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My Pattern Designer Subscriber Newsletter | Volume 20


(click on a topic to read all about it!)
All About The Winter 2011 Collection
Support for MPD 1 and 2 ending
Limited Time Special Offers
Sewing with fur

Every time My Pattern Designer releases a seasonal pattern collection, support is added for some new style or fashion trend that has proven popular that season. These new patterns often provide the basis for major new design enhancements that get incorporated into all patterns in the MPD catalog. At least one of the new patterns developed for The Winter 2011 Collection has already made that leap - with this update.  If you look under "Outerwear - Capes and Ponchos", you should see the new "Cloak" category there with the usual variety of closure, necklines, and collar options. Be sure to check the "Options - Shaping and Finish" dialog for armhole and shaping options.

The Winter 2011 Collection brings you much more than just the new cloaks, though....
 

The Winter 2011 Collection   <TOP>
 

Ah... The Winter 2011 Collection … we had so much Fun with this.  Capes, cloaks and ponchos with various closures and options, mock sleeves that are called cape sleeves, long and luxurious with open side seams, welt openings for hands, short and trippy ponchos. For the classic city evening wear try an opera cape with a hood and velvet ties… oh fun, fun, fun.

I fell hard for the Cape Sleeve cape and invested some in this black cashmere knit ( yes- it does feel Yummy) with long hair faux fur trim.

It was fun taking pictures out at Ravella’s Fountain at Lake Las Vegas early on Thanksgiving morning.

The Cape Sleeve Cape

While you may not necessarily be an opera fan, the versatile Opera Cloak can keep you warm and dry on any evening out in a nice outfit you need to protect from inclement weather. The Opera Cloak:

• Includes  hood to protect your hair as well.
• Can be any length from inseam to floor
• Has a shoulder line built in to provide a closer, more dressy look than the simpler capes.
• Is narrower and has less hemline curve than a cape as well.
• With the other cloaks included in the Winter 2011 Collection, it provides a variety of options for your arms including:
  
  • Welted hand openings
  • Open side seam
  • Cape Sleeves!

Linings!    Several of the new capes and cloaks in this collection needed linings and those were currently only being offered with jackets. You can now add linings to almost any vest, cape, cloak, or other outerwear that might need them. Vests with points currently do not yet have lining support, but almost any other outerwear does. See "Options - Shaping and Finish" to select them.

The curved center front of the bolero pattern has spawned a number of variations and we decided to include several of those in this new collection. The standard Bolero can be the classic Matador length (Above Waist) as well as waist length and ab length. The 2-Button Bolero pictured at left can be up to inseam length. Be sure to check the Advanced Closure settings for adjustments to the shape of the jacket front. You can make an incredible variety of shapes using the Bolero settings in that dialog.

This new jacket has a buttoned overlap at the top, angling down to an open front at the bottom. This elegant jacket makes a stylish statement with a simple, easy to make design.

Ponchos are just plain sheer fun and possibly the simplest pattern to cut and sew in entire MPD catalog. But, add a collar and with the right fabric, you can get a great pull-over. Nancy did the Turtleneck Poncho while Luz's Poncho has a separate scarf rather than the turtleneck.

Yoked Skirts

The problem with yokes for skirts has always been that the shaping needed between the waist and the hip can sometimes be too much for the side seam of a short yoke. The angle of the side seam is just too extreme and hard to sew. With these new yoked skirt patterns, we added darting to the yoke piece so you can get yoke look but still have darts to provide the shaping and fit you might need. You can also add extra width below the yoke for pleating or gathers and get a great variety of looks from this simple new design element.

There are many more patterns in this exciting new collection, so do come by the MPD web site and check out more customer photos of what is included.  Click here to see more!

Support for MPD 1 and MPD 2 is Ending   <TOP>

The older versions of My Pattern Designer were great for their time. But, computers evolve and operating systems change, and things that once worked well no longer do so. We have had to revise My Pattern Designer to work with current systems where earlier versions had conflicts.

For owners of MPD 1 or MPD 2, you will need to upgrade to a current version if you wish to get new MPD updates and enjoy new collections, patterns, or features as they are developed and released. The current build will NOT activate for MPD1 or MPD2 owners. To make this change as painless as possible, we are offering several limited time upgrade specials.

Limited Time Special Offers       <TOP>
Through December 31, 2011

Upgrade to the latest version of My Pattern Designer and enjoy these special benefits:

Sewing With Fur       <TOP>
by Kaaren Hoback
 

The Fur Vest pattern included in The Winter 2011 Collection is incredibly simple with just two shoulder seams and 2 side seams, optional linings, hem and done. But, if you do make one with fur or if you use fur with any jacket, cape, cloak, or other outerwear, there are some things to be taken into consideration.

The Fur Vest was designed with some extra room due to the density of the “fabric”. You will see that an allowance for a shoulder pad is in the pattern. We don’t expect you to use the shoulder pad, but it was a quick easy way to add extra space due to the density of the fur.

 

A few faux fur sewing tips: If planning on using fur for trim or the body of your garment, know that fur with a knit backing can be torn rather than cut, greatly reducing the damage and loss of “hairs”. The trick is to minimize the amount of damaged “hairs” while cutting.