Saturday 31 May 2014

May Indie Pattern Update!


Phew, this has been one hectic month to catch up on! It was Sewing Indie Month so there has been even more fantastic stuff happening than normal. Organised by Mari from Seamster Sewing Patterns this month has been all about celebrating the creativity and hard work of all those Indie Pattern designers out there and they've been packing our feeds with interviews, tutorials and prizes; all this on top of all the usual excitement, so we'd best crack on with the news! As usual if I've missed anything please let me know in the comments below so I can add it in.


New Patterns


  • I've long been a fan of Deer and Doe's chic French pattern designs and their most recent release, the Centauree Dress is no exception. It features an unusually pieced bodice providing the ideal canvas for feature piping!
  • I was incredibly excited about the release of Papercut Pattern's new collection and I was not disappointed! I'm completely in love with the Soma Swimsuit. The patterns are now available as PDF versions as well as printed and go up to a size XL, hooray! Many of the old patterns have also been updated with more variations which there will be tutorials for on the Papercut Collective blog if you already own the patterns.
  • Kate & Rose Patterns (who I only discovered recently thanks to Sewing Indie Month!) also released a whole new collection of patterns this month, the folk inspired midtown collection. Which is your favourite?
  • The menswear pattern company Thread Theory released a free PDF pattern to celebrate their first year of business; the Arrowsmith Undershirt. They are also currently running a free shipping sale and have just released free downloadable French instruction booklets to accompany their patterns!
  • Amity from Lolita Patterns has just released the new Olive Blouse pattern. It comes with two variations both with a gorgeous peplum feature. 
  • Blue Ginger Doll released not one but two beautiful new vintage inspired patterns; a 1950s inspired swing jacket called Ava and the Betsy Pencil Skirt which comes with some awesome looking variations.
  • Mari from Seamster Sewing Patterns sure has been busy this month. As well as running SIM she's released the new Honeydew Skirt pattern specifically for beginners and available in plus sizes. Also all her patterns in future are to be available in paper form with amazingly waterproof tyvek envelopes!
  • Betsy from Skinny Bitch Curvy Chic has recently released the Reviver Skirt pattern. An ingenious design for knit fabrics consisting of just the one pattern piece it's not only a super speedy make but uses just a metre of fabric!

Upcoming Patterns


Yes a new category for this month's round up! There have been so many little preview pics and nuggets of info about exciting new patterns due for release soon that I just had to include them.
  • Kelly from True Bias will be releasing her very first pattern in the near future called the Hudson Pant! She was looking for pattern testers earlier in the month, although I'm sure she will have filled up those slots fairly quickly!
  • There will be a new skirt pattern coming from Dixie DIY soon, she gave us a preview on her blog of her test version and it looks about as cute and wearable as you would expect from Dixie!
  • Garmenter (the brilliant company who sell block patterns for different garments and then provides you with detailed tutorials on how to change the style and fit of those) are soon to be releasing their patterns for a blazer and trousers! I'm mighty tempted by the thought of a customisable trouser block.
  • After the success of the Archer Shirt I'm waiting with baited breath for Grainline Studio's next pattern; the Alder Shirtdress. Jen's patterns are always so versatile and wearable I'm sure this one will make it's way into my wardrobe.

Sew-Alongs


  • The sew-along for Deer and Doe's new Centauree Dress began on May 21st. I thought an FBA or SBA might prove a little tricky with so many bodice pieces, but I spotted a couple of great pots on the subject so make sure to check them out. 
  • Charlie from This Blog Is Not For You is currently running a sew-along for her first pattern the Fairytale Cape!
  • Colette Patterns ran an express weekend sew-along for their recently released Mabel skirt. Don't worry if you missed it, all the posts will continue to be available on their dedicated sew-along site if you need any extra tips or pics.
  • Lolita Patterns are not running a full blown sew-along for their new Olive Blouse but are gradually uploading tutorials on the trickier aspects of that make. I fantastic idea as a way of giving extra guidance without the time pressure I think!
  • Another sew-along about to kick off is 'Everyone Deserves Pretty Knickers Week'. Measure Twice Cut Once is hosting sew-alongs for both her Charlotte and Jane Knicker patterns over the week as well as other inspiring nuggets of undergarment related inspiration.

