This Week in Patterns (30-Oct-2015)

Happy almost Halloween! I am so far behind on my project blogging, it's not even funny. Over at the CSC, I've been busy working on a few things that I hope you'll all like, or at least find entertaining, and that's been eating up a lot of my blogging time.

In the meantime, we have a LOT of new patterns! This week, we had releases from the following pattern companies:

• Blank Slate Patterns
• Butterick
• Muse Patterns
• New Look
• Simplicity

Blank Slate Patterns: Novelista Shirt

Disclaimer:  I tested this pattern and received a free copy of it, so my opinions (which are my own) are based off of my testing experience with this pattern.

A lot of people love the Grainline Archer shirt, but I also know that a lot of people feel that it's too boxy and would prefer a shirt with the same details but more shaping. Here's the shirt pattern that you've been looking for--the Blank Slate Novelista:

Blank Slate - Novelista shirt

Blank Slate- Novelista (line drawings)

You can't necessarily tell from the line drawings and sample photos, but the Novelista has the classic shirt details that a lot of blouse patterns lack: sleeve plackets (long sleeved version), a yoke, and a collar-with-stand. I'm really excited about this pattern, and you'll be seeing my version of it once I've had a chance to sew up a non-muslin/non-test version.

Butterick: Holiday/Winter 2015

Butterick was the last of the Big 4 to release its winter collection. This collection is heavy on sleep- and loungewear, so if that's your thing to sew, you'll probably find a few patterns in this batch to add to your shopping list.

B6285: Gertie Top and Skirt

I'm only calling out this Gertie pattern, which to me is otherwise uninteresting, because it strongly resembles the Cake Pavlova pattern from a few years ago. Gertie's skirt is pleated, and the Pavlova is a circle skirt, but those are the biggest differences that I'm seeing.

B6285

B6282: Retro Dress and Belt

This retro shirtdress is cute:

B6282

B6288: Misses' Shirt

This blouse has an interesting back detail, which is nearly entirely obscured by the fabric choice of the sample, although you can see it in the line drawing.

B6288

B6031: Maternity Vest, Coat, and Belt

I had to pick this pattern just because it's the first pattern that I've seen for a babywearing jacket, period. I see RTW versions of these all over the MLS Sounders games that my family attends. These weren't a thing, really, even three years ago when my daughter was a baby, but I love the idea of it and would have wanted one of these if they had been around. There's a maternity view for the pre-baby mom, too.

B6301

B6292: Lisette Pajamas

This is Liesl's (of Oliver & S and Lisette patterns) take on classic pajamas. They're quite similar to the Closet Case Files Carolyn Pajamas in that both patterns have similar details: piping, pockets, and both long and short views.

B6296

Muse: Tahi Skirt and Shrug

Along with the Blank Slate Novelista, we have another entry in the category of Patterns That Fill a Glaring Hole in Current Pattern Catalogs--this time from Muse Patterns. Kat's new pattern includes a shrug and a skirt with four different views of various fullnesses and lengths. The maxi- view is exactly what I had in mind this past summer when I was trying to find a pattern for an interesting maxi-skirt that wasn't the Sewaholic Gabriola. I really like all four views of the skirt, although I think I prefer the flared versions slightly. I'd never personally sew the shrug (shrugs and large busts don't mix, in my experience), but it's a nice pattern extra to include for most women.

Muse - Tahi skirt and shrug

New Look: Winter 2015

Whereas the previous release from New Look appeared to be made up entirely of refreshed and reissued patterns, the Winter release includes entirely new patterns, as far as I can tell. (Please correct me on this in the comments, if I'm wrong.)  Not a whole lot of it excites me, but there are a few decent basics in the group. Here are the two patterns that stood out the most to me:

New Look 6417

This cardigan/jacket/coat is similar to the popular StyleArc Harper jacket. I've been seeing this style around town for the past year or so, and it's surprisingly wearable on a lot of different body types. If I didn't already own the StyleArc, I'd probably pick up the New Look version.

New Look 6417

New Look 6421

I think that the color used in the sample is hideous, but this pattern includes a nice princess seamed shift-style tunic and cigarette pants. There's also a basic pencil skirt pattern, if for some reason, you need one and don't already have one.

