This Week in Patterns (5-Feb-2016)

Sorry about not posting for a few weeks, but the pattern releases have been trickling in this winter. I'm seriously considering scaling back this post series to an every-other-week (or even once-monthly) frequency while things are somewhat slow in terms of new patterns.

Since the last post in this series, we've had new releases from the following companies:

• Butterick
• Colette/Seamwork Magazine
• Kwik Sew
• Sew Over It
• StyleArc

Butterick: Spring 2016 collection

First up, we have the Butterick 2016 spring patterns, which were released yesterday. Overall, I think that this is a pretty solid collection, with something for everyone. However, nearly ever garment is made up in a print, so you really have to drill down into the individual web pages for the technical drawings to see what's going on with most of these. Here are a few that caught my eye:

B6333: Misses' shirtdress

Hey, it's a shirtdress that's really similar to the ever-popular McCalls M6696, but without the back poof of the McCall's and WITH shoulder princess seams instead of darts. Yes, I will be picking this up at the next Butterick sale.

B6333

B6322: Misses' Ruched Corset-style Dress (Patterns by Gertie)

Gertie clearly took her recent dirndl obsession a step further by designing this dirndl-inspired dress for Butterick's spring collection. I actually think that this is super cute, but this dress would never work on my boobtastic figure. Design-wise, though, it's youthful, and should be flattering on non-busty figures, and it's a fun, unique design.

B6322

B6323: Misses' One-Shoulder Dress (Patterns by Gertie)

Further evidence that Gertie has something against boobs.

B6323

B6321: Misses' Square Neck Dresses (Lisette)

If you get rid of the boob flaps, B6321 is a cute dress.

B6321

B6320: Misses' Sweetheart Neckline Dress and Jumpsuit

The jumpsuit view of this is similar to a romper that I've seen pop up on Modcloth. It's a cute design, although with those defined "cups", I can't see this being particularly large-bust friendly, if you're over a D-cup. Yes, you could FBA/enlarge the cups, but that will throw off the proportions of the look.

B6320

B6331: Misses' Trench Jacket and Pants

I LOVE this trench jacket from Lisette. I have plenty of basic pant patterns and have generally found the Big 4 crotch curve to not be a good fit for me, but these would probably work well for others.

B6331

Colette/Seamwork Magazine: February 2016 Issue

The theme for February is "The Intimate Issue", which isn't surprising given that many organizations/companies/whatever go with a lingerie theme for February. (Heck, over at the Curvy Sewing Collective, we chose February for our lingerie-themed month.)

Seamwork: Almada Robe

First up is a robe with an interesting, if possibly not particularly practical sleeve design:

Seamwork - Almada robe

Seamwork: Lisbon Slip/Nightie

The Lisbon is a princess seamed (!) bias slip or nightie with an optional modesty panel. With my giant boobs, traditional slips or nighties without an underbust seam tend to hang off of me like a tent, so I'm intrigued by this one.

Seamwork - Lisbon slip/nightie

Kwik Sew: Spring 2016 Release

We had a small release for spring from Kwik Sew this past week. Of the 20 patterns included in the release, only 10 of them are for adult women (the rest are crafts or children's patterns). Of those 10, most look either somewhat dated by a few years or like patterns that you could easily find in other catalogs.

K4155

The one pattern that did jump out at me was K4155, a princess seamed shirtdress with a gored 1/4-circle skirt:

K4155

Sew Over It: Tulip Skirt

On-the-rise British pattern company Sew Over It released a new skirt PDF pattern recently. This one is for a tulip-style skirt and is appropriately named "Tulip Skirt":

Sew Over It - Tulip Skirt

StyleArc: Februrary 2016 Release

It's a new month, so we have new StyleArc patterns available.

StyleArc: Alegra Coat/Jacket

The Alegra is a cocoon-style jacket or coat with raglan sleeves.  Put this one in the category of "I think that the design is interesting, but I'm not sure that I could wear it."

