This Week in Patterns (And Other News) (12-Feb-2016)

So of course, the next week after I decide that I'm going to scale back my pattern roundup posts, due to releases slowing down, we actually get a fairly interesting crop of new patterns. Enjoy!

Panic on the Streets of London

Before I launch into the patterns, I just want to give a heads up that my husband and I will be taking our first child-free vacation fairly soon and staying in London for a week. We'll have TripAdvisor and Rick Steves to help us out, but we welcome any suggestions/recommendations. We're staying in the Earl's Court neighborhood ("Do you smile...when you think about Earl's Court?"), and yes, there will be fabric shopping and a trip to the V&A. I've been to London before, but it's been 15 years since my last visit, and I wasn't sewing yet on that last trip.

New Patterns

After a fairly big lull in indie releases for the past month or so, we've got five new releases this week--all indies:

• By Hand London
• Grainline Studios
• HotPatterns
• Paprika Patterns
• StyleArc

By Hand London: Sarah Shirt

I will easily admit that my personal aesthetic and By Hand London's typical party dress aesthetic are usually miles apart...but I think that this shirt is actually really cute. And it's a separate! Obviously, you'd need a really drapey fabric to avoid the tent effect on this, but overall, I think it's a cutesy shirt that isn't vomit inducingly twee.

BHL -Sarah Shirt

Grainline Studios: Archer Popover Expansion pack

I love the trend of "expansion packs" that we've been seeing recently with indie patterns. What a great way to get more mileage out of a pattern that you've already worked out the fit for, right?

Popover-style shirts have been pretty popular in women's RTW for the past few years, and I don't see any reason for them to go away any time soon, especially given the 90's influence that's been popular in fashion and will probably remain so. There have been a few tutorials floating around online on how to turn a traditional button-down shirt into a popover style, but the Archer expansion pack is reasonably priced and eliminates the drafting work of doing it yourself. Plus, it includes traditional tower-style sleeve plackets--a modification that many people ended up making to their Archers, anyway. If I had ever gotten around to fitting the Archer, I'd be all over this.

Grainline - Archer popover expansion

HotPatterns: Athleisure Layer Cake tee

HotPatterns' latest top pattern is inspired by an Anthropologie design and incorporates the draped neckline style that we're starting to see pop up a lot in RTW. It has faux layers incorporated to give a layered look without the bulk. I love the neckline on this one--I like the idea of making up the body of the shirt in a French Terry and then using lighterweight knits for the layered element.

HotPatterns - Layer Cake tee

(Psst...a little bird told me that the Curvy Sewing Collective will be running a giveaway for this pattern, starting tomorrow (Saturday) morning.)

Paprika Patterns: Opal Cardigan

Lisa from Paprika Patterns is back with another practical-basic-with-a-twist pattern. This time, it's an open-front cardigan pattern with three different length options. You know those coatigans that have been back in style for the past year-ish? Here's your pattern for one.

Paprika Patterns - Opal Cardigan

StyleArc: Beth Pants

According to StyleArc, the Beth stretch woven pants are essentially an update on StyleArc's popular Barb woven stretch pant with a few more design details. This one might be worth picking up if you don't already have the Barb in your pattern stash.

StyleArc - Beth pant

Final Thoughts

So this was a pretty nice little group of patterns this week, wasn't it? Will any of these be going into your pattern stash?

Also, if you've got recommendations/suggestions for London, please leave them. Obviously, I'll be hitting Shaukut and window shopping at Liberty of London, but I'd love to hear what your favorite fabrics stores are there. I will be accompanying DH to not one but two Premiere League Football matches while we're there, so I've got some leverage for fabric-related activities. ;)

This Week (and Last) in Patterns (aka Sweatshirtpalooza!) (11-Dec-2015)

If by any chance you were wondering about my absence last week, I had been knocked on my butt by the respiratory virus that's been going around. I could barely get out of bed, so writing any sort of blog post was out of the question. No post last week means that we've got twice as much ground to cover this week, and we have had quite a few new releases these past two weeks.

