Grab a mug of your favorite warm and caffeinated beverage because you'll be scrolling through this week's list for a while:
- Colette's Seamwork Magazine
- Deer & Doe
- HotPatterns
- Itch to Stitch
- Named
- Sew Independent
- StyleArc
Whereas I'd thought that the last couple of issues of Colette's Seamwork magazine were starting to show some promise for releasing some simple but somewhat interesting patterns, I find the two new September patterns to be fairly boring.
Akita top
The Akita top is a loose-fitting pullover blouse that only has one pattern piece (and no shoulder seams). This is probably one of the few Seamwork patterns that lives up to its advertisement of being able to be made the time stated (in this case, one hour). It does have bust darts for shaping, but there's just not much more to say about this top.
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| Colette Seamwork - Akita |
The Moji pants pattern is essentially the same woven track pants that we've seen offered by nearly every other indie pattern maker at this point. I'm sure that they're perfectly comfortable for lounging, but I only see these appealing to Seamwork subscribers who don't already own one of the many other comparable patterns out there.
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| Colette Seamwork - Moji pants |
Deer & Doe: Fall/Winter 2015 patterns
Earlier this week, Deer & Doe announced a rebranding and the release of three new patterns for Fall/Winter 2015.
Deer & Doe: Arum Dress
In response to people requesting a "true beginner" pattern from Deer & Doe, Eléonore developed the Arum dress. It's a pull-on shift dress with cut-on sleeves and no closures. For shaping, the pattern has shoulder princess seams in back, rather than the ubiquitous bust dart/back fisheye dart combination that we've typically been seeing in this type of pattern.
It's not my cup of tea, but if you're a beginner who fits into Deer & Doe's somewhat limited size range, you could probably do far worse for your first shift dress.
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| Deer & Doe - Arum dress |
The Cardamome dress would probably just look silly on someone with my gigantiboobs, but I kind of like the idea behind it: Inset shirt collar/bib on a simple elastic waist dress. I bet that we see some cute versions of this dress on a few sewing bloggers whose style aesthetic matches the dress's.
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| Deer & Doe - Cardamome Dress |
Probably my favorite pattern out of this bunch is the Femeterre maxi-skirt. Finally, a designer has acknowledged that maxi skirts can pair really nicely with tights and boots! I like that this multi-paneled skirt has the option of going either with a trouser fly-style opening or a button-up style. I was looking for a woven maxi-skirt pattern earlier this summer with some interesting details, and if this pattern had been available, I probably would have bought it and bit the bullet on grading it up a few sizes.
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| Deer & Doe - Fumeterre skirt |
HotPatterns celebrated their 10th anniversary as an indie pattern company by releasing three new patterns on Friday.
HotPatterns: 1193 Classix Nouveau Everybody Loves the Sunshine Tops
First up is HotPatterns' updated version of their long-time best seller Sunshine Top. Trudy had solicited pre-orders for this a while back to test whether people were interested enough in an updated version of this now-OOP pattern to see if it would be worth updating and releasing. The pattern received enough pre-orders and is now available for sale.
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| HotPatterns - Everbody Loves the Sunshine Tops |
HotPatterns: 1194 Fast & Fabulous Pull-on A-line Skirt
Another entry in HotPatterns popular Fast & Fabulous line, this skirt is exactly what the title describes: a pull-on A-line skirt. This one hits on a lot of current trends: midi-length, patch pockets, and a wide elastic waistband with a drawstring. Basically, this skirt is those popular track pants that are everywhere, but in a form where you're not embarrassed to leave the house wearing it.
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| HotPatterns - Pull-on A-line skirt |
This is a great little jacket and easy coat. The collar darts add bust shaping (per Trudy), and it's unlined (although for many of us, that means finishing our seam allowances with a binding, which isn't really any faster than adding a lining). The welt pockets are a nice detail, too.
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| HotPatterns Scooter Jacket & Car Coat |
Itch to Stitch: Davina Dress
As far as I can tell, the Davina Dress is essentially the same dress as the BlueGingerDoll Violet dress without the Violet's pieced/colorblock detail and with a different skirt. The Davina also has a separate waistband piece and has pockets integrated into the skirt. (BTW--BlueGingerDoll's website appears to be back up and running again.)
I like this dress--these particular details and the shape of the dress tend to be flattering on me. Somewhere in the blog post announcement, Itch to Stitch also mentioned that the larger sizes are drafted for a D-cup bust (yay!), so there's that, too. (Yes, BGD also drafts for a D-cup bust.)
