Doctor T Designs

New year new patterns! There is always a bit of a lull around the holiday times, but I expect we shall start to see the rolling out of new pattern releases in the next few weeks to prepare for the upcoming spring sewing seasons. My Image Magazine has released their 20th(!) issue, which, for those of us who have been here since the beginning, seems like a lot! In the interest of saving myself some time (because I have a really hectic schedule this month) but also posting things in a timely manner, I’m going to have to provide a bit less commentary than usual, but I will provide some general comments at the bottom of this post.

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If you want to see the whole magazine, you can look at the My Image website, but I’ve also posted references images below:

On the whole I think this is a pretty decent issue from My Image. While I personally still think some of their best patterns are in their earliest magazine releases, I do think that the magazine has sort of found its own style, in that is roughly follows trends, but in a way that provides very “every day wearable” sorts of garments. Certainly, while I would say that Burda and Patrones tend to follow the fashion/runway scene a bit more, My Image seems to fall a bit more in line with how many of the indie pattern companies design, though one issue of the magazine is actually a fantastic bargain if you want to place in a price comparison with many of the other indie brands. I mean, to be honest, most magazine patterns are fantastic bargains really.

Anyway, on to the actual garments. Personally, there’s nothing here that is really getting me super excited, but I will say that I am a bit partial to all of the jumpsuits and, oddly enough, the shorts in this issue. The tops, skirts, and dresses all feel very much like basics similar to things already in the stash (though I do like the way the sleeveless blouse M2005 looks in the model photos). However, the jumpsuits are all fulfilling my desire for simple summer wear that hits that “casual but stylish” vibe. The culotte style with the wrap top (M2009) is of particular interest because it seems very bra friendly, though I do have to say, all of the shorter romper style (M2010) also has a nice proportions as far as coverage and wearability go. And while spaghetti straps might not be the easiest thing to wear, I do really like the looks of M2002 as well. What can I say? Maybe this will just be the year of the jumpsuit…

So, while I’m maybe not the most excited for this issue, but I’m certainly going to keep a few of these patterns on the back burner of ideas heading into the new year. And while I’m definitely not abandoning Kibbe’s ideas in regards to finding cohesive lines and shapes, I’m also not really going into this year with much of a plan either. So who knows? Back burner ideas might become front runner plans if I happen to run across the right fabric in the stash.

But what do you all think? Is this issue selling you all of the awesome summer vibes you could ever want? Or is it full of boring wardrobe basics that you’ve already checked off of your to sew list? Feel free to discuss it all in the comments!