This week in patterns (24-Oct-2014)

Argh! By writing a weekly post going over all of the new pattern releases in a week, you really do realize the sheer number of new patterns being released every week in the current sewing environment. In this week's post, we'll take a look at the new Colette pattern, see Burda go apeshit over scarf-shirts, and read as I try to convince myself that I don't need a pattern for skinny jeans.

By the way, those new Simplicity and New Look patterns from last week still aren't up on the Simplicity website yet!

Perfect Pattern Parcel

While not necessarily a "new release" on an individual pattern basis, but the folks behind the Perfect Pattern Parcel released Parcel #6 this week. This release contains several currently very popular indie patterns. The way the Perfect Pattern Parcel works is that you choose a price for the pattern bundle. If your chosen price is above a certain threshold, you get a "bonus" pattern, as well. These bundles promote indie pattern designers and provide donations to children's education charities.

Parcel #6 includes the following patterns:

Bronte Top by Jennifer Lauren (not Jennifer Lawrence):

Bronte top by Jennifer Lauren

Hudson Pant by True Bias

Hudson pant by True Bias

Julia Cardigan by Mouse House creations

Julia Cardigan by Mouse House creations

Syrah skirt by Selvage Designs

Syrah Skirt by Selvage Designs

Zsalya blouse and top by Kate & Rose

Zsalya top and dress by Kate & Rose

Odette Dress by BlueGingerDoll

Odette Dress by BlueGingerDoll

I think that these bundles are a good, cost-effective way for new sewists to get some variety into their pattern stashes. I haven't bought any myself yet due to a combination of either already owning at least one of the patterns and generally not being interested in most of the other patterns. Case in point for this parcel--I already own the Odette dress pattern and have similar patterns to the others that I like. For example, instead of the Hudson pant, I own the HotPatterns F&F trackpant (which I made and love for a running-around-on-the-weekend pant) AND the StyleArc Shelby sweatpant, which was a freebie a few months back. The Syrah skirt appears to be very similar to McCall's 6966, which I made this past summer. The Julia cardigan is similar to a recent Jalie cardigan, and you could even make the case for the Bronte top having similar design elements to the Jalie sweetheart top. Finally, there's just no way in hell that I'm letting that Zsalya top/dress get anywhere near my ginormous bust.

Colette Patterns - Dahlia Dress

Unless you were completely away from or avoiding the online sewing world this week, you know that Colette Patterns released their new Dahlia Dress earlier this week (officially on Tuesday, with a sneak peak/pre-order option on Monday).

Colette Patterns - Dahlia dress

The Dahlia Dress has the option of elbow-length sleeves or no sleeves (with bias straps) and either a straight skirt (with a few waist gathers) or a gored straight skirt. I think that a sleeved version with the gored skirt is calling my name. As others on Pattern Review noted, this dress has a nice retro vibe without looking too twee.

If you're curious as to what this looks like made up, Sophie-Lee at Two Random Words has posted her take on the sleeveless version.

I will say that I'm surprised that this pattern doesn't include a lining option, given that the recommended fabrics are either lightweight/sheer, such as voile, or wool. Sure, it'd be easy enough to draft your own for many of us, but given that this pattern is rated "beginner", the pattern pieces and instructions would be a nice inclusion. Also, for me, that side zipper is a no-go. Giant boobs + t-rex arms mean that I'll be moving the zipper to the CB on this one when I make it up.

Oliver + S - Fall release

While I'm planning to use these weekly posts to concentrate mostly on womens' patterns, but given the popularity of Oliver + S patterns, I'm including their two new fall patterns in this week's post. Oliver + S patterns are available in both PDF and print versions, but I'll be discussing in terms of PDFs, since that format is my personal preference for children's patterns.

First up is the Carousel dress, a cute woven every-day dress with pockets and a ruffle option:

Oliver + S Carousel dress

It's cute enough, but at $16.95 for a PDF download, I'll probably take a pass on this one.

Now, on the other hand, I really love the other pattern, which is cute, unique, and practical. Here's the Lunchbox tee + culottes:

Oliver + S Lunch Box tee + Culottes

It's probably not a huge surprise that Liesl released a girls' culottes pattern, given that she just released a women's culotte pattern last month. These would be a great choice for my girlie-but-needing-to-climb-on-EVERYTHING daughter. The accompanying t-shirts are cute enough, would be a quick sew, and give both long and short sleeved options.

Given that we're heading into the cold part of the year, I'll probably hold out for a sale on this one and download it with the intention of sewing up a few outfits from it in the spring.

BurdaStyle Plus - November 2014

Burda was all about scarves with this collection. You get two variations on the same built-in scarf top/dress pattern plus a third pattern that's basically a rectangle dress with a scarf added on.