New Look 6421

Simplicity: Winter/Holiday 2015

The online reaction to Simplicity's Winter/Holiday collection this year has been mostly "meh", but I feel like there are a few gems in here. Overall, this collection certainly grabs me more than McCall's and Vogue's Winter/Holiday releases.  There are definitely a few in this bunch that I'll be picking up at a future JoAnn's sale. The Vintage offerings are particularly strong this time around, IMO, but that could be my own bias because I'm one of those odd people who actually likes some 70's fashions.

Simplicity 8019: 1970's Vintage Skirts

First up is this A-line gored button-down skirt. I had a rayon challis skirt from Express like this in college--another time that the 70's were a big fashion influence. I loved that skirt. And I got really excited when I saw Bowfinger because Heather Graham was wearing the same skirt that I owned. In any case, this seems like a no-brainer to pick up when it's on sale.

Simplicity 8019

Simplicity 8013: 1970's Vintage Dresses

This woven wrap dress pattern is unbelievably 70's-tastic in a very awesome way.  It kind of makes me want to curl up on the couch with a glass of Riunite and watch Love Story.

I have no idea where I'd wear this, but I think I need to buy this pattern just for the sake of owning it.

Simplicity 8013

Simplicity 8014: Misses' Shirt Dresses

Can a person own too many shirt dress patterns?  I don't think so. This one is kind of similar to the famous McCall's 6696 (aka "Mary's shirtdress"), but the Simplicity has an option for a partial circle skirt and an option for a shirdress without a waist seam. Like the McCall's the Simplicity has some cup size options, too.

Simplicity 8014

Simplicity 8034: Animal Stuffies

I am so not usually a craft person, but the stuffed unicorn here is way too cute.

Simplicity 8034

Simplicity 8027: Girls' Sportswear pattern

OMG, a girls' moto jacket pattern! And my daughter is big enough for it!  I am so making this. In addition to the adorable moto jacket, there are some really useful everyday coordinates in this envelope, too. There isn't a piece in this bunch that I wouldn't sew or dress my daughter in.

Simplicity 8027

Final Thoughts

There was a lot to like this week, IMO. If you're looking for an Archer with more shaping, the Blank Slate Novelista is your pattern. I also really like Muse's new skirt pattern--enough that I ordered it right away while it was still on sale. There aren't any must-haves for me out of the Butterick or New Look collections, but from Simplicity, I want the girls' moto jacket, 70's wrap dress, and the shirtdress.

What were your favorites this week?

Last Week in Patterns (26-April-2015)

So, um, hi? In no way did I anticipate the response that my last post received. I didn't have time over the weekend to respond to everyone's comments, but I did read all of them. That was easily the greatest number of comments for any of my posts on this blog.  A few things to take away from that post and the response:

• We all have different experiences with PatternReview, but I noticed that the trend from the posted comments was that the people who felt most positively about it were the people who'd made a comment to the effect that they didn't go into the forums much. Take away message for me: Stay out of the PatternReview forums. I have enough things on my plate and don't need to add to them by going places with what I feel is negative energy.
• For those of us thinking we'd like to see a little more diversity in guest posters and content on CSC, please send them your articles and reviews! 
• I've been guilty of saying that I would write something for the CSC and then flaking, and from reading other comments, I'm not the only one. (I had been totally on board with the "season of separates" idea, but for "pants month", my pant muslin needed a lot more work than I anticipated, and I wasn't able to get a "real" pair done by the end of that month. And then my dad's health plummeted, I traveled back and forth to San Diego a bunch, and I barely sewed anything for two months.) 

Back to the purpose of this post: I want to get the pattern roundup post series going again, although I'll be posting these on Sunday (rather than Friday) to give myself the weekend to finish writing them. We had a somewhat interesting week of releases this past week.

This week, we have new patterns from the following companies:

• Grainline Studios
• McCall's
• Muse
• StyleArc
• TrueBias

 

This Week's Pattern Round-up

 

Grainline Studios: Morris Blazer

I am so flippin' sick of waterfall cardigans. They were fine for a while, but now I'm done with them (like peplums). It makes me really happy that we're starting to see some new cardigan/casual jacket shapes emerging from the pattern world, like the just-released Grainline Morris Blazer (The SBCC Cabernet cardigan, in a boyfriend shape, is another.)

