Doctor T Designs

Things I’ve been doing: sewing lots of stuff for my Wardrobe Sudoku Contest Entry.  Things I haven’t been doing: taking pictures of stuff for my Wardrobe Sudoku Contest Entry.  Expect a giant blog info-dump of multiple pattern reviews at some point in the near future.  In the meantime, to distract you from my lack of blogging prowess, let me dangle some shiny new patterns in front of your eyes.

Jalie

Jalie doesn’t come out with new collections that often, so when they do it is certainly worth taking a look, especially if you are into sewing activewear.  I have to say, I think they hit this collection out of the park!  I’ve got quite the stash of Jalie patterns as is, and they are a bit more costly than my usual Jo-Ann sale pattern prices, but with the incredibly expansive size ranges, sturdy pattern sheets, and great instructions it is pretty hard not to justify spending the money on them.  Let’s see what we’ve got:

I love the new skating costume/leotard (3673 Violeta) and bodysuit patterns (3672 Celeste) from Jalie.  Nice back details, and fairly simple designs, which make them easy to customize and modify.

Also obsessed with these tops (3667 Marie-Claude and 3668 Valerie) – both would be great to wear as cover-ups for a multitude of athletic endeavors that require one to wear a minimalistic leotard or bathing suit for practice in the winter months.

Lots of great bottoms too.  I’m a bit inclined to get 3674 (Isabelle) for the extended length, over the skate option, as I’ve taken to wearing leggings to practice in my old age.  3676 (Vanessa) looks great for all the same reasons I loved the similar pattern coming in the April Burda.  But, since I have that pattern coming in the April Burda, I probably do not need to also add Vanessa to the stash.  I also don’t have much use for 3670 (Loulouxe), the skort/tennis skirt, but I do think it is a great looking pattern.

I want the man’s shirt pattern (3669 Nico) for sure – I’m thinking I could frankenpattern it with the Jalie men’s skating pattern and get some nice raglan sleeve variations for men’s skating costumes there.  I can’t remember the last time I wore a bathing suit, let alone a bikini, but I actually rather like the style lines of the 3671 Gigi pattern.

The jacket/cardigan patterns are probably the ones I can least justify stashing, as I’ve got so many similar styles from Burda, but I really do like both of these styles quite a bit.  The multi-sizing of Jalie patterns could make these worth considering though… That kid’s jacket is so cute!

The boxy dress (3678 Rova) is probably the only real miss here for me.  It isn’t a bad pattern (I expect it would be a popular summer make), but isn’t something I would justify spending the money on when I’m sure I’ve got similar from either Burda or the Big 4.  Pika (3679), on the other hand, is an almost obligatory buy for me.  It is nearly identical to my sister’s favorite RTW top (that she has had for quite a while at this point), so I’m sure it would be a much appreciated gesture to make her a replacement when the original finally gives way.  Not to mention that I’d wear the heck out of it myself.  In both an athletic/sporty version and as a summer shirt as well.  Yup, definitely adding that to my list.

Marfy

Marfy is that pattern company that I love to look at, but never seem to touch.  Maybe if I ever need to sew a wedding dress.  Maybe then.  Or if I go to a fancy couture sewing retreat. But not something I’d really be able to justify wearing in everyday life, at least, not right now.  I know that they have many more patterns in their own company catalog, but every so often McCall’s posts a few on their website.  The latest batch are all spring/summer looks with the typical Marfy design details of pleats, gathers, and ruching.  I’m not particularly interested by most of this release actually.  You can follow the above link to see what McCall’s has added if Marfy is your jam, but for a brief preview, here are a few of my top picks:

Marfy 5146, 5085, 5057, 5232, and 5124.  I felt like these were pretty representative.  And I was also pretty bored by most of the release.  So bored, I can’t even find the energy to post pictures of them.

Burda Plus Magazine

So, earlier this year I got a letter saying that Burda Plus Magazine had been discontinued.  Turns out, it might only have been the English version, to which I had been subscribed, that is lost to us.  BurdaStyle Germany’s YouTube Channel recently posted the following video:

I’ve found nothing about this issue anywhere else on either the German or Russian sites, but I will say that the tiny glimpse into this issue has me excited.  Even if the magazine has gone the way of the Burda Easy and is no longer available in multiple languages, I must say that if I were more fully in the Burda Plus size range (and not borderline for bottoms only), I’d consider getting a German subscription again.  As is, I’m ok with what’s been available in the regular issues, but I do like a lot of what I’m seeing in this rather short video – especially the section showing how to style some of these patterns!

And that’s it!  Honestly, I’m really excited by the Jalie pattern releases, and less excited by the others.  I’m sure I’ll do a more extensive Burda Plus review if/when it gets posted to one of the Burda sites.  In the meantime I’ve got to get back to my wardrobe sudoku-ing!  Feel free to leave any thoughts on these pattern releases in the comments!