StyleArc - Alegra jacket/coat

StyleArc: Talia woven pant (freebie option)

The Talia is a straight-legged woven pull-on pant with optional welt pockets and elastic in the back part of the waistband. This looks like it could be a really useful pattern, and it's one of the freebie choices for the month of February if you purchase at least one other StyleArc paper pattern.

StyleArc - Talia pant

StyleArc: Allison Skirt

The Allison is an elastic waist skirt with inverted pleats at its gores. I really like this skirt--it's cute and looks like it would be swishy and comfortable. If I were to place an order this month, it'd be a tough decision for me between the Talia pant and the Allison.

StyleArc - Allison skirt

Final Thoughts

So those are the big releases of the past few weeks, as they've come trickling in. Would anyone be heartbroken if I scaled back the frequency of this roundup series, given that we're not being inundated with the flood of new patterns that we were a year or two ago?  Also, what are your picks from this batch?

This Week in Patterns (8-Jan-2016)

First pattern roundup of the new year!  Not surprisingly, we've got several batches of new patterns to go through.

• Colette/Seamwork
• Simplicity
• StyleArc
• Vogue

Colette/Seamwork: January 2016 Issue ("The Body Issue")

Colette's Seamwork magazine this month has an "activewear" theme. For the two Seamwork patterns this month, we get an exercise top and exercise pants.

Seamwork: Aires Exercise Tights

The Aires Exercise tights are notable less for design and more for the fact that they include a crotch gusset for easier movement and are available in a 3XL (56" or 142cm hip size). Off the top of my head, this is the largest size range for a commercial pattern for actual exercise tights. (If you're a plus sized sewist, you might have found that it's nearly as difficult to find plus sized activewear sewing patterns as it is to find plus sized activewear in RTW.) I'm really glad to see that there's finally a pattern to fill this niche. Sure, there's some gratuitous piecing/color-blocking here, but I could see this being quite a useful pattern for many of us.

Seamwork - Aires exercise tights

Seamwork: Rio Tee

The Rio is a hi-low tee that can be used in activewear.  I don't have much to say about this one way or another--it doesn't really fill a niche the way that the Aires does, but I guess Seamwork needed to release a second pattern this month.

Seamwork - Rio tee

Simplicity: Spring 2016 release

I'm linking to Pattern Review's version of this batch of patterns because the Simplicity website is nearly completely unusable right now. As far as I can tell, these patterns aren't even up there yet, even though they're available through PR and in some big box stores. I do like some of the patterns in this batch and will probably buy them at a future JoAnn's sale.

Simplicity 8047: Amazing Fit Dress

It's Simplicity's take on the over-crop-top trend that we're starting to see for Spring. We'll see it again in the new StyleArc patterns. I like this option--it's a way to do the crop top trend (if you're a trend person) without showing skin, if that's something that you tend to avoid (like I do).

Simplicity 8047

Simplicity 8053: Misses' shirts

Hey, it's a Grainline Archer shirt, but with shoulder princess seams AND cup sizes up to a DD! There's even an open v-neck option, similar to Colette's Aster shirt. This one looks like a great wardrobe basic pattern to me.

Simplicity 8053

Simplicity 8050: 40's dress reissue

I haven't watched Agent Carter, but I'm seeing a lot of people online saying that this pattern is a call to that character's costuming. I'm going to assume that's the case with Simplicity, but having not even seen the show, I still love this dress as a standalone pattern.

Simplicity 8050

Simplicity 8074: Misses' Costumes

So, here we've got a couple of different takes on Sand Snakes costumes (interesting, considering how poorly those characters translated from the Song of Ice and Fire books to HBO's Game of Thrones), and what's that hidden in the back over on the right?  Is that an unlicensed (and probably rushed into production after the trailer was released) Rey costume from The Force Awakens? On a related note, if my daughter wants to be BB-8 for Halloween next year, does that give me an excuse to dress my husband up as Kylo Ren?

