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!

• The fabric Pauline Alice used for her latest Cami Dress is insanely beautiful and she has used the border print to perfection don't you think?!
• We all know that I love Sewaholic's Robson Trench Coat and Claire from I Want To Be A Turtle has created a stunning duck egg version. I love the little hearts that look like polka dots! 
• Charlie from This Blog Is Not For You wore this floral Elisalex she made to Rachel's huge blogger meet up in London a couple of weeks ago and it was catching my eye all day!
• Kathy (a.k.a. the Nerdy Seamstress) made up this beautiful version of Deer and Doe's Pavot Jacket to wear for her trip to Paris. Parisian chic to a tee!
• Winnie's Flora Dress made me shriek when the picture popped up in my reader. The bold print works so well with the wrap bodice and the piping was a perfect choice to compliment it!