Last Week in Patterns (14-June-2015)

We had a moderately interesting week of releases and pattern news this week, with various types of announcements coming from the following pattern designers:

• Closet Case Files
• HotPatterns
• Jalie
• Maria Denmark
• Pauline Alice

Closet Case Files: Extended Size Range and Pattern Refinements

Heather Lou from Closet Case Files did something this week that I can't remember any other pattern designer doing: She published a set of revamped patterns (available to anyone who previously published one of her patterns) with a number of fitting issues addressed. Additionally, all of her patterns except for the Nettie bodysuit all go up to a size 20 (46" bust, 48" hip) now. So, if you bought a Bombshell swimsuit pattern a while back but had been hesitating making it up because you were just outside of the size range, you can now re-download your pattern with the size 20 included and not worry about grading up.

I think that this is awesome. While you could argue that some of the fitting adjustments should have been caught in the pattern testing stage, it's not uncommon to see a number of people have the same fitting issue in a pattern, regardless of whether that's a Big 4 or an indie pattern. I think that it's great that she both recognized these issues and made the fixes available to all of her customers. And she's also the first pattern maker that I can think of (other than BlueGingerDoll) who retroactively went back and added an extended size range to her older patterns. To celebrate the relaunch, all CCF file patterns are currently on sale for 20% off.

Now, if only Sewaholic would go back and extend the size range on the Minoru...

HotPatterns 1190: Fast & Fabulous Pull-on Palazzo Pants

HotPatterns has released their take on the palazzo pant trend that's been popping up this summer. I've been seeing a lot of this style around town--usually made up in some sort of rayon with a tribal or Native American style print. According to Trudy, these aren't a super wide palazzo, but are light and flowy. These pants have a yoga pant-style waistband and an option for pockets. This pattern is currently on sale for 20% off through the end of this weekend.

HotPatterns Palazzo Pant

Jalie pattern sneak peaks

I'll cover these patterns more when they're officially released, but Jalie has been giving sneak peaks of their upcoming collection for 2015 on their blog:

Jalie Blog

So far, they've all been activewear patterns of some kind: running tights, a leotard, a tennis/cycling dress, a one-piece cheerleader outfit, and a skating dress. There are rumors that one upcoming pattern will be a pair of pull-on skinny pants.

I can see the usefulness of these patterns if these are the types of garments that you sew, but I won't lie and say that I'm really hoping for a useful knit top or cardigan to be included somewhere in this batch.

Maria Denmark: Rachel Wrap Dress

Yes, it's another wrap dress pattern, but this one is Maria Denmark's take on it and addresses many of the wrap dress issues that many of us complain about:

• Uses bands instead of facings. 
• Bands are cut shorter than the neckline to prevent gaping.
• Gives the option of wrapping the ties around the waist to act as a waist seam or tying without wrapping around the waist.
• Offered in European sizes 34-54

I haven't made a Maria Denmark pattern yet, but I know that many people who have made them really love them. They're supposed to be true-to-size and well-drafted, and it sounds like this pattern solves many of the issues that can be irritating about wearing a wrap dress.

Maria Denmark - Rachel Wrap Dress

Pauline Alice: New pant and dress patterns

Xerea Dress

When I initially saw the blog post for this pattern with its seam-obscuring busy print, I thought, "Oh god, not another boring shift dress pattern for beginners."

But wait, there's more! Underneath that busy pattern, there are actually some interesting seamlines and pockets:

Pauline Alice - Xerea dress

The panel seams will help add shaping to this design, and those pockets are similar to the ones in the highly coveted OOP Simplicity 2245 Lisette Portfolio dress. Now that I see the line drawings, I really like this dress. The version with the front pleat will be hard to pull off on anyone who isn't tall and small-busted, IMO, but the more traditional shift should be fairly wearable for a lot of women. I'm not really a shift dress wearing person, but I do love creative pockets, and if I were a shift dress wearer, I'd be awfully tempted by this.

I also noticed that Pauline Alice has upped their size range recently to add a size 48 (42 1/2" or 108cm bust), which won't help me much, but it's a step in the right direction for sewists who were previously outside of the Pauline Alice size range.

Sorell Trousers

I'm also not a high-waisted, pleated trousers-wearing sort of person, but if I were, this pattern has some fun details.

Pauline Alice - Sorell Trousers

Now, the samples appear to have some fit issues, especially from the front where there appears to be some pulling at the waist and the crotch looks a bit long. However, yay because at least this isn't a track pant pattern?

 

Final Thoughts

So, to me, the biggest bits of news are from Closet Case Files and Jalie. With the size range expansion and sale going on right now, I finally pulled the trigger on the Bombshell swimsuit, and I re-downloaded my yet-to-be-made Ginger jeans pattern.

At the other side of the spectrum, so far I've been kind of disappointed that all of the patterns in the new Jalie release have been activewear patterns. If I was a runner, I'd be all over the running tights. The tennis/cycling dress is really cute, but I don't play tennis or cycle. Eva isn't old enough yet for gymnastics/cheerleading/skating yet, although I suspect that if she were into those sports, I'd be all over that new batch of patterns. I wonder if we'll see anything like the releases of a few years ago where we got knit tops, jeans, or outerwear. 

Is anyone else disappointed by the Jalie previews? I know that people love their patterns, and I'm guessing that these niche patterns must be their best selling types of patterns, but I'd kind of been hoping for something that would actually make sense for me to buy.