Today I have another review for you. As you might have seen earlier this month, I have been testing a pattern by In-House Patterns in March and also featured and interview with Alexandra, the brain behind these digital sewing patterns.
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| Stern face :) probably inspecting the sky for oncoming rain clouds |
I chose to test the Belle Bow Blouse as I really liked the style of it. However, I was obsessed about making this into a dress, rather than making it up as a blouse. So, I decided to simply lengthen the blouse and only sew down half the length of the waist tucks to get more flair at the hips.
But changing the blouse into a dress then also seemed to necessitate a lining. so I ended up drafting lining patterns as well. I tried to stick to the instructions as much as I could but had to adapt some of it to make it possible to sew the lining neatly into the dress.
So now, what did I think of working with this pattern....? Here is my review:
REVIEW: In-House Patterns
PATTERN TESTED:
Belle Bow Blouse, PDF Pattern, CAD $10
ABOUT THE PATTERN:
In-House Patterns is Canadian digital pattern company, which currently carries a small range of PDF sewing patterns that are drafted for hourglass figures with a D-cup.
DRAFTED FOR A D-CUP - What I really liked about this pattern company is that they offer patterns for a bigger cup size. Obviously, this doesn't suit everyone, but I suppose this is why there are so many different independent pattern companies out there. Each can cater for a different niche market and I think In-House Patterns have found themselves their own niche and I'm sure that many sewing ladies appreciate this. However, to be more inclusive, In-House Patterns has also released a pattern that comes with various cup sizes to choose from; and they might make more.
INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION METHOD - Alexandra, who runs In-House Patterns, has many years experience in the fashion industry and has therefore chosen to provide industry construction methods in her pattern instructions. Unfortunately, I could only partially follow these instructions when making my Belle Bow dress, because I changed so many things about the pattern. However, I can tell you that the pattern at no time called for hand sewing and generally assumed a little previous experience with sewing. But there were clear diagrams with every step, so an ambitious beginner can probably tackle the pattern as well.
NO UNIFIED SEAM ALLOWANCES - Since this pattern is drafted with industry sewing methods in mind, the seam allowances are not a unified 1.5 cm throughout, like in most home sewing patterns, but varied depending on the type of seam. This is similar to the patterns by Islander Sewing Systems and means that you absolutely have to reference the sewing instructions or else you don't know with what seam allowance to sew.
DETAILED SIZE CHART - I liked In-House Patterns' detailed size chart. It doesn't only have the usual bust, waist and hip measurements, but also shoulder width and back length measurements, which ultimately make it easier to choose the right size and alter the pattern if necessary. Seeing that my pattern size was drafted for a back length of 43 cm made it easy for me to alter it to fit my shorter back.
CONCLUSION:
I was quite happy with the pattern, especially since I did not have to do an FBA at all! Woohoo! I would certainly get more patterns from In-House Patterns for that reason alone. But unfortunately, so far there aren't that many styles available. I'm looking forward to seeing the fall collection that Alexandra is working on.
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JOIN IN!
If you have made up a pattern by In-House Patterns, share your review and/or project via the A-Year-in-Indie-Patterns Pinterest Board. Just drop me a line via email or in the comments with your e-mail address, so I can add you as a pinner to the board. Would love to see other people's results with these patterns!