Late Breaking News:  Yes, I did see that the Early Spring (!) McCall's were published last night, but given that we didn't have a roundup post last week, I don't want to delay today's post to get them in. There's a bunch of re-hash-y prom dresses in this batch, but I did see a few cute everyday items from the one pass that I've made through the collection so far. We'll cover those next week.

Do you like interesting sweatshirts? I do. And if you do like sweatshirts, you should be pretty thrilled with these past two weeks because we've had FOUR different unique sweatshirt patterns released. We also had a lot of other things released, too. Here's the list of companies with new releases in the past two weeks:

• Baste + Gather
• Cashmerette
• Colette Patterns
• Colette Seamwork Magazine
• HotPatterns
• Itch to Stitch
• Paprika Patterns
• SBCC Patterns
• StyleArc Patterns

Baste + Gather: Birkin Flares

After seeing many teaser pics on Instagram and a few related blog posts even, Lauren of Baste + Gather has finally released her flared jean pattern. Lauren's jeans are a high-waisted retro-style flare and have been getting a lot of positive comments from testers.

I like them, but I'd have to grade up a few sizes for these, plus, I somewhat recently bought flared jeans patterns from Burda and HotPatterns. (Although if StyleArc put out a flared jeans pattern, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat.)

Baste + Gather: Birkin Flares

Cashmerette Patterns: Washington Dress

My fellow Curvy Sewing Collective Editor Jenny from Cashmerette released her second pattern last week!  Like her first pattern, the Appleton dress, the Washington Dress is designed for curvy figures--up to a size 28 and with three sets of cup sizes: C/D, E/F, G/H. The Washington dress combines a knit top, stable knit hip yoke, and woven skirt to give lots of design and color-blocking possibilities.

I pattern tested this dress and have seen some of the tester photos. I won't show my tester version because I should have sized up (use your judgment as far as how comfortable you are with negative ease, when choosing a size), but I'll say that proportions and color-blocking choices are the key to getting a killer version of this dress. If you're looking to get a slimming hourglass shape out of this dress, you'll want to choose a hip yoke fabric that's darker in color--like a black or a navy. I made my tester version using a neoprene remnant for the skirt, and I really liked how the skirt portion came out, so if you're wondering about that, I say go for it!

Cashmerette - Washington dress

Colette Patterns: Phoebe Sheath Dress

Relatively soon after releasing the Wren knit surplice dress, Colette has released another pattern--this time a sheath dress with an A-line skirt.

My reaction? Meh. I appreciate the diversity of the models used for the photo shoot, but I don't feel like the dress fits or flatters the larger model all that well. In fact, if you click through to the product page, you can see that the gray sample has a bust dart (not shown in the line drawing) in addition to the princess seams. Why not just do a princess seam FBA to get a better fit? Also, for both models, why not extend that front panel all the way over to the princess seam? It just looks odd where it ends.

Colette - Phoebe dress

Colette Seamwork: December 2015 Issue

The theme for the December issue of Seamwork magazine is "Appreciation". I'm not entirely sure what that means, but it does include a mixed bag of two new patterns.

Seamwork: Brooklyn Skirt

Ok, THIS is the type of pattern that I had originally hoped would be included in Seamwork. It's a basic pattern but with an interesting attention getting detail: a half-circle skirt with a DEEP front pleat. I know that I've seen similar skirts pop up on Burda from time to time (and StyleArc also has a deep-pleat skirt in their catalog), but having the Colette version available saves you from having to hunt through Burda's dense online catalog or hunt down back issues of their magazine. So yeah, I like this skirt.

Colette Seamwork - Brooklyn skirt

Seamwork: York Blouse

The York is an unremarkable and inoffensive woven t-shirt-style blouse. It's got a boatneck and 3/4-length sleeves.

Most notable...I didn't get a screen shot in time, but the initial photos that were up for this blouse were BAD. The sample was badly sewn and the fit on the model was terrible--with bust darts that ended several inches below the actual bust of the model. I have giant droopy boobs, though, so maybe that would be a good sign for trying to fit myself?

