Northern Ireland, and don’t need a rep, or if you are getting representation form a family member or friend, you may want to create your own risk analysis form.

To do this:

Start with some basic info on the pattern itself (name, product code, date of publication, etc)

Is the supplier of inks or printing a reputable company?

Have they provided you with their chemical safety data sheets, or information on compliance with REACH? (find out by emailing the print company)

Is the packaging safe for babies and children? (Paper rather than plastic)

Is the packaging recycled or recyclable?

Is the paper from managed forestry or other sources not involving the destruction of virgin forestry? (find out on the print companies web site)

If the answer to every question is Yes, you don’t need a safety statement at all. If the answer is No, you could add a note in the safety statement, ie: ‘keep packaging away from babies and small children’ ‘this item is not a toy’, etc.

Once you have done your set up, emailed your printer and sourced the relevant info, carrying out a risk analysis for each new pattern should take no more than moments. There is no need for it to be an insurmountable obstacle. Just a little common sense.

In conclusion

In conclusion, while the digital age has transformed how we access and use sewing and craft patterns, there remains a significant demand for printed patterns. They offer convenience, nostalgia, and practicality that digital formats can’t always match. For designers looking to tap into this market, understanding and complying with GPSR for their sewing patterns is crucial, especially if you aim to sell within the EU. By conducting a simple risk analysis and crafting appropriate safety statements, you can ensure that your printed patterns are not only beloved by crafters but also compliant with safety regulations. Embrace the opportunity to expand your product line with printed patterns and cater to a wider audience, all while maintaining the charm and tradition of crafting.