Simplicity 8074

StyleArc: January 2016 release

With StyleArc drifting towards a minimalist, boxy aesthetic for many of their recent releases, it's nice to see this new group of patterns for January. Most of these patterns capitalize on current trends, and when combined, could even be used to make a capsule wardrobe. Additionally, for January, in addition to the monthly freebie that StyleArc always offers (this month, it's the Kendall knit top), if you buy two of the new patterns, you can select a third for free. So, doing the math, that's four patterns for the price of two.

StyleArc: Crystal Over-shirt

The assymmetrical hem on this one is starting to feel a little dated, but other than that (which could easily be altered), this is both a really unique and wearable design. The back detail is unexpected and fun.

StyleArc - Crystal over-shirt

StyleArc: Kendall Knit Top (January Freebie)

The Kendall is a nice basic knit top with a draped shawl collar. It's also the "official" freebie for the month of January, if you buy any other paper patterns this month. It's not the world's most exciting design, but it's definitely one that you could get a lot of mileage and wear out of with different fabrics. Not bad for a freebie.

StyleArc - Kendall knit top

Madison Top

The Madison is a trapeze-shaped raglan-sleeved top that be made up either in a knit or a stable woven.  This is probably my least favorite pattern out of the January bunch in that it's the least interesting (to me). Again, like the other patterns this month, it's certainly a fine basic, though.

StyleArc - Madison top

Taylor Knit Skirt

The Taylor is a pull-on knit skirt with a split hem. From the line drawings, it almost gives the effect of a faux wrap skirt. I like this one--it's a fun design and looks like it would be comfortable and easy to make and wear.

StyleArc - Taylor knit skirt

StyleArc: Kylie Knit Top

The Kylie knit top has an overlay to mimic the appearance of the crop tops that were everywhere last year, but with its underlayer, will show less skin than a traditional crop.  I love the design of this one, although with the boxy overlayer, I'm doubtful as to how it would look on my own busty figure.

StyleArc - Kylie Knit Top

Vogue Patterns: Spring 2015 release

I know that I've made this confession before, but I'll make it again. It's hard for me to do Vogue recaps because Vogue patterns, while often having interesting details, are so far outside of my own personal style aesthetic. I know that I've seen a lot of positive comments about this collection in other online sewing communities, but I largely reacted to it with a shrug--there are a LOT of boxy and/or artsy-type designs in this batch that aren't anywhere close to the clothing that I wear.  That said, here are the picks that I found most interesting:

V1488: DKNY Shirtdress

This wrap-tie is an interesting way to bring some shape to this shirtdress. This could be cute and fun to wear in the summer. Realistically, it's probably the only pattern in this collection that I could realistically see myself buying.

V1488

V9168: Misses Flutter Sleeve Dress, Belt, and Slip

In its maxi-length (as shown), this dress is a bit too Laura Ashley for me. But imagine it shortened to, say, knee-length, and I think it could be really cute. I'm intrigued by the sheer-dress-over-slip concept, too.

V9168

V1494: Sandra Betzina Coat and Vest

I'm not normally a big fan of Sandra Betzina's designs (again, they're fine; they're just not my style at all), but I do really like the interesting seaming on this coat and vest pattern.

V1494

Final Thoughts

So that's this weeks' patterns. I'm tempted to order a few of those StyleArcs--particularly with the 4-for-the-price-of-2 deal that they have going for the January patterns. Beyond that, I can see myself picking up the shoulder-princess-seamed button-up from Simplicity and that 40's dress (just to have...because it's awesome). I think I'm at the point where I'd probably collect Star Wars costume patterns just for the sake of having them, but I'd be shocked if we don't see some actual officially licensed ones in the coming months--especially with Simplicity having the license for Disney's other costume patterns. Your thoughts/favorites?

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?

This Week in Patterns (6-Nov-2015)

Can you believe that it's November already? I've been making good headway on my sewing goals for fall, but I can tell that a number of the garments that I'd planned to make (and still plan to make) won't get sewn until 2016. And, of course, there's always bright and shiny new patterns to be a distraction, right?