Colette Seamwork - York Blouse

HotPatterns 1182: Athleisure Pretzel Sweatshirt

We've now reached the first (and probably my favorite) of the four new sweatshirt patterns that debuted in the past week. The Pretzel Sweatshirt features a twist hem in front and looks like the perfect cozy top to throw on over jeans. I can't wait to have this made up and hopefully join my Paprika Jasper (unblogged) and Blank Slate Denver comfy tops in near-constant wardrobe rotation.

HotPatterns - Pretzel sweatshirt

HotPatterns 1199: Fast & Fabulous Halcyon Sweatshirt

HotPatterns released a second sweatshirt pattern last week--the Halcyon sweatshirt. I like the deep v-neck and cross-over detail on this one. I'm not sure how I feel about the super dropped shoulder here, but again, this looks like a great layering piece on a cold, rainy day (like we've been having constantly for the past few weeks here in the PNW--I take back all of my complaints about a lack of rain)!

HotPatterns - Halcyon Sweatshirt

Itch to Stitch: Liana Stretch Jeans

Lost in some of the bigger name releases of the past two weeks, the relatively new but very prolific patternmaker Itch-to-Stitch released three new patterns for basics. The first of these is the Liana stretch jean, which have options for a straight, skinny, or flared leg. I think that these jeans are a fantastic idea--fit your crotch/butt area once, then swap in whatever leg you want to use. Honestly, I'm surprised that we're not hearing more buzz about these--the tester versions look good for the most part, and the size range for the pattern is fairly inclusive (better than the Birkin Flares).

Itch to Stitch - Liana stretch jeans

Itch to Stitch: Mila Shirt

The Mila shirt is one of those placket-style shirts that's been everywhere in RTW for the past few years. There are a few similar patterns out there (New Look 6474 comes to mind), but the Mila has classic shirt details and is geared more towards flannels and shirting, whereas the New Look and other similar patterns seem like they're more geared towards lightweight and/or sheer fabric. The Mila also has cup sizes up to DD, so that's a nice feature, too.

Itch to Stitch - Mila Shirt

Itch to Stitch: Irena Top

The third and final pattern in this batch is the Irena top: a knit pullover top meant for layering. I like the design of this one, but I'm not sure how well it would work on someone with a large bust. None of the tester photos that went out with the newsletter showed the top on anyone particularly busty, if I recall. So, this is a wait-and-see for me.

Itch to Stitch: Irena top

Paprika Patterns: Zircon Sweater/Dress

Following up last year's popular Jasper sweater/dress, Lisa from Paprika patterns has released another sweater/dress--this time without pockets but with an interesting inset yoke and hem detail. I think it's a pretty cool-looking sweatshirt; I love that yoke detail. My local JoAnn's (of all places) has a bunch of quilted knits and double-sided knits right now, which I think would be perfect for this.

Paprika Patterns - Zircon Sweater/Dress

SBCC Patterns: Brooklyn Hoodie

So, this is an interesting pattern. Betsy from SBCC wanted to take the oversized look that's currently in style, but draft this hoodie so that it would be proportionate with a petite woman's figure. It's got dropped shoulders and roomy at the chest, but more fitted through the sleeves and torso. I've had success with SBCC patterns, and I like the idea of this hoodie.

SBCC - Brooklyn hoodie

StyleArc: December 2015 Release

With the flood of other new patterns this month, StyleArc's December releases would be pretty easy to overlook. They're not bad, by any means, but we saw more interesting releases from some other companies, IMO. As they've been doing the past few months, if you order a paper pattern from StyleArc, you get a choice of a new pattern (the Maris top) or an older pattern (the Peta pant) as your freebie pattern for the month.

StyleArc: Kaye Tunic

It's a drapey tunic with drapey side pockets. It's fine, but there isn't much to say about it. Or maybe I'm just fatigued from going through so many patterns at this point.

StyleArc - Kaye Tunic

StyleArc: Maris Top (Freebie option)

It's a drapey top with design and color-blocking options.

