It’s about that time again, so here’s my highlights of the June, July and August issues of my favourite Dutch sewing pattern magazine, KnipMode!
June 2009
KnipMode turns 40 this year, and to celebrate, June’s issue is a special “40 years, 40 dresses” issue! Now, that doesn’t actually mean there’s 40 dress patterns, since some of the dresses are restyles or variations on the same pattern elsewhere in the magazine, but there are still a TON of dresses here, and only a very few garments.
My personal favourites of this issue are the Bottega Veneta & Martin Grant runway homages. Ooh, that BV wide neckline and the pockets(!), and the MG gathering is just spectacular, especially in the tartan that really emphasizes it!
My mom brought fabric with her to make one knit and one woven dress while she’s here with access to my sewing room, and for her red cotton, she’s picked out this red ruffled shirtdress.
I always think KnipMode are the best at producing consistently great and interesting Plus sized designs, and I was stunned by how great this surplice pleated Plus knit dress is and how flattering it’d be on larger bodies, especially teamed with a RTW belt.
July 2009
I’m uninterested in cropped trousers and shorts (don’t wear ‘em, don’t sew ‘em!) so for me, this issue was all about the “Hotel vs Camping” feature, with a bunch of wearable coordinates dressed up or down. In particular I love the vest top in silk satin (especially since I’ve got a few 1m cuts!), the wrapover knit top (ditto!), and the button tabbed skirt in the camping section.
KnipMode always have at least one pattern per magazine that isn’t really a pattern, but an easy garment made entirely from rectangles you measure yourself. It sounds dull, but I’m continually amazed at their creativity in coming up with wearable designs for beginners to sew in an afternoon, like this boxy cowl top.
August 2009
Now, the other months were good issues, but August is a spectacular issue that’s got me so excited to be back on my feet and into my sewing room! This one ranks up there with May for me as being one of their best this far this year…
From the Couture feature, this assymetrical ruffled silk Marni blouse and wool Schiaparelli funnel-necked coat are joined by a Cardin skirt suit and an YSL studded dress (very in fashion again!).
Another of those easy patterns made of drafting rectangles, this one is for a tube top with an attached halter overlay, that just looks SO cute and would be a perfect beginning sewing project for a teen!
KnipMode have been rocking the 1 pattern, 4 looks feature since their redesign in February, but this one just makes so much sense I’m amazed they hadn’t done it before. They look the same trouser pattern, and modified the rise so you can have it end at your hips, below the waist, on the natural waist, or extra high. What a great idea!
Never one to shy away from a terrible pun (“tas” is Dutch for bag, uuuuggggh), I am so smitten with this weekend bag pattern that I’ve already earmarked some fantastic IKEA canvas for it, though I’m definitely customising it to add more pockets. Just off the top of my head, the lower side portions can be doubled for pockets there, I’m adding a half pocket for magazines to one of the big sides (hello clever fabric pattern matching), and definitely a bunch inside, too. And I’ve already got plenty of O rings left from my many Nairobi handbags (shhh, they’re curtain rings from the hardware store!).
I’m not sure how I understand the “Amazon” title, but this fall fashion feature with a gorgeous white shirt with neck and cuff knife pleats instantly made me think of Cidell, and you can see the details here for the ruffled riding jacket, too, which is just gorgeous.
And Meryl Streep is certainly making her way round the pattern magazines at the minute (first Manequim’s Oscar feature, now Knip’s celebrity dresses feature!), and my mom really loved this one until I voiced some skepticism about the inverted V on pear shapes. Was I wrong to shatter her dreams?
Oh, and I failed to scan it for some reason, but my mom found her knit dress pattern in this August KnipMode, too! So it looks like everyone’s going Dutch this summer!