Nancy Zieman

She really has copy cat patterns down to a science and her longer TV shows are worth watching. Her short youtube video introduces the topic.  

The inovative designs in these two books teach an entirely new way to make clothing. There are versions of both of these in English, the patterns must have seam allowances added when you draw them and are only provided in small sizes.   You get MANY patterns in most Japanese sewing books, so it’s actually quite inexpensive per pattern.

Purchased Patterns (Paper and Digital)

True Bias

Many of our new favorite patterns come from True Bias including two great but simple dresses and the perfect peasant blouse that has been made and remade here.

 

Megan Nielson

Fashion forward designer from Austrialia had what was showing up in the boutiques during 2018-2019 as new styles.  Her site includes tutorials/sew alongs with many variations!  

I turn to this pattern designer when I simply don’t want to draft something new since they have kept up with the trends, have very nice details and their patterns are quite easy to make.  

The big bonus is that they publish new design features as free downloads occasionally.

 

Liesel and Co.

Liesl Gibson  earned a degree in fashion design from FIT in New York and worked as a designer for several global fashion brands before starting Liesl + Co.

Standout patterns including the weekend getaway blouse/dress and the Gallery Tunic/dress, which is very modern in terms of fit and finish.

Amy Butler

Modern technique, good instructions for beginners and professional results.   Known primarily for her excellent purse and bag patterns, she also has very popular apparel patterns. This helps because you can search online to see what other people have made and there are many “sew along” tutorials. The envelope does tend to call for far more fabric than you probably need, but if you are using her fabrics that extra is often required since many of her fabrics are challenging to match.

The Standard Traditional Shirt/Dress and Standard Jacket  “go to” patterns in our studio are Liverpool and Sandlewood because they have excellent “shaping” techniques that allows them to hang unusually well in woven fabrics including quilt fabrics.  Couture level shaping with beginner instructions.