With the start of the new month, we've got new offerings from the following pattern companies this week:

• Colette - Seamwork magazine
• HotPatterns
• StyleArc

Colette Seamwork - November 2015 Issue

Colette is billing this month's issue of Seamwork as "the warmth issue", and its articles this month are largely geared towards the cozy sewing that many of us love. The two new patterns reflect this theme.

Seamwork - Camden Cape

I really like this cape. It looks so chic and cozy, and unlike a surprising number of cape patterns, this one is actually lined. Now, I wouldn't have a hope of sewing this up in the advertised time frame of 3 hours, but I will happily happily HAPPILY take more interesting patterns like this one that are really pushing the "quick and easy" Seamwork mantra over another boring woven t-shirt.

Seamwork - Camden cape

Seamwork - Wembley Cardigan

Unlike the Camden cape, the Wembley cardigan seems like more of a throwaway pattern. The samples all look a bit odd where the two sets of bands meet up, and I've got more interesting cardigan patterns already in my pattern stash.

Seamwork - Wembley cardigan

HotPatterns: Fast & Fabulous Diorella T-shirt blouse

I'll admit that at very first glance when I opened the email announcement, I sort of scratched my head at HotPatterns' new release. "Um, that looks awfully similar to last summer's HP Trilogy Top pattern," but then I looked a little closer, saw the back detail, and went "Oh!"...and then read the pattern description, which explains how this pattern is designed for a mix of knits and wovens and went "OH!" And yes, I know that I'm a bit of a HotPatterns fangurl, but I do really like this one, especially since it has the option of cut-on cap or long sleeves. There are a lot of fun design options here:

HotPatterns - Diorella T-shirt blouse

StyleArc: November 2015 release

This month's StyleArc offerings are fairly interesting, even if they're not all particularly my style. As they've done in recent months, StyleArc is offering two choices for a free pattern with the purchase of at least one other printed pattern this month. Also as they've done in recent months, one freebie choice is new (the Nora) and the other is an older, basic pattern (the Abby cardigan).

Violet Knit Jacket

The Violet knit jacket is a cocoon shape and promises some interesting construction. I think that this one would be really fun to make, although I don't know how this shape would translate to someone with a large bust.

StyleArc - Violet knit jacket

Ebony Woven Pant

These remind me of the wrapover pant style that pops up in BurdaStyle every so often, but without the dropped crotch that usually accompanies the Burda versions. The StyleArc take appears more wearable to me, at least from the line drawing. I've always been intrigued by this style but have never tried a pair myself. I think I'd want to see these on a curvy body before pulling the trigger, but I'm kind of tempted on this one.

StyleArc - Ebony woven pant

Nora Woven Tunic/Dress (freebie for November)

The Nora is all about the neckline. The twisted neckline on this pattern is much easier to discern and looks more interesting in the sample photos on StyleArc's website and that StyleArc recently teased on Instagram. The boxy shape wouldn't work for me, but I like the neckline.

StyleArc - Nora Tunic/Dress

Final Thoughts

The only must-have this week is the new HotPatterns blouse, but I'll be keeping an eye out for how those new StyleArcs look on a larger and/or curvy figure. I actually really like that Seamwork cape, too, but day-to-day separates are up higher on my sewing priority list right now.

So...likes and dislikes of this past week? ;)

This Week in Patterns (2-Oct-2015)

Things have been fairly quiet on the release front this past week after a huge week of new patterns last week. I thought about holding off on a post this week and combining this week's updates with next week's, but I have a strong suspicion that many of you might be interested in one of the new StyleArc offerings, so I wanted to get that out there for those of you not on their mailing list.

This week, we have new releases from two pattern designers:

• Colette - Seamwork Magazine
• StyleArc

Colette Seamwork - October 2015 Issue

Before we get into the patterns for this month, let's talk about the subscription change that Sarai announced on Thursday. Whereas previously, your $6 per month subscription got you whatever two patterns were included in that month's Seamwork release. Now, however, you'll be getting $6 in pattern credit, meaning that you can either choose one or both of that month's patterns or choose something from Seamwork's pattern archive. If nothing appeals to you, then your credits roll over to the next month.