Grainline Morris Blazer

I'm not sure that this boxy silhouette is the best choice for my figure, but I really like the shape and design. Jen drafted this blazer to be made from either a ponte/doubleknit or a stretch woven, so you have quite a few fabric options for this pattern, and the resulting jacket should be pretty comfortable.

I'm somewhat tempted, but it does look pretty similar to the HotPatterns Sweet Jacket, which I already own. I like the collar of the Morris better, but the back of the HP is a lot more interesting.

McCall's Patterns: Summer 2015 release

I thought that overall, the summer release from McCall's was pretty boring, but of the patterns that I liked, I *really* liked them a lot. There's also a really good "WTF" pattern in here, too, for those of us who are amused by that sort of thing.

M7167: Misses' romper and jumpsuits

So that Vogue 9075 culotte jumpsuit pattern that I've been planning to make for the past couple of months? I like this McCall's pattern better. And the McCall's has cup sizes, too. On top of that, the sleeves are a more youthful shape, and I think that this will be a more flattering look on me.

McCall's 7167

If I could go braless, I'd be all over the view with the cutout/strappy back, but McCall's at least provided a covered back view, too.

M7156: Misses' dresses, rompers, and jumpsuits

I am going to buy make up View A of this pattern, and rock it over a babydoll tee with a pair of Doc Marten 8-eyes, grab a wine cooler, and chant, "Donna Martin graduates! Donna Martin graduates!"

McCall's 7156 - View A

Seriously, though, I will be buying this pattern. It's a classic shape with princess seams, I can easily increase the width of the straps to make it more bra-friendly, and since I now hoard romper and jumpsuit patterns, it'll be good for that, too. (This pattern is also a less expensive version of the By Hand London Sabrina dress.)

McCall's 7156 - View C

M7168: Misses' two-piece swimsuits

How refreshing to have a retro-style swimsuit pattern where the straps aren't halter straps!  I think that there are a lot of cute options in this pattern, and I think that by mixing and matching different elements, just about any woman could put together a swimsuit that flatters her figure and that she feels comfortable in. The under-bust band on the tops of these also lend themselves more to adding additional bust support more easily than some retro styles. Love the skirt/tankini option, too.

M7168

I recently bit the bullet and bought a Modcloth swimsuit, and I'm really happy with it, but I've added this pattern to my list for the next JoAnn's sale.

McCall's 7154: Archive collection gown

I have neither the figure type nor the event schedule to wear a gown like this, but I do love the design:

McCall's 7154

McCall's 7176: Leather accessories

And then there's M7176, the perfect accessory pack if you're planning to head to a steampunk leather bar. Thankfully, one of the included patterns provides a nice starting point for a pair of assless chaps, should you ever need them:

McCall's 71716

Muse Patterns: Knit sleeve add-on pack

Muse Patterns (of Jenna cardigan and Gilian wrap dress fame) did something interesting this week: They released an add-on pack of four knit sleeve variations that should work with all of Muse's knit patterns.  The knit sleeve add-on pack is available for the very reasonable price of $3 USD (can you tell that I've already purchased this?)

The add-on pack includes the following four sleeve variations:

• Short tulip sleeve.
• Gently gathered sleeve cap, and options for short, 3/4 or long sleeve length with a classic narrow sleeve. 
• Short flutter sleeve.
• Classic narrow sleeve with options for short, 3/4 or long sleeve length.

Muse Patterns - Knit tulip sleeve

One thing that I've really liked about Muse Patterns, from what I've seen so far, is how much emphasis places on providing a lot of value from her patterns. Most of her patterns contain at least three views, and she truly seems to want to provide sewists with patterns that they'll be able to make multiple times with different looks.

StyleArc: Cleo Knit Dress and Tabard

For their mid-month release, StyleArc released a pair of "designer" patterns, which is something that they've done several times in recent months.  I could see how these pieces could look chic on the right person, but they're really not my style.

