These issues of Patrones are a few months old, but I only just received them so I thought it was worth a brief whirlwind tour of my favourites (even if it’s only to jog my memory later when I’m looking for patterns to sew)!
(Top: 297, 296. Bottom: 298, 294)
First up is a surprise summer issue – James’s parents visited Portugal in December and I asked if they would keep an eye open for Manequim or Patrones while they were there, and despite looking everywhere, they only found this copy at the airport on their way home! Considering it’s 5-6 months old, I have no idea how it was still around!
Patrones 294
This issue is nearly entirely wispy summer dresses that can’t really cope with our bold and brash English “summers”, but I do think this Hilfiger-esque shift dress would work well in our climate. With a cardie.
Out of the 10 or so different swimsuit patterns, this bikini stood out for me because of the nice gathering detail on the bust cups.
The next three issues I ordered from the Danish shop Hos Hanne using half the Google Adsense payment you all earned me (thank you!) and these arrived while I was ill. They’ve already been covered in depth by other sewists, so here’s just my favourites!
Patrones 296
Even with the repeated maternity section from #264 (what, you think we wouldn’t notice??), this is still my favourite issue of the bunch.
I utterly, utterly love this pleated asymmetrical turtleneck! I think I’ve got the perfect fabric for it, too, but I’m not sure how wide to make these pleats so that they won’t collapse along the top of the sleeve or the middle of the chest. In this sort of pattern, Patrones always have you pre-pleat the fabric and then lay their pattern piece out to cut it, so you can’t work out the pleat depth from the piece itself. Barring that, I think this would be an equally stunning design in just two contrast fabrics (or stretch lace overlay! ooh!)
I really like these pieced trousers but the model photo looks like she’s got a major diaper-butt! The pattern pieces don’t look too different from the standard crotch so it’d be straightforward to trace the crotch curve off another pair onto this to “fix” it.
A gaggle of awesome skirts! (I do believe that’s the proper collective noun)
I really like this Plus knit dress, though that model really should have had an FBA – check out where that underbust band is!
Patrones 297
This one’s chock full of glitzy cocktail and evening dresses! Swoon!
You don’t often see formal dresses with long sleeves, especially not with such a dramatic design as this giant bow! But wowza that neckline is low!
My eye keeps gravitating towards pieced trousers like these after sewing my Burda riding trousers, and these use contrast fabrics in the inner thigh!
This folded, pleated miniskirt has such a cool design! I’d love to make this, but a tad bit longer as I don’t think you could actually sit down in it as drafted. But what an inventive pattern!!
This tulip coat is simply amazing! There aren’t any side seams on that skirt (just at the bodice level) so the folds fall naturally. I love, love this shape, but I know this wouldn’t work sat on a crowded bus, for example. So I stash it under “not for my unglamorous lifestyle”…
I’m totally ho-hum about the suit on the left, but I love the pleated satin top and the draped skirt on the right! The top in particular looks like a great use for a metre or so of silk charmeuse which tend to accumulate in my sewing room…
Take a look at this show-stoppingly gorgeous draped Plus dress!! OMG! And the pattern is actually very straightforward – it’s just a simple camisole dress with some rectangles of chiffon woven over the bodice (something you could drape over any similar dress pattern if you have a dressmaker’s dummy).
Patrones 298
This issue I bought sight-unseen, and it’s full of white button-down shirts, vests/waistcoats, and blazer-type jackets, none of which I wear. Boo. And a much larger than normal Plus section, which also doesn’t do me much good.
The chances of me sewing this draped top got considerably higher once I realised that only takes 1m of fabric! woo!
You know how much I love cowl necks, so I immediately fell in love with this deep cowl tunic. But thinking practically, you really would have to wear it with a belt and something overtop to reign in that cowl when you move or bend over!
How much do I freaking love this Plus coat?? Argh why isn’t it in my size? (Note: this enthusiastic comment was written before I was neck-deep in my winter coat construction. I am slightly less enamoured with coats in general at the moment!)
Coming up: SURPRISE! My first issue of my Manequim subscription arrived a month early! Omg! (Shame December is full of floaty summer stuff…)