Thank you!

Dang! JoAnn's always sounded like a dream place. Never got to visit one before they closed. But yes very good points about labour etc. I know when I buy indie, all the profits are going to the creator.

Maybe it's because I am in Canada, but the big 4 and indie patterns are comparable in price ($15-$25 per pattern).

I'm sorry your experience hasn't been great. In my experience, many indie patterns are easier to understand and follow compared to the big 4. I'm experienced but I still need visual AND written instructions, often very detailed ones which I never got from the big 4 when I started sewing 20 yrs ago.

Pattern deets: the Junie Jumpsuit by Tianna Herring Patterns.

I think newbies will be able to navigate this better now than 10 years ago when there was no indie ecosystem, very few video tutorials, etc. learning any craft is easier now because of online resources. I can appreciate the big 4, but they're not very inclusive in terms of accessibility & sizing.

Also want to add, I wish mainstream media explained duty to consult in this way because it is so clear and so accurate, and as Pam explains in this episode, so many Canadians are uninformed about how this process is supposed to work.

I got mine after my first daughter was born, did some testing during pregnancy and turns out I was not immune. Thank goodness for science.

Yeah definitely, that's another huge factor

Disinformation was rampant, and most mainstream media ignored it or brushed it aside. That is a part of the problem.