To me, this is an extremely customer-friendly move. I do like the occasional Seamwork pattern, but there are also a number of them, such as the Florence bra or the recent bikini top, that I'd never even bother with.

Paxson Sweatshirt

This month, we're seeing the first Seamwork men's pattern released--a raglan-sleeved sweatshirt. There's such a dearth of men's patterns out there, that I can't think of a currently in-print equivalent pattern, although there might be one escaping me.  I've got no complaints about this one--it's a nice basic and something that a lot of men would probably wear. It's got a nice size range, too.

Seamwork - Paxson Sweatshirt

Denali Vest

The Denali vest is a unisex quilted, fully-lined vest. Yeah, I don't see how anyone is going to make this in under three hours, but it could be a pretty useful layering piece. Some of the samples are a bit dodgy-looking, but I really like the idea of this vest, and like the Paxson sweatshirt, it fills a pattern niche that isn't already overpopulated with similar patterns.

Between the subscription announcement and this month's patterns, I have to say "Well done, Seamwork", now keep up the good work in the coming months. (Granted, I still wish that Colette would spend some energy focusing on interesting, regular pattern releases, but that ship seems to have sailed.)

Seamwork - Denali

StyleArc: October 2015 Releases

Beatrice Pea Coat

StyleArc released a classic pea coat! StyleArc released a classic pea coat!

One of the biggest grumblings that I've observed in the online sewing community in recent years is the lack of decent, classic pea coat patterns. Vogue has that new Anne Klein pattern, but my understanding is that it's more of a jacket and not fully lined. The StyleArc version, on the other hand, does have a full lining and it's designed for wool coatings. What's not to love here? This is a classic style that you'll be able to wear for years to come.

This is fantastic. I think I'd opt for a paper pattern here because there's no way that I'd want to piece together the PDF for this.

My only "hmmmm" comment here is that the technical drawing shows a welt that's on the side panel, whereas the fashion drawing shows a welt on the center panel. Welts can be done either way, but on the center panel, you're construction is going to be more like a single welt pocket, as opposed to if it's on the side panel, where it'll be more like doing a fancy inseam pocket.

StyleArc - Beatrice coat

StyleArc's newsletter also revisited the Grace Trans-seasonal Coat, for those who prefer an unlined coat.

Mavis Knit Tunic

This was actually released at some point in the past week or so, but I missed it.  I can't wear a turtleneck (boobs), but if I could, I'd love this tunic with its interesting inset details.

StyleArc - Mavis knit tunic

Pearl Knit top (October freebie - new)

As has been the case in one other recent month, in October, if you place an order for paper patterns on StyleArc's website, you'll get to choose between one new and one older pattern as your freebie pattern. The new pattern is an on-trend if not particularly exciting knit top with an asymmetric hem and drape pocket.

StyleArc - Pearl knit top

Tiffany Blouse (October freebie - archive)

Your other choice for a freebie this month is the Tiffany blouse--a princess seamed pussybow blouse that's been in StyleArc's archives for several years. I've had this pattern in and out of my shopping cart a number of times over the years (I have other pussybow blouse patterns, but none with princess seams). Since the Pearl top doesn't have a ton of shaping, I love that they're also offering the Tiffany blouse as an alternative freebie.

StyleArc - Tiffany blouse

Final Thoughts

OMG, I love that peacoat. Did you get that impression from my post? The thing is, I've already made my "new coat" for the year, and I'm not sure that I want to invest the time in doing another coat...but that coat is such a classic! And, I could finally add the Tiffany blouse to my pattern stash...  Hmmm...  Anyone else love that peacoat, or is it just me?

And how do you feel about the Seamwork changes? Whereas I had no interest in subscribing before, I will say that I'm mildly intrigued now. Probably not right away, but if they could put together a few consecutive months of patterns that I liked, I might bite.