Cleo Knit Dress

The Cleo has sleeveless and long sleeved options and includes optional dart shaping.

StyleArc Cleo Knit Dress

Cleo Long Tabard

To be honest, before I received the StyleArc newsletter this week, I didn't even know what a "tabard" was. I turned to Google for writing this post:

Tabard definition via Google

I'm guessing that Cleo (or someone else on the StyleArc team, although the garments are named "Cleo") saw something like this on a runway show or something like that. It seems like too random of an offering from StyleArc to not have a clear inspiration piece behind it.

StyleArc Cleo Long Tabard

The StyleArc tabard is designed to be made out of sheer fabrics and worn as an outer layer over the Cleo knit dress.

Honestly, I don't know what to even think of these, so I'm reserving judgment until I see them worn together on a real person.

True Bias: Southport Dress

I've been pretty "meh" on the first two patterns released by True Bias, but I actually think that the new Southport dress is pretty cute:

True Bias Southport Dress

I'm sure that we'll be seeing tons of these popping up all over the sewing blogosphere over the next few months. I think I'd be tempted to buy it, but I do already own the very similar Blank Slate Catalina dress pattern, which I bought last summer.

 

Final Thoughts

We had a fair number of new releases this week, of which, I suspect the Morris blazer and Southport dress are the ones that we'll be seeing the most of in the coming months. (Now, who will be the first blogger to post a photoshoot of a Morris blazer paired with a Southport dress?)

Of all of these, I think I'm actually the most excited about a handful of the new McCall's, since I don't already have pattern doppelgangers for the ones that I like in my pattern stash.

And what do you think about Muse offering the sleeve add-on pack for a few bucks? I'm kind of surprised that more designers don't do things like this--it's a good way to extend the use of your already-purchased (and altered) patterns without having to buy and figure out alterations for a whole new pattern.

Spring Sewing Plans, Part 1: Separates

As is always the case when the seasons change in the spring or fall, I have many more things on my "want to sew" list than I know that I'll have time to sew. I'm also looking to break out of my comfort zone for warmer weather and try some of the newer looks/silhouettes that have been popping up in recent months, and that means more muslins since I'll be in unfamiliar territory from a fit and flattery standpoint.

Typically, for me, most of the patterns that I've pulled out as "candidates" are from recent releases, with a handful of holdovers from previous years/seasons that I've still been wanting to make but haven't yet.

Woven tops and blouses

I am in love with all of the pretty prints that I've been seeing lately in cotton lawns and voiles. I usually stick with knit tops because they're so much easier to fit and generally faster to sew than wovens. This year, though, I really want to add some woven basics to my closet.

HotPatterns 1186 - Plain & Simple Woven Tee and Dress

If you're going to tackle a woven blouse, you may as well start simple, right?  This pattern is HotPatterns version of the woven tees like the Grainline Scout and that several of the Big 4 offer. Trudy released this pattern a few weeks ago.

HotPatterns Woven Tee

I opted for this pattern over the others because I knew that HotPatterns' drafting works better for my figure than some of the other options, and I liked that this pattern gives a few more design options than some of the other patterns, as well--there's both a top and a dress view, and both a v-neck and boatneck option.

I've already muslined this pattern, found the muslin promising, and so made my pattern adjustments and am working on my first "good" version. I'd love to have a few of these tops in fun prints in my closet.

SBCC Mimosa Blouse

I made one of these blouses last summer and skipped the muslin stage when I shouldn't have. The blouse is wearable, but there are certain things about the fit that really irk me, and I know that I can do better. I really want to make another one of these, but apply the fit tweaks that I should have done to the first blouse.

SBCC Mimosa blouse

HotPatterns Super Fantastic Shirt

This pattern is now out-of-print (OOP), but it's been perennially on my "to sew" list for about 4 years. It's like my Colette Hawthorn of blouses! Placket-style blouses like this have been everywhere, though, for the past 2 years, and I think it's finally time for me to sew this pattern up.

