A KnipMode dress

Not so long ago, I decided to reduce my pattern collection. Whenever I move (houses or countries), I feel like my patterns are such a big financial burden: a big percentage of the relocation money usually goes towards moving my patterns. With this in mind, I re-opened my Etsy shop where I plan to sell some of my patterns, especially the vintage ones, because, as it turns out, I am not a fan of retro style at all. Even if you are not interested in vintage patterns, you can still check my out Etsy shop, because in a few days I’ll start selling some fabric too. My life needs destashing!

At the time, when I started sewing ‘seriously’, the sewing blogosphere was heavily influenced by retro ladies, Gertie, Sarai, Tasha, just to name a few. Only at the beginning of 2000’s we saw the surge of variety of styles and shapes coming from independent pattern designers and sewing magazines.

KnipMode was and still is one of them. Unlike many sewing magazines, KnipMode offers not only contemporary, but also practical and wearable patterns to women who drive cars, ride bicycles, stay at home with children, live in the countryside or travel. This down-to-Earth style is very attractive and appealing to me. Additionally, KnipMode caters for Dutch (read, tall) girls, which is perfect for me! Whenever I work with the US patterns, I often have to enlarge the bodice and sleeves. Having said that, I only recently got a hold of a few issues of Knip Mode and this is my very first take on one of their patterns.

For a while, I was very curious to try a KnipMode pattern, but was busy with the tailoring class and other things in my life, until a few weeks ago, when I finally made myself sew a trial garment, using this dress pattern. From the many designs which caught my eye, I opted for a summer dress as it seemed perfect to test the KnipMode sizes, and in case something went wrong, it would be easy to adjust it to my measurements.

And what do you know? My KnipMode garment turned out nicely! I worked with a size 36, which happened to be big for me, so I slightly reduced the side seams and increased the bust darts. For this fairly simple design, I used another loud NaniIro fabric and added golden ribbon to the neckline, as a decorative touch. I haven’t worn many Empire-waisted garments in my time, but this one seems to be OK, since the waistline does not draw too much attention, due to the fabric pattern.

Oh, also remember that the KnipMode patterns do not include seam allowances.

So all in all, I’ve been keeping my word not to acquire any more new patterns. With the exceptions of a few BurdaStyle magazines and patterns that were offered to me, I have not spent money on purchasing more patterns. Now, if I buy a pattern, I’d like it to be more contemporary and fashionable, yet practical. What kind of patterns are you after? Did you also have a ‘retro’ period, like I did in the past? Do you usually stick to one style or do you like to experiment?