Jersey Dress with Scarf - 11/2014 #124

I could swear that one of the European pattern mags had this same design out a few years ago. I can't remember if it was Burda, Burda Plus, or maybe even someone like KnipMode or La Mia Boutique. Maybe someone with a better memory than me knows where I've seen this before? In any case, here's the dress with the built-in scarf that comes up and around. There's also a sweatshirt with the same feature in this collection.

BurdaStyle Plus - 11/2014 #124

Bow Neck Dress - 11/2014 #126

And here's the other scarf dress. This one has the scarf detached. Neither dress has any shaping outside of bust darts:

BurdaStyle Plus - 11/2014 #126

Fitted Sweatpants - 11/2014 #128

I'm going to be blunt here. I can't decide if these are the stupidest or most brilliant garment that I've seen. On one hand, it's a sweatpant with a fly front. On the other hand, it's a sweatpant with a fly front. Don't miss the yoke, too. Remember that episode of The Simpsons from way, way back where they let Homer design a car? I kinda think that this pattern is the Homer Simpson Car of sweatpants. Someone in Burda was probably thinking, "Sweatpants are big right now! Let's put every pant-related feature we can think of onto this one pattern!"

BurdaStyle Plus 11/2014 #128

Square Neck Jersey Dress with Darts - 11/2014 #127

With almost every collection this past year, Burda Plus has included some sort of fitted sheath dress with seaming or darts and a square or similar neckline. They even managed to shoehorn one into this collection of loungewear. I'm starting to wonder if this silhouette is Burda's argument against us plus sized sewists complaining that nearly everything in their plus range is oversized and shapeless. "No look, we give you a sheath dress in EVERY issue!"

BurdaPlus 11/2014 #127

Closet Case Files - Ginger Jeans

Heather from Closet Case Files of Bombshell swimsuit and Nettie bodysuit fame has jumped off the deep end of the pool with her first woven pattern release, the Ginger jeans:

Closet Case Files - Ginger jeans

I actually really like the looks of these jeans--the highwaisted, skinny version on someone else, and the mid-rise stovepipe version on just about anyone, including myself.  Unlike a lot of indie pattern releases lately, this pattern does fill a void for a classic pair of skinny jeans--a garment that's been ubiquitous in RTW for a while but nearly completely absent from sewing patterns. (The only two that I can think of are the Jamie jean from Named and the Sandra jean from StyleArc, and of those the Named are only available in a limited size range and have that leg seaming that not everyone likes.)

Some of the pattern testers already have their posts up. I like this version from SuzyBee:

SuzyBee's Ginger Jeans

There's also an option to buy a denim kit, which contains enough denim, rivets, and other notions to make two pairs of jeans. The kit retails for $109, which is a bit steep for my own budget, but certainly less than the cost of two pairs of high end RTW jeans.

I don't own and haven't tried any of CCF's patterns yet--the style of the Nettie isn't for me, and while I like the looks of the Bombshell, it offers no boob support and doesn't come in my size without serious re-drafting. This is the first pattern of CCF's that has seriously tempted me. Honestly, I'm even tempted on buying the whole kit, even though that would put me over my sewing budget for the month.

HotPatterns - Metropolitan Fontaine Cardigan-Jacket

 In my stash, I have a houndstooth doubleknit from Gorgeous Fabrics that I've had for a few years. I love the print, but I haven't been able to make up my mind as to what to use it for. I also have some of the black faux-leather/neoprene that Gorgeous Fabrics had a while back, which I bought with the intention of using it as a trim or sleeves. This piece has also gone unused while I waffle as to the "perfect" pattern for it. I shall waffle no more; HotPatterns has released a cardigan-jacket pattern intended for mixed media, such as mine. Introducing the Metropolitan Fontaine Cardigan-Jacket:

Fontaine Cardigan-Jacket

I like that this is a basic-but-not-too basic piece. I'm completely over the whole waterfall-front cardigan thing at this point (I think I made my first version of one back in 2009?), so I also like that this is an open-front cardigan but without the waterfall feature that most open-front cardigan patterns have. You could create different looks with this one both with mixing your fabrics, or with doing a solid version and contrasting top-stitching.

Final Thoughts

This is my fourth pattern re-cap post. Early in each week that I've done this, I've wondered, "Am I going to have enough to write a whole post about? Oh well, it won't be a big deal if there are only 2 or 3 patterns." And then by Friday morning, I'm scrambling to get a late release or two into the post and find that I've got quite a long post by the end. I started writing these posts because I don't really see the point in starting new threads about pattern releases on Pattern Review any more and also didn't want to be peppering my other posts with, "Hey, did you see this new pattern now?", but I love patterns and love talking about them. If you can't tell, I am fascinated by the explosion of new indie pattern companies in the past few years. Some of these designers will stick around and grow, some won't, and I'm sure that some of these designers will have absolutely spectacular meltdowns on social media in the meantime.

In any case, the big temptations for me this week are that Dahlia dress,  Ginger jeans,  Fontaine Cardigan-jacket, and maybe the Oliver+S culottes for Eva when the weather warms back up. Do any of these patterns grab you?