HotPatterns Superfantastic Shirt

McCall's 6898

Another recently OOP pattern, with a few modifications, I'll be using this pattern to knock off and create a more plus sized friendly version of the Deer & Doe Bruyere shirt:

McCalls M6989

I like some aspects of the McCall's version better than the Deer & Doe--like the fact that the McCall's version has different cup sizes and shoulder princess seams, both of which should make this easier to fit to my own figure than the Deer & Doe, which I'd have to grade up and do a large FBA on.

HotPatterns Classix Nouveau Refined Peasant Blouse

I loved this pattern when it came out but haven't gotten around to making it up. It's looked good on everyone who's made it up, too. This pattern should be a good choice for when I want to sew a woven blouse but not spend weeks working on fitting beforehand.

HotPatterns Refined Peasant Blouse

Muse Melissa (blouse)

The Melissa, by promising newcomer Muse patterns, is a blouse/dress/skirt pattern that was released while I was taking a break from my blog. I love the open neckline and multi-princess seaming on the blouse, especially since the blouse/dress has an option for D-cup sizing.

The blouse is my favorite view of this pattern and the one that I see myself making and wearing the most:

Muse Melissa blouse, dress, skirt

I don't sew a lot of skirts, but the skirt view of this gives me flashbacks to the A-line rayon challis and corduroy skirts that I loved wearing in the 90's, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. And I think that the dress has potential, but with a bad fabric choice, you're running dangerously close to looking like you're wearing a waitress uniform. And right now, when I think "waitress uniform", I think of that awful "Di" character that they've introduced on Mad Men this season, and I really wish she'd just go away, just like everyone else who watches Mad Men.

Pants and shorts

If I'm going to sew a bunch of new blouses, I need some new pants and shorts to wear with those blouses, don't I?

HotPatterns Classix Nouveau Dolce Vita Slim Cut pant

I'm already two muslins in on this pattern. The second muslin was an improvement over the first, but they're still not where I want them to be. This is such a nice basic, classic style of pant that I'm really hoping to get a TNT pattern out of this one. How amazing would it be to think, "I really need a new pair of pants to go with such-and-such blouse, " and to be able to pull out a pattern and sew up a pair of pants that fit nicely?

HotPatterns Dolce Vita pant

StyleArc Jennifer City Short

Cute walking shorts in a current style. I suspect that the longer and slimmer length on these will also help prevent the dreaded inner-thigh-ride-up that can be an issue with shorts when you have larger inner thighs.

StyleArc Jennifer City Shorts

HotPatterns Camera Ready Culottes

I will be jumping onto the culottes bandwagon!

HotPatterns Camera-ready Culottes

I chose this pattern over some of the other culotte patterns out there because the HotPatterns version doesn't have all of the pleating over the tummy that you see in the StyleArc and Big 4 takes on this style. These have a single, small pleat on either side in front, and two darts in back. Annie from SewBaby has already made these up, and they look pretty fabulous on her. They key to making these look nice on my short, stumpy figure will be getting the length right, but I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to do that.

Final Thoughts

My plan is if I keep the bottoms fairly neutral, the blouses will all likely pair pretty well with any of the bottoms, giving me a nice capsule wardrobe of separates for spring and summer. I didn't do a whole lot of successful sewing for myself in the latter part of last year, and I'm really looking forward to refreshing my warm weather wardrobe a bit.

Have you started planning or sewing for warmer weather yet? What patterns are on your "to sew" list?

This week in patterns (12-Dec-2014)

So, last night, after I thought that this post was ready to go, McCall's sent out an email that their "Early Spring" collection had been released. I took a quick glance through it and did like a few of the patterns. Interestingly (to me at least) none of the standouts were dresses, which are usually the patterns that catch my eye. However, since my parents are in town visiting for an "early Christmas",  I won't get around to writing about those patterns until next week's post.

That said, we'll keep things short this week, with only two new patterns outside the new McCall's release.

Muse Patterns - Natalie dress and top

New pattern company Muse of the Jenna Cardigan and Gillian Wrap top and dress has released a new pattern--the Natalie dress and top:

Muse Natalie

As with Muse's other patterns, the Natalie includes several options for sleeve length and garment length (dress, top, or maxi-dress). The big design detail for the Natalie is a triangular inset piece with ruching on either side.  I liked the Gillian wrap dress and the Jenna cardigan, but I suspect that that triangle inset/ruching feature isn't going to be a friend to the uber-busty like myself. That said, usually when a design is a horrible idea on a figure like mine, it usually looks great on someone smaller busted or pear-shaped.