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| Itch to Stitch - Davina Dress |
On Tuesday, Named Clothing released their Fall/Winter collection for 2015, named "New Black". The collection contains 11 new patterns. Some of them are boring; some of them are interesting. I won't go over all 11 patterns in this post, which is already long enough as it is. Here are the more interesting patterns, in my opinion.
Isla Trench Coat
Sewing trenchcoats was all the rage in the online sewing community a few years ago, and while a trench coat is a classic style of garment, we haven't seen many new trench coat patterns in the past couple of years. The Isla has classic trench details but has a long, lower-calf length.
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| Named - Isla Trenchcoat |
Remember the big cardigan-coat trend of the early 2000's? I'm seeing signs that it might be cycling back. I had a cardgian-coat like the Esme back around that time and wore the heck out of it. I have an OOP HotPattern that's similar to this one, so I'll probably stick with that, but I do like this.
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| Named - Esme Cardigan Coat |
The Mimosas are one of the more wearable takes on the culotte trend that I've seen. The legs are voluminous and skirt-like, but the pleating at the waist/hips is kept to a minimum. These have pockets and a fly-front, too. If they came in a larger size range, I'd be tempted by these.
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| Named - Mimosa Culottes |
Harriet Lumberjacket
The Harriet is a cross between a moto and a bomber jacket. It has some interesting details, including a sherpa/faux fur collar in the sample.
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| Named - Harriet Lumberjacket |
Sew Independent: Bundle 2
Last month, Mari of Seamster Patterns and now Sew Independent helped release the inaugural bundle of Sew Independent sewing patterns--a bundle of women's sewing patterns from a variety of indie pattern makers. On Tuesday, Sew Independent released the second bundle in the series as part of the kick-off of "Sew Indie" month. Like the first bundle, the second bundle has tiered pricing, allowing you to choose how much you pay and to "unlock" additional patterns at different price points. As with last time, 20% of the proceeds will go to a women's charity.
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| Sew Independent - Bundle 2 |
- Fehr Trade: VNA top
- Maison Fleur: 6101- Fit and Flare skirt
- Imagine Gnats: Bess Top, Tunic, and Dress
- Closet Case Files: Nettie Dress and Bodysuit
- SBCC: Pinot Pants
- MIY Collection: Walkley Vest and Dress
- Paprika Patterns: Jasper Sweater/Dress
- Seamstress Erin: Nautilus Swimsuit
- Kate & Rose: Kinga Skirt (New/Exclusive to bundle)
- Soma Patterns: April 1962 Coat (New/Exclusive to bundle)
StyleArc: September 2015 release
StyleArc seems to finally have thrown a bone to us who aren't into the boxy styles that they've been releasing as of late! This month, if you order at least one paper pattern from StyleArc, you also get a choice between two freebie pattern options.
Tulip Dress and Skirt
First up is the Tulip Dress and Skirt. I love this! StyleArc (rightfully, IMO) gets knocked sometimes for releasing two views of what appears to be the same pattern as separate patterns, for example, releasing a top and dress version of similar garments separately, rather than including the top as a second view of the dress pattern. That criticism does not apply at all to the Tulip pattern, though, which includes two skirt and two dress views, all of which have shaping elements and are really cute, I think. I like this pattern better than anything StyleArc has released in months.
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| StyleArc - Tulip Dress and Skirt |
Edith Top (Freebie Option 1)
The Edith top is a variation on the pullover tops with plackets that we've seen so much of in the past few years. This pattern combines the layered look trend that we've been seeing, too. It's boxy, but I like the details on this one. If I were to place an order this month, the Edith is the freebie that I'd choose.
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| StyleArc - Edith top |
The other freebie option is a re-run of the Alexi turtleneck top that's been around for a while. I can't blame StyleArc for maybe wanting to get a bit more mileage out of an older pattern, especially one that's probably a nice basic for many women. Personally, with my short neck and giant boobs, I don't wear turtlenecks, but they work perfectly fine for others.
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| StyleArc - Alexi top |
Final Thoughts
In a huge week of releases, the two standouts to me were the StyleArc Tulip Dress and the new HotPatterns jacket. In a less-busy week, I could see myself being tempted by the Itch-to-Stitch Davina dress, if only because I know that that particular style has a good chance of being flattering on me.
Next week should have some activity, as well, although I can't imagine that we'll have this scrolling list of new patterns. Grainline Studios is set to release a new pattern on the 7th--I know that many of us are always interested in seeing Jen's latest patterns.
Of this week's patterns, which interested you the most? Also, is it just me, or is this Indie Bundle a lot less tempting than the last bundle?