Other Exciting News


  • There were a few big anniversary celebrations this month including 1 year of Thread Theory, 3 years of Sew Over It and 5 years of Colette Patterns! How fantastic is it that these small companies have developed into such well established and successful businesses?!
  • Along with a new vintage inspired swimsuit pattern for Butterick, Gertie announced the upcoming release of her second book 'Gertie Sews Vintage Casual'. It's going to follow along the same style lines of her first book but with a focus on patterns for casual wear. It's available for preorder now and will be out in September!
  • As well as a new pattern coming soon Jen from Grainline Studio has been working super hard on paper versions of all her patterns! I cannot wait. Her PDF versions will also be coming with copy shop layouts to save you the hassle of piecing together the PDF pages.
  • I know for many of you it felt like a long wait but Tilly's book 'Love at First Stitch' was finally released earlier this month. It's focused on teaching a novice seamstress how to sew by completing the projects included in the book and I know from my Instagram feed that many of you have laid hands on this beautiful tome already! 
  • Coinciding with her book launch Tilly also released her PDF Miette skirt and Mathilde blouse patterns in paper form. I just love the packaging and colour photographs accompanying the instructions!
  • Sewaholic's most recent pattern, the Belcarra Blouse, has been released as a downloadable PDF as well as the paper version! It's the first Sewaholic pattern to be released in this format and I'm excited to see which other patterns may also be as it means getting my hands on those goodies even quicker!
  • Pauline Alice shared the massive news that all of her beautiful feminine patterns will soon be available in printed format! That might just tip me over the edge when it comes to resisting buying the Malvarosa Dress...

I have been so inspired by so many of the makes popping up in my reader this month, here's a few of them to get your creative juices flowing!



32 comments:

  1. Thank You! I appreciate your posts on this topic. :)

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  2. I love reading your monthly indie updates. thank you so much for doing them! This year has been the "year of Indie" for me!

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    1. That was my year last year and now I'm hooked!

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  3. Hi Fiona,

    Thanks for including Seamster in your list!

    Unfortunately, I never said all future patterns will be in plus too. Releasing a pattern in plus is a ton of work, which I unfortunately can't do for every pattern right now as I have a day job to pay the bills. Of course I'm still happy to do it for select patterns when I can, like Honeydew.

    You've got a ton of info to coordinate with your awesome updates, this month especially, so I completely understand the mix up. Would you mind taking out that bit about plus patterns? I don't want to disappoint anyone!

    Thanks,
    Mari

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    1. Hi Mari!
      Sorry for getting a little muddled there! I make notes as I spot things and must have got a mixed up somewhere along the line! All changed for you now

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  4. Thanks again for including us in your update! I love reading these - it gets me feeling so inspired and excited to be part of the indie sewing community!

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    1. You are so very welcome, my boyfriend has basically requested each and every one of your patterns so I'd better get cracking!

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  5. Love these posts. They are really informative. How do you know all this though?! :)

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    1. Haha! I follow a lot of blogs and people on instagram and jot things down as I see them to remember at the end of the month!

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  6. I'm in love with the Giselle dress by Kate & Rose... probably helps that one of my daughters is called Giselle but it looks to be the perfect autumn dress to me!

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    1. O that's such a beautiful name Lizzy! That pattern would look stunning on you, I love Oona's!

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  7. Aww, thanks for linking up! Great list, will check out the ones i didn't know about yet!

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    1. You are very welcome, loving your Elisalex!

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  8. This is a great post! Thank you for going through the trouble of bringing us all this information :)

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    1. You are welcome, I love putting them together!

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  9. Thanks for doing all of this Fiona! I feel like it's a public service ;-)

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  10. So many new patterns! Love it.

    Another sew-a-long kicking off today is www.measuretwicecutonce.com.au/2014/05/everyone-deserves-pretty-knickers-week-is-here. Measure Twice Cut Once is hosting "everyone deserves pretty knickers week" with a sewalong on her blog and other stuff.

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    1. O thanks very much for the tip! I'm off to add it in now!

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  11. Thanks for writing these posts! It must be a lot of work but they're always so fun to read.

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    1. It's really enjoyable and I do it little by little over the month so it's always a pleasure!

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  12. I really look forward to these monthly posts, there's always so much going on it's great to keep up to date with everything and I always find more patterns to add to my wish list! Thanks for taking the time and effort to put them together!

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    1. It's a pleasure! Sorry for giving you too many options to choose from!

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  13. Thanks for including the new patterns: Betsy & Ava in the list, and especially for all your hard work in collating all this info! Amazing :)

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  14. I love these posts Fiona and it was such a nice surprise to see my Robson at the bottom. Thanks for the shout out!

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    1. You are so welcome Claire, you did a fantastic job and I love the fabric!

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  15. Thanks for the round up, it's always exciting to hear about new indie patterns. Can't wait for Kelly's patterns to come out, her style is awesome.

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    1. Me neither, really looking forward to them!

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  16. Kate and Rose are new faves of mine. I am fancying the Mariska skirt. As an embroidery fan I love their idea of selling embroidery patterns alongside the clothing patterns for more customisation. Though I am torn between that and the Alder skirt pattern which looks like it would be a nice quick make whilst still being a bit different. Also excited about the Hudson pant pattern. We all need a nice pair of comfy trousers to chuck on!!

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    1. Kat and Rose do have some beautiful designs indeed and as you say practical patterns are always a winner in my book!

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