This week in patterns (31-Oct-2014)

Happy Halloween!

This post is a bit late in the day because I've been crazy busy at work this past week and haven't been able to have my usual lunchtime writing sessions. And, uh, there's been more interesting happenings in the sewing blog world this week than my little pattern recap posts. ;)

Onto the new patterns...

Simplicity - more Frozen costumes

Someone at Simplicity must have missed a big deadline because four days before Halloween, a new set of Frozen costumes appeared on the Simplicity website. These were not part of the set that showed up early in the app or on PatternReview. When Simplicity released the initial set, I was really surprised that they didn't include a pattern or views for Anna and Elsa's coronation dresses or adult versions of the costumes. Now I know why--they were simply still on their way. There's also a pattern for 18" doll (e.g. American Girl) costumes in this bunch, too. Still missing from this collection are costumes for Olaf and Kristoff, and in my mine, there should be a dog costume for Sven, too.

S0747 - Frozen Costumes for 18" dolls

Eva doesn't have any American Girl dolls yet but, I'm going to buy this pattern and stash it for when one or both of her grandmothers inevitably buy her an American Girl doll.

S0747

S0748 - Frozen costumes for girls - Coronation Day

I'm buying and stashing this one, too because I've always liked Anna's coronation dress. Plus, you never now when your daughter might want another dress from Frozen, right?

S0748

S0746 - Frozen costumes for women - Elsa's Snow Queen and Anna's Coronation dresses

So these are my two favorite dresses from the movie. I should own this pattern for that reason, right? Because I wear costumes so often, too.

S0746

S0745 - Frozen costumes for women - Anna's day dress and Elsa's coronation dress

At this point, I might as well buy this one to complete the set, right?

S0745

McCall's - Holiday collection 2014

M7058 - Misses' jackets and coats

This is a great-looking basic jacket pattern with the option of a hood! And you know that I'm all over anything with a hood.

M7058

M7057 - Misses' Vests, Jacket and Belt

Annnnnd here's a shall-collar coat that looks promising from the line drawing, but ugh, the styling for the photo shoot! This looks like a bathrobe in this fabric.

M7057

M7055 - Learn to Sew for Fun Misses' Vest and Cardigan

M7055 is a kinda cute easy cardigan pattern. I'm only pointing it out here because the illustration for View C (pictured below) reminds me an awful lot of Anna's cape from Frozen. Sure, it's not an exact copy, but I could see it as an "interpretation". Or maybe I just have Frozen on the brain.

M7055

M7045 - Misses' skirts

I predict that we'll see View D (the maxi skirt view) in Pattern Review's fabric stash contest next year at least once. Why? Because if you're using 45" wide fabric, this skirt will eat nearly freakin' 10 yards!

M7045

M7070 - Handmade Appliques, Trims & Instructions For Purchased Sweatshirts

 Ugh. And here's a pattern to re-fashion a couple of your old sweatshirts into a coat that Dr. Evil would wear, and then applique flowers all over it. This is why home sewing has an unfashionable reputation to many outsiders:

M7070

M7065 - Frozen costumes for 18" dolls

If you don't have access to Simplicity patterns but still want to make a Frozen costume for the American Girl doll in your life, McCall's can help you out:

M7065

By Hand London - Kim dress

So By Hand London pre-released another party dress, the Kim dress:

BHL - Kim dress

As I've mentioned before, I have zero need for party dresses these days, but in my younger, single life, I could see the appeal of this. I do have to wonder, though, should BHL maybe bite the bullet and just re-brand themselves as the "party dress indie"? Outside of the jumpsuit and the blazer, haven't all of the rest of their patterns been party dresses? I'm not trying to be bitchy, I'm just wondering why they don't just go ahead and embrace the niche that they're clearly leaning towards being.

Final Thoughts

My own picks out of this group are the new batch of Frozen patterns and McCall's 7058 (the hooded jacket/coat).

BTW, feel free to snark or gush over any of the patterns discussed in these posts in the comment section. And just because I happen to like or dislike a particular pattern doesn't mean that I expect everyone else to feel the same way. ;)