StyleArc - Maris top

Final Thoughts

After barely having bought any patterns in the past few months, I went on a pattern buying binge these past two weeks.  Far too many patterns screamed "Layer up with me! I'm cozy and comfortable" while we've been mired in a really rainy stretch here in Seattle. (Hint: Most of the ones that I bought were sweatshirt patterns.)

Was there anything that you particularly loved or hated these past two weeks?

Finished Project: HotPatterns 1169 Classix Nouveau Refined Peasant Blouse (v2)

Ever since I made my original version of HotPatterns Refined Peasant Blouse last summer, I've been wanting to add another one to my closet. I've been wearing the first version that I made nearly every wash cycle. However, I got a bit hung up on fabric choice for the next version. I absolutely love the cotton double gauze that I used the first time and have been very tempted to make a the second version using the exact same fabric in a different colorway, but that seems kind of boring, doesn't it?

I recently joined the FabricMart Fabricista blogging group, and you'll see me blogging a few projects over there over the next few months. For my first project for them, I wanted to use a pattern that I was fairly comfortable with but choose a fabric that had some "wow factor". I'm a little afraid of sewing with silk (so slippery!), but I felt like making the HP peasant blouse pattern up in a silk fabric would check both of my requirements boxes.

HotPatterns - Refined Peasant Blouse

HP Peasant - back view

I've already reviewed this pattern before, so I won't do an in-depth review in this post, but I will talk a bit about the fabric and construction choices that I made for this version.

Original review/post for the HP Peasant Blouse pattern.

Refined Peasant Blouse - envelope

The fabric that I used was a cranberry-colored silk double georgette. I felt that it would be a good choice for both its drapiness and ability to handle the tons of gathering that's in the neckline for this blouse. On the other hand, like you'd expect from a drapey silk, this fabric was as slippery and wiggly as heck.  I thought about stabilizing it with a starch or a gelatin, but have read enough horror stories online about how difficult it can be to wash those out afterwards that I was wary. (If you have any suggestions for how to stabilize a wiggly silk in a way that washes out easily, I'd love to hear them.)

Surprisingly (to me), the fabric pressed extremely well, and if I made a pressing error, it was also easy to steam the miss-pressing right out of the fabric. I wasn't expecting a fabric as wiggly as this to press as nicely as it did. On top of that, the fabric also raveled less than I had expected.

Here's a closeup view of my gathered neckline:

Refined Peasant Blouse - gathered neckline

I wanted the insides of this blouse to be clean-finished, so I used French seams as my seam finishing method:

French seams

I only made one additional fit alteration to the pattern for this version--I gave myself a little more room in the wrist cuffs because I found them a bit snug on my first version.

Now, in a lesson of how different fabrics behave differently with the same pattern, I had done an FBA (rotated into the neck gathers) for the first version. I didn't necessarily need the additional width that this gave, but I was concerned about the blouse riding up in front if I didn't add extra length there. I think that this alteration worked well in my reasonably-drapey-but-firm cotton double gauze. However, in my super-drapey-not-at-all-firm double georgette, you can see that I'm getting a wrinkle at the bust indicating that there's perhaps too much fabric there.

GOMI-worthy twee pose

Given that I've already altered the master paper pattern, I think I'll be sticking with fabrics with not quite as much drape for future versions--like doing another double gauze version or perhaps a cotton voile or lawn.

This Week in Patterns (13-Nov-2015)

I don't have much of a roundup this week because there weren't any actual releases. I do have a few pattern-related updates to share, though.

• Blank Slate Patterns
• Curvy Sewing Collective
• HotPatterns
• Sinbad & Sailor

Blank Slate Patterns: Denver Tunic and Dress

The Blank Slate Denver Tunic and Dress pattern, which I reviewed over at the CSC, is now available as a stand-alone pattern and no longer requires purchase of the whole bundle.

Blank Slate - Denver tunic

I will say that I've really been loving this tunic--it gets worn nearly every wash cycle. I never actually put the pattern away after my last version because I really want to make another one soon, although I'm still on the fence as to whether I want to make another tunic first or try the flared dress view for my next one.