Now, Debbie at Stitches and Seams, tested this pattern and it looked good on her, so maybe I'm wrong about this not looking good on a full bust? On the other hand, there's a difference between having a full bust and being uber busty, and this pattern might look good on the former but not the latter.

Pauline Alice - Quart Coat

I don't know if you've noticed, but in these pattern company re-caps, I try to only include companies whose sizes go up to a 44" full bust. The reason for that is that's the size limit that I'm comfortable working from, from a pattern alterations perspective. (My high bust is currently somewhere between 42" and 43", depending on how snug the measuring tape is pulled.) With that in mind, technically, 42.5" is within an FBA-able range for me, although I'm likely to going to be adding ease/grading up in areas where I'd typically just grade up to the next size. That said, I've seen some really, really lovely projects made from Pauline Alice patterns, a Spanish indie pattern company. I think that, like a few other smaller size-skewing Euro indies, such as Deer & Doe and Named, they're worth including in these posts, if for no other reason than inspiration/pattern eye candy.

Take the new Quart Coat for example, a military-inspired double-breasted coat with a pleated skirt and zippered sleeves. Unfortunately, there don't appear to be any line drawings for this pattern, but here are a few photos showing the details:

Pauline Alice Quart Coat

Obviously, this style would look terrible on me with the wide double-breast overlap, but I still really like it for the unusual details. At 8 Euros for a PDF download (there's a more expensive print version available), this pattern is pretty affordable, as far as indie coat patterns go.

Final Thoughts

Neither of these two patterns is for me/my body type, but at least they're interesting patterns. I'm looking forward to taking a closer look at and writing about the new McCall's release as I recall there being a handful that I pegged as "wants" when I did a quick flip through them on my phone last night.

This week in patterns (17-Oct-2014)

It's Friday again, so it's time for a rundown of the week's pattern releases! We've got a mix of indie patterns and a new release from one (two?) of the Big 4 in this week's post.

Note that as of right now, the New Look and Simplicity releases aren't up on the Simplicity website yet; they're only visible on the Simplicity app and on Pattern Review. Because of this, the links for these patterns in this post go to the appropriate pages for these patterns on Pattern Review.

Muse - Gillian Wrap Dress

The Gillian Wrap Dress is the second offering from new New Zealand pattern company Muse. (The Jenna Cardigan was their first pattern, released about a month or so ago.)  Just when I thought that I'd seen just about every design variation possible for wrap dresses, along comes this retro-inspired version. The Gillian Wrap dress has the same shoulder ruching detail that several views of the Jenna Cardigan has. I like that they included an option to sew this as a top and an option for long sleeves. So far, I'm really liking what I've been seeing from this new company; both of their patterns have had quite a few options, so that you're getting a lot of bang for your buck per pattern.

Muse - Gillian Wrap Dress

Grainline Studios - Linden Sweatshirt

Jen from Grainline Studios, who brought you the popular Archer blouse, Alder shirtdress, and Scout woven tee released a new pattern on Sunday--the Linden Sweatshirt.

Grainline - Linden Sweatshirt

The Linden has raglan sleeves and can be sewn either as a long sleeved traditional sweatshirt or as a short sleeved crop top. Personally, I'd probably go for one of the lower-priced alternatives from the Big 4, such as Simplicity 1317  or McCall's 6992, which are both raglan-sleeve sweatshirt patterns that could be used to create the same look as the Linden and have larger size ranges.

Paprika Patterns - Jade Skirt

Paprika Patterns is a new pattern company (another one!) started by a Dutch woman living in France. The Jade skirt is a knit pencil skirt with a really cool pleated detail on the front. It's available in two lengths--mini or knee-length. For now, it's only available in sizes up to a 41.5" (106cm) hip, but they say that they'll be expanding the size range into three more sizes at the upper end of the size range soon. Going off their size chart, that should put the upper hip size in the mid-40's in inches.  They're offering the pattern as a pay-what-you-want PDF download, at least for the time being.

