The Bias Tape Appreciation Society

Introducing the Bias Tape Appreciation Society – our new Specky Subscription Box

Introducing the Bias Tape Appreciation Society – the new monthly subscription box from The Specky Seamstress!  We are super excited to be launching subscription boxes this year but we know there will be loads of questions so I thought it would be great to pop up a blog to explain a bit more for all our Bias Tape lovers to explain a little more what has sent us down the route of launching ‘yet another’ sewing subscription service? 

UPDATE: Our Subscriptions are now live – check them out here :

Bias Tape Appreciation Society – Gift Subscription – The Specky Seamstress

Bias Tape Appreciation Society – rolling subscriptions – The Specky Seamstress

If I don’t sign up, will I miss out on the new designs?

Firstly, and definitively, I want to say that this subscription box will not lock exclusive designs behind an annual subscription paywall.  It will act a bit like an ‘early access pass’ in the sense that each design sent will be available in the shop 3 months after the boxes are sent.  We want everyone to be able to enjoy our designs and other than possibly the very odd member gift, this will remain a core part of the BTAS design.  It categorically is not the end of our normal online shop – and in fact the opposite – it means we have time and space to design more fun bias tapes that will populate the shop with new stuff on a regular basis.  This monthly drumbeat of the business will help us manage the business alongside our two busy ‘mum and full time day job’ lives.  It also doesn’t exclude ‘big launches’ in the shop – it just takes the pressure away from us needing to hype up big launches! 

How will it work?

At launch, there will be just one box – at £6 a month (UK price) it’s designed to be ‘cheap and cheerful’ – a nice little sewing gift to yourself! You’ll get one pack of bias that is not yet available in the shop and postage is included – along with a couple of added bonuses too.  You’ll be able to sign up in a few different ways:

  • Annual, rolling (12 months for the price of 11)
  • 3 or 6 month paid upfront (great for gifts!)
  • Monthly, rolling

In each case, you need to have signed up by the last day of the preceding month to participate – i.e. if you sign up on 1, 15, or 31 December, your first box will ship in the first week of January. If you sign up on 1 January, your first box will ship in February.

In your very first box you’ll receive a welcome gift, and in your 6th and 12th consecutive month you’ll get an extra thank you gift from us too!

In future, we might look to add different boxes, with options of ‘doubling up’ on the bias design, additional haberdashery goodies or store credit – but right now we are keeping things simple!

What are those other bonuses for being a member?

For now, we have two added bonuses of joining the club! Members will have a free postage code that can be used for the online shop for orders that will be shipped along with your club box for the month – you can use it all year round, but orders placed using the code will be combined with your next club box. If you want your orders sooner, just place them in the regular way.

A quarterly Society newsletter in which you’ll be able to vote for your favourite upcoming design ideas!

What sort of designs will there be? Can I choose?

To start with, there will just be one box and the designs will be a mix – expect all of the Specky signatures – bright colours, positive words and fun pictures. In the future, we’d love to offer people a choice between these types of designs, so bear with us and do let us know if this is something you’d like so we can gauge interest. In order to do this we’d need to be ordering, designing and manufacturing a lot more – so it’s a bit of a commitment from our side!

I don’t live in the UK – can I still be part of the club?!

Yes! As with our online shop, we ship worldwide – worldwide boxes are priced a little higher to address postage costs, but will be the same designs and ship at the same time. Make sure you choose the right location for your subscription when you order.

Can I buy a subscription as a gift?

Yes, absolutely! You are absolutely be able to buy this for someone else, as long as you have their shipping address!  Please double check that you put the correct shipping address in and if you want to be super-duper certain, you can always drop us an email just to make sure. Gift vouchers for the website can be used towards the Society too!

How are you celebrating this news (and what intro offers are coming our way!)?

With a huge sigh of relief from this end – the news has been really well received and that’s super exciting for us at Specky HQ. 

In terms of intro offers….. Well…. For the first two month’s sign ups (i.e. until 30 November), prices will be £5.50 instead of £6 – which means….. If you sign up before the first box is shipped:

  • Annual members will still get 1 month free and get the whole year at £5.50, making their first annual total just £60.50 (plus additional amounts for postage if overseas)
  • 3 month and 6 month up front subscriptions will be locked in at the introductory price of £5.50
  • Monthly rolling members will pay £5.50 for their first two months

Prices will rise to £6/mth on 1 December 2023.

Why a subscription box? Why now?

There’s two answers for the first question – one from a customer perspective and one from a business one.  So firstly from a customer side….. it felt like there was a bit of a lack of subscription boxes on the lower end of the pricing scale in the sewing world.  In the yarny world, stitch marker clubs are really common and super popular – £5 a month style subscriptions for a bit of a pick me up treat.  We think our boxes will be perfect for that, without breaking the bank.  And as for us, subscription boxes offer a lot of benefits for a small business – some ‘semi guaranteed’ income is very helpful for our planning and being able to make the most of quantity discounts from our suppliers (and keep our costs low).  As we have evaluated the business and our capacity to grow it this year, we are bringing on external help for the first time – and this costs money! So being able to financially plan a bit better will help us in our ambition to grow, while still maintaining a semblance of sanity and capability in our other commitments.