Curvy Sewing Collective: Nominate Your Favorite Curvy Patterns of 2015

Of course, I'm going to plug my own poll.

Over at the CSC, we're going to be doing a year-end roundup of our readers' favorite patterns. To narrow down the voting for the final poll, though, we're soliciting nominations first.

As someone with access to the data, I will say that in some of the categories the nomination voting is VERY close. So please, if you have a favorite pattern or two that you want to see get some recognition, please nominate it to ensure that it makes the cut for the final vote. You don't have to vote for every category, either--just vote for the ones that you want:

Curvy Pattern Nominations Poll

HotPatterns: Boudoir of Bliss - Bel-Air Lounging Pajama Limited Re-issue

On the HotPatterns Facebook group earlier this week, a member posted a picture of luxurious-looking vintage-inspired pajamas and asked Trudy if she could draft something like that. The picture wasn't terribly different from the Out-of-Print (OOP) Bel-Air pajamas that HotPatterns put out a while back (~ 6 years ago, if I remember correctly). When a number of members chimed in their disappointment that the pattern was out of print, Trudy offered to do a very limited print run for a re-issue of the pattern.

HotPatterns - Bel Air Lounging Pajamas

My understanding is that there are only a few copies left, but if you missed the pattern the first time, it's now available again for a short time, so here's your chance! (I actually own a copy of this from back when it was originally in print but haven't yet made them up.)

Sinbad & Sailor: Shop Closing Announcement

London-based indie pattern maker Hannah of Sinbad & Sailor announced this week that she'd be closing up shop at the end of the year. I've seen her patterns some around the SBC but I haven't ever featured S&S patterns in my weekly posts due to both the lack of recent releases and S&S's limited size range. If you have previously purchased but not downloaded any patterns from S&S, Hannah advises you to download and save your patterns before the shop closes.

 

Final Thoughts

That's it for now!  Any thoughts or questions on this week's updates?

Last Week in Patterns (6-Sept-2015)

I think that just about every indie pattern maker (and their hamsters) released a pattern this week, including two different collective groups that released new bundled collections.

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

Colette Seamwork: September 2015 issue

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.

Colette Seamwork - Akita

Moji pants

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.

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.

Deer & Doe - Arum dress

Deer & Doe: Cardamome 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.

Deer & Doe - Cardamome Dress

Deer & Doe: Fumeterre Skirt

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.

Deer & Doe - Fumeterre skirt

HotPatterns: 10th Anniversary releases

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.

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.

HotPatterns - Pull-on A-line skirt

HotPatterns: 1195 Plain & Simple Scooter Jacket and Car Coat

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.

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.)

Itch to Stitch - Davina Dress

Named Clothing: Fall/Winter 2015 - New Black

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.

Named - Isla Trenchcoat

Esme Maxi-Cardigan

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.

Named - Esme Cardigan Coat

Mimosa Culottes

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.

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.

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.

Sew Independent - Bundle 2

Bundle 2 contains the following patterns:

• 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)

I was pretty tempted by the last bundle. This bundle...not so much. I already own the SBCC Pinot Pants and Paprika Jasper Sweater (both of which figure in my Autumn sewing plans), but nothing else really grabs me here. I like the swimsuit, but I'm not buying a swimsuit pattern in the waning days of summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. 

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.

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.

StyleArc - Edith top

Alexi Top (Freebie Option 2)

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.

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?

Finished Project: HotPatterns 1191 - Fast & Fabulous Trilogy Top, Tunic, and Dress

*sigh*  This is not my best finished project. This top is a lesson in why you should always make a muslin:

My top is not unwearable. In fact, it's comfortable as heck, but I blew the FBA on this one (yes, you read that right--*I* blew an FBA on something. It happens.) It just has some awkwardness that makes me a bit self-conscious to wear it outside of running around on a weekend.

