Five sewing patterns you need for summer 2011

Here are five patterns I’ve recently made, bought with the intention to make, or plan to buy for this summer!  I tried to focus on brand-new, just-released patterns, but I snuck in a sixth one that’s old that I’ve been dying to make forever…

Simplicity 2226

Simplicity 2226 Skirt

This is a great “Learn to Sew” pattern that I use in my Skirts class.  It’s flattering for most body types and you can show off a bold fabric like this Anna Maria Horner home-dec weight that I used.  I’ll have to write up pattern notes for this one at some point, because I did change one or two steps and I added piping along the pocket opening edge.  Also, I thought it would look cute hip-slung so I made it a size or two larger than my normal size.  NOTE: this pattern does NOT look good hip-slung!  It needs to sit on your natural waist to look good.  My friend Tasha may end up benefitting from my oopsie.  So, just keep that in mind when picking your size.

Colette Crepe Dress

Since this dress has a wrap tie closure, it’s not so intimidating to stitchers who haven’t gotten into installing zippers yet.  (But really zippers aren’t that hard, I promise!)  It also looks like something straight out of Anthropologie, which I love.  Colette can always be relied upon for a vintage-y, romantic, girly vibe.  I haven’t ordered this pattern yet but I have some of their others and I can’t say ENOUGH about how well-written and beautifully packaged they are.  Their sizing also seems to me to be pretty close to store sizing (think Loft, Gap, etc.), so that’s very helpful.

Lisette Traveler Dress

I saw this pattern when I was shopping at Purl Soho last month and I thought, “How cute!  What is this brand?”  It turns out that Liesl Gibson (designer of the Oliver + S children’s clothing patterns) produces them through some sort of partnership with Simplicity.  It looks like you can get them at Hancock Fabrics, though I haven’t checked whether they are available in the store yet (or whether they qualify for Simplicity sale prices).  I can confirm that they are all SUPER-CUTE, however!  This dress is very versatile and would indeed be perfect for traveling.  I don’t have any shirtdresses in my closet right now, but I have a feeling I will by the end of the summer.  Cotton chambray would be perfectly on-trend and comfy.

Simplicity 2274 Overnight Bag

This is the pattern I’m using for my Overnight Bag class in July/August.  It just came out and I think it’ll be a very useful bag to have around for summer weekend trips.  And for once the fabric choices they made on the envelope picture are cute, instead of being an immediate turn-off/brain scrambler!  You could do so many different things with this depending on your choice of fabric.  I’m debating between using a black home-dec weight cotton with tiny multi-colored hearts on it that I got on clearance at Hancock, or a really beautiful Martha Negley sort of fabric like on the envelope.  Maybe I need one of each?  With all that copious free time I have on my hands…

Chasing Cottons Curlicue Crush Quilt

You guys are so crazy for quilts nowadays, you know I had to include one!  And summer is the perfect time for a slow, relaxing, repetitive, air-conditioned quilt project.  I’ve been wanting to make an “ornament” quilt for a while and then I found this handy pattern.  Perfect!  Something a little more complex for all you students who finished the quilts class this winter/spring.  It would make a good summer picnic blanket.  Not sure yet how I would quilt it–meandering stitch or outline the curlicues, maybe?

Simplicity 2443 Stretch Dress

Ok, this is a bonus #6 because I’ve had the pattern for two years and I still haven’t made it but I really, really want to!  Now that I have a machine that does coverstitch, I’m ready.  I got some swatches of rayon jerseys from Gorgeous Fabrics and I want to make view B with stretch on top and a woven contrast skirt.  Cute, no?  Two of my students have made the dress and both projects turned out absolutely adorable.  It’s a little complex because of the interaction between the side zipper and the pockets, but you can do it!  I think pockets on stretchy dresses add too much bulk in the wrong area anyway, so I may just leave them out and speed up the project.

So what do you think?  What are your must-have patterns for summer?  Any suggestions?

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