It’s been a while, but I’ve got the newest Spring/Summer issues of the Dutch-produced, quadrilingual pattern magazine MyImage to share with you, plus a peek into the second edition of their new children’s pattern magazine, B*inspired, too.
MyImage magazine
I absolutely love the jersey cowl dress on the right! It’s made up in three different prints in the magazine but it just looks so easy to wear for summer – that skirt wrap is an extra layer over a full skirt so there’s no chance of wind-related mishaps, either. On the left, there’s a casual woven shell with deep pleats at the neckline that would be very figure-forgiving, and it’s paired with a basic jeans pattern. I’ve been meaning to sew a pair of MyImage jeans for years now so I really must get on with it…
There are three Plus patterns in this issue – nice basics in the form of a loose, sleeveless shell with hi-lo hem, classic jeans, and this jersey surplice dress. Like the cowl dress above, the front skirt panel overlaps a full layer underneath so there’s no flashing worries, and the shoulder pleats look like they’d provide some nice shaping for larger cup-sizes, too.
Both the skirt and the top here look simple on first glance, but there are some really nice details on further inspection – the top is princess lined in the front, but the back is formed of two overlapping layers that aren’t fully caught in the side seams. I imagine this would be perfect for those of you with hot and humid summers as you’d get a breeze on your back! The skirt has a basic A-line shape, but with a curved section on the left hip and gathers radiating from it, making it look like a little sun!
And finally – how wonderful are these two knit dresses? Those little integrated cap sleeves on the left dress are both easy to sew and would help to keep pale shoulders like mine from getting sunburnt. It’s a basic design, but one that could work for a ton of different fabrics in my stash and be worn all summer long. The dress on the right has curved seaming reminiscent of that Stella McCartney dress but cut a little bit differently above the bust so you get some extra colourblocking around the neckline. All very nicely done!
I noticed a new addition at the back of the magazine this time, too – two projects get steo-by-step colour photos for the construction details, which should help those who struggle with the standard text-only translated instructions (which I’ve skimmed and seem to look okay, but not great).
You can see the full set of tech drawings for this issue here, or browse the magazine pages here (and, err, buy it here!).
B*inspired magazine
MyImage used to produce a magazine of kids patterns called YoungImage, but that seems to have stopped and there’s now this new magazine instead, which covers the same range of sizes – from babies to tweens and boys as well as girls. The magazine itself is a slightly smaller size than MyImage but printed on thicker, matte paper, and with extremely similar pattern sheets (both far less dense to trace than Burda).
Even though my nephew’s too big now, I still get excited when I see nice patterns for boys as I know there’s such a limited amount out there. Here there’s a classic, straight-cut jeans pattern (also with a shorts variation) and super versatile v-neck raglan teeshirt, plus a little drawstring backpack. You can also see some of the baby patterns here, which also have boy/girl variations included.
Lots of pink on this page, but the trenchcoat pattern is totally lovely and would be a perfect spring jacket whether it’s raining or not. The little girl’s dress is quite cute (and would certainly use up enough quilting cotton remnants since they’re layered up on the skirt), but I’m most drawn to her bolero. How cute is the back view with the triangular cutout and bow!?
I selected this one mostly because I could totally see my niece in this halter top and shorts outfit! The interest in the halter top is mostly in the back, with an elasticated back edge and then added frills in the lower back (it’s easy to achieve that lettuce-edge with an overlocker rolled hem, too).
And finally, I really love the patterns and the styling here for a loose, airy summer blouse and skinny jeans. Both work really well together, and both these and the last set of patterns go up to size 176 (height in cm) so fill that void for tweens where they’re often too big for children’s patterns but too small (and/or shaped differently) for women’s patterns.
You can see the full set of tech drawings for this issue here, or browse the magazine pages here (and, err, buy it here!).
Giveaway!
Thanks to the magazine producers (who also kindly supplied my copies for review), I’ve got two copies of MyImage and three of B*Inspired to give away to my readers! Due to international post skyrocketing in the last few years, however, I’m afraid I’m only able to ship to UK/EU addresses (mostly because there’s a cheap “printed materials” rate within the EU). If you live elsewhere and would still like to enter, please only do so if you’re willing to pay for the postage.
To enter the draw, please leave a comment below stating your favourite pattern from the magazines you’d like to win (ie: tell me your favourite MyImage pattern if you only are interested in winning MyImage, or only your B*inspired favourite, or your favourites from both). The competition is now closed! Congrats to sewingelle, Jennifer C, Erin, Jane, and Sofie!
I’ll pick the winners by random draw next Monday, 10 March. Good luck!