The pattern is the HotPatterns Fast & Fabulous Trilogy Top. My issues with this top have nothing to do with the pattern and everything to do with me approaching this quick pattern with a sense of overconfidence and getting burned by that. (For me, this seems to happen far more often with projects that should be quick, instant gratification sews.)

HotPatterns - Trilogy top

And yeah, I'm aware that the sun was distractingly bright and that there are obnoxious shadows in these photos. I took these at 7am one morning during one of our recent heatwaves, and the sun was already eye-searingly bright at that hour. Given that I'm starting to get a backup of unblogged projects, I didn't want to hold up this post any longer to re-take photos of a top that I'm not crazy about.

 

How I messed up

 

Before I go into my actual review of the pattern, let's talk about how I messed this one up. My pattern alterations and design changes on this one were like following a Choose Your Own Adventure story where every choice you make is wrong, sending you deeper and deeper into the cave of doom, to where you finally meet your end at the hands of some many tentacled beast, and have to go all the way back to some choice that you made on page 6 to correct the thing.

1. By not making a muslin, I completely erred on where the bust point of the pattern was. I took a look at the armscye of the pattern piece, guessed that the bust point should be somewhere a little below that, and plotted my FBA lines accordingly. In reality, I needed the bust point to be quite a bit higher than this, and so the fullness that I added for my FBA ended up getting added too far down the bodice to be of much help for me. I had to add a gusset at the side seams to make this top wearable in the bust.
2. I decided that I didn't want a bust dart on this top; there isn't one in the original design, and I've also had iffy experiences with wearing bust darts on loose-fitting tops. I hate going to the bathroom at work, looking in the mirror, and wondering how the heck my bust dart wandered all the way over to wherever it's currently sitting.
3. If I needed an FBA (which I did) but didn't want a bust dart, I needed to rotate that dart somewhere. To me, the obvious position for dart rotation was the deep pleat at the shoulder that's both there for design and shaping. However, when I rotated my dart there, the already large deep pleat became HUGE. I panicked and decided to gather the pleat instead. Unfortunately, I didn't place the gathers well (I went off the pleat markings) and my double gauze, which handled the gathering so well in my recent peasant blouse, was too thick for the excessive amount of gathering that I introduced.

All of these mis-steps contributed to the awkward garment that you see pictured. I cursed myself a bit over my misuse of my somewhat pricey double gauze for this one. At least I've got a super comfortable top to wear around the house or maybe as a pajama top now, though, right?

Anyway, on to reviewing the actual pattern...

HotPatterns - Trilogy top

No, my version does not look like the pattern envelope. Nor does it look much like the vision in my head (where I'd already swapped out the deep pleat for shirring):

Trilogy Top sketch

Fabric and Notions Used

 

I used the following fabric and notions for this project:

• Kobayashi double gauze fabric (cotton) in "plum" purchased in person at local shop Drygoods Designs.

This pattern required no notions, including interfacing or closures.

Pattern Sizing and Alterations

 

This pattern is available in HotPatterns sizes 6-26 (32"-52" bust).


This particular pattern isn't as loose an boxy and you might think from the line drawing. I started with a size 18 for my neck and shoulders (my typical HotPatterns starting size). By doing a flat pattern measurement/comparison, I determined that I'd need a 2" FBA on this top. I rotated the dart into the shoulder pleat and converted the pleat to gathers (bad choice, BTW).

To make up for setting the bust point too low (and therefore losing out on the ease that I needed at the fullest point of my bust), I added a gusset at the top underarm.

Finally, I doubled the yoke so that it was self-faced. Why? Because it just feels weird to have a single-layer shoulder yoke.

HotPatterns Trilogy Top - back

Pattern Instructions

 

HotPatterns don't have super detailed instructions, but this is a pretty easy pattern. The cap sleeves and neckline are all finished with a self bias binding, so that was a nice touch to have instead of using a facing.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Meh. Obviously, I'm not thrilled with this one. I don't feel like it's the pattern's fault, though. A fair number of people in the HotPatterns Facebook group have made this up, and it's looked really nice on everyone; however, they were not overcome by a Cascade of Bad Decisions when they made up their versions.