Paprika Patterns - Jade Skirt

I'm not planning to blog every new pattern from every new pattern company, since it seems like every time you sneeze, there's a new pattern company. However, I thought that this skirt was unique and really cute and wanted to share it. The funny thing is that I don't even recall how I originally learned about this company; I think that someone blogged about testing a pattern, which lead me down the rabbit hole of checking out the company and signing up for their email newsletter, and then I forgot about them. In any case, I really like the skirt and may give it a try when they release their expanded size range.

New Look - Holiday release

Related companies Simplicity and New Look both had new holiday releases this week. A few patterns jumped out at me for various reasons.

New Look 6338 and 6339

This collection includes two new tweens patterns a top/skirt outfit and a maxi-skirt. My daughter isn't at this age yet, but I know that there is a serious dearth of patterns for kids of both genders in this age range. Neither are frumpy and both patterns appear to be age-appropriate for pre-teen girls:

New Look 6338

New Look 6339

New Look 6325

The only women's pattern that grabbed me was this coat pattern with options for an asymmetrical hem and asymmetrical zipper. Two views even include that rare option in women's patterns: a hood.

New Look 6325

The more that I think about this one, the more I like it. Sure, it's boxy and has no shaping, but that's an easy enough fix if it bothers you. 

Simplicity - Holiday release

Love it or hate it, this new mini-release from Simplicity was anything but boring. How many of us complain that the Big 4 offer slight variations on the same patterns with each release? This release felt like a big "F- You!" to that complaint.

Simplicity 1256, 1257, 1258, 1259

First up, Simplicity introduced a new line of modular garments under the label "Multi Taskers", and each pattern envelope includes 3-5 knit pieces that can be mixed and matched as part of a capsule wardrobe. In each of these wardrobes, there's 1-2 pieces that can double as a second type of garment, for example, a wrap piece that can be worn either as a shrug or as a sarong-style skirt. Although this group of patterns aren't exactly my style, I think it's an interesting concept. I'm sure that we'll see others in the sewing community make some creative outfits with these patterns.

Simplicity 1258

Simplicity 1258

Simplicity 1251

If you're looking for a new twist on a hoodie, Simplicity 1251 features a pointed hood and tattoo-style applique. This one had me scratching my head a bit, but I'm going to guess that it's knocking off a designer look of some sort that I'm not familiar with--it's too distinctive of a garment for that not to be the case. It's not my cup of tea, but I think that the applique is an interesting design element.

Simplicity 1251

Simplicity 1261

As much as I sometimes enjoy sewing Eva and myself tops or dresses out of the same fabric, I don't think I'll ever have a need to sew the whole family matching animal ear hoodies:

Simplicity 1261

Simplicity 1246

If you're a Game of Thrones fan who has really procrastinated on getting started on your Halloween costume or just want to get a head start on next year's Comic Con, there's a new (unofficial) Daenerys Targaryen costume pattern:

Simplicity 1246

Simplicity 1254

Finally, my absolute favorite, favorite pattern out of this collection (and out of just about any recent collection that I can think of) is this coat pattern by former Project Runway winner Leanne Marshall:

Simplicity 1254

What's not to love about this? That big hood looks so cozy whether up or down, a zipper instead of buttons, and princess seams with in-seam pockets.

Simplicity 1254 - Line drawing

I had planned to get started on a new winter coat for myself and was planning to use another pattern, but I may very well switch gears and go with this pattern--I think it's a little more practical for our weather and will be a bit more flattering than the pattern I had originally chosen.

Final Thoughts

I have to say that although this was a small holiday collection, kudos to Simplicity for having some  unique designs in this release, even if they're not for everyone. On my "must have" list from this week are the Muse Ginny dress (actually, I already purchased it to get the new release discount after Debbie hinted at giving it an endorsement), and the Leanne Marshall coat (Simplicity 1254). I suspect that I'll also probably pick up New Look 6325 the next time that I'm in JoAnn's or Hancock because when you live in Seattle, you can never own too many things with a hood.

What are your picks from this week?