I might tackle this pattern again some day (fixing the errors, of course), but for now, I'm putting it aside and starting on a different project.

Last (Two) Weeks in Patterns (9-Aug-2015)

Apologies for the skipped pattern roundup last week. I was finishing up the FINAL class in the project management program that I've been chipping away at over the past three year, and dealing with a Project From Hell at work that has entered crunch mode in its weeks prior to release. Frankly, I haven't had time to blog. Gah. I'm sure that many of you hate "I'm so busy" posts, but in my case, it's really been true. I have three finished unblogged projects (one photographed, two not...although one is a test pattern, so I won't be able to blog it for a bit), which is very unlike me--I typically blog a project within a week of finishing. So, I should hopefully have posts about the HotPatterns Trilogy Top and True Bias Mini-Southport dress (for my daughter) coming when the dust settles a bit.

To make up for my lack of blogging, I'll be covering two weeks' worth of releases in this week's post:

• Colette's Seamwork Magazine
• HotPatterns
• Itch to Stitch
• Sew Independent Pattern Bundle
• StyleArc

With the Perfect Pattern Parcel apparently dead for 2015, we also saw the announcement of a new pattern parcel/bundling of indie patterns:

Colette Seamwork: August 2015 Issue

August's issue theme is "vintage", and the issue's new patterns are a two-piece vintage-inspired swimsuit and a summer dress or beach coverup.

Reno swim top and Dakota swim bottoms

I guess these are okay. I appreciate the fact that the top looks like it might have some more support than other swimwear patterns, but on the other hand, I think it's probably pretty telling that the model used for these shots is fairly small-busted. I mean, it looks like you could add an underwire into that top pretty easily, on the other hand, halternecks suck when you're large busted.

The bottoms are fine--they're your pretty standard retro swim bottoms, as far as sewing patterns go.

Colette Seamwork: Reno top and Dakota bottoms

 Mojave Dress/Coverup

I like this as a swim coverup or as a wear-around-the-house dress on a hot day (and trust me, with the summer we've been having, I have a definite need for those). The prints that they used in all of the samples sort of obscure the design lines on this one, so you have to look at the line drawing. It's got princess seams and doesn't rely entirely on ties for shaping, the way a lot of coverups do. I wouldn't feel weird wearing this if I had to pop into a convenience store to pick something up on the way home from the pool. 

Seamwork - Mojave dress

HotPatterns: Metropolitan Chimera Cardigan-Jacket-Vest

Years ago, I made and loved HotPatterns Riveria Cardigan-Jacket--a knit jacket pattern that was pretty groundbreaking in its day. Its trendy cropped/shrunken design felt pretty dated to me after a couple of years, though, and I've been holding out hope since then that Trudy would release a similar pattern in a more updated style.

Enter the Chimera Cardigan-Jacket, which is a boyfriend-style jacket designed for stable knits like ponte. Given my general excitement at the boyfriend-style jacket and cardigan looks that appear to be roaring back into style for fall, I was super stoked to see this pattern released. Yeah, I hit "order" on this one as soon as I saw it. Expect to see several of these along with several Muse Jenna and Sophie cardigans this fall. I'm envisioning my first version of this jacket in a black ponte with black faux-leather trim.

HotPatterns - Chimera Jacket-Cardigan

Itch to Stitch: Carey Top

The Itch to Stitch Carey top is a loose-fitting doman sleeve top designed for knits or wovens. It has a ruching/drawstring detail on the sleeve.

Pullover woven tops like these, made up in a drapey or sheer fabric, have been all over RTW for the past few years, and most of the sample versions by the pattern testers look pretty cute on the testers. The drawstring is also a nice touch. This top reminds me of the sort of Big 4 pattern that I'll sometimes make up when I don't want to deal with fitting and just want an instant gratification project. If it were to turn up in a bundle that I purchased, I might consider making it, but I have enough patterns along this line that I'm not particularly tempted to purchase this one.

Itch to Stitch: Carey top

Sew Independent Pattern Bundle

So, this entry isn't so much a specific new pattern release, but it is a pattern-related announcement.  Remember those Perfect Pattern Parcels that grouped together a bundle of indie patterns for a discount price that were all over the SBC last year? That particular bundle series appears to have died, with the website not having been updated since 2014. Now, we appear to have a new indie bundle, being lead by Mari from Seamster patterns.

To me, this bundle is quite a bit more tempting than any of the Perfect Pattern Parcels were, although that could be because I only own the Muse Melissa dress out of this bunch and have been teetering on the fence of a few of the others. In this bunch, you've got two fairly-established-as-popular patterns in the True Bias Sutton Blouse and the Sew Over It trousers, and then after that, a mix of older and newer patterns.

Sew Independent Bundle

Like the Perfect Pattern Parcel bundles, you can choose how much you pay for your bundle, with the option of "unlocking" certain additional patterns at different price points. The most expensive price point is $38 (USD) and includes 11 patterns, so it's a quite a nice deal if you think you'd make a lot of these.

This bundle includes the following patterns (clockwise from top left):

• Sew Over It: Ultimate Trousers
• Sew House Seven: Mississipi Ave Dress & Top
• Lolita Patterns: Sugar Plum Dress
• True Bias: Sutton Blouse
• Jennifer Lauren Vintage: Cressida Skirt
• Waffle Patterns: Blouson
• Dixie DIY: Bonnel Dress
• Muse Patterns: Melissa Dress & Blouse
• Seamster Patterns: Sorrel Dress & Top (New)
• Blueprints for Sewing: Saltbox Top (New)

StyleArc: August 2015 release

StyleArc went very casual with its August 2015 batch of new releases. On one hand, these are largely "fine", on the other, none of them particularly excite me--or for the ones that might, I already own a similar pattern.

Courtney top

The Courtney is the same sort of boxy pullover top that it feels like we've seen a ton of from StyleArc in recent months. It's fine--the seaming at least adds some interest--but I feel like we've seen some version of this top six times in the last six months.

StyleArc - Courtney top

And on a side note, if you're going to name a pattern the "Courtney", shouldn't it be a babydoll dress of some sort?

Joni Knit Track Pant

The Joni is a perfectly functional-looking knit trackpant. It does have the current style of the knit cuffs and the wrap-around side seam that I've been seeing lately. But it's a trackpant. I don't really have anything else to say about it.

StyleArc - Joni Knit Trackpant

Sabel Boyfriend Cardi

We've been seeing a lot of boyfriend cardigans popping up in recent pattern releases. I suspect that this style will be big in the fall, and I, personally, look at it as a welcome change from the waterfall-style cardigan that's been so ubiquitous for the past 5+ years. I'd possibly be tempted by this one if I didn't already own the SBCC version of a boyfriend cardi.

StyleArc - Sabel Boyfriend Cardi

Mary Shift Dress (August freebie)

The freebie this month is the Mary Shift Dress--a raglan-sleeved woven shift dress. I'll admit that from the line drawing, I'd assumed that this was a shift dress for stable knits until I read the recommended fabrics--which makes sense, given that StyleArc has correctly drafted a shoulder dart into its raglan sleeve for this. This dress could be a cute basic, but there isn't enough shaping in it for me to be tempted.

StyleArc - Mary shift dress

Final Thoughts

So, I already ordered the HotPatterns jacket, and I keep going back and forth on the pattern bundle. Ironically, I'd probably be more tempted to pull the trigger on that one if I didn't already own the Muse Melissa dress, even though that's the only pattern out of this group that I already own.

I also like the StyleArc boyfriend cardigan, but between the SBCC Cabernet and new HotPatterns jacket, I think I'm covered for boyfriend-style toppers. I actually like the Colette Mojave a lot as a coverup, too, although I've got so many plans for other projects that a swim coverup is way down on my priority list.

How about you? What do you think about the new bundle? Were you previously a fan of the Perfect Pattern Parcel bundles, and how do you think this one compares?