Mostly I’ve focused my blogging efforts on the things I’ve been designing myself, but I still use ‘real’ patterns. Deer and Doe is my favorite pattern house, followed by Papercut Patterns. They both produce flattering patterns and their drafting is usually great. I don’t have to make too many adjustments, either, just a broad shoulder adjustment if the pattern is for woven fabrics.

I’ve made 3 garments from Deer & Doe patterns this Spring. Here they are! (I bought a couple of the new Papercut Patterns line, can’t wait to start on them!)

First up the D&D Bleuet in a heavy-ish linen. I made the puff sleeves but ultimately removed them. My shoulders are big enough without accentuating them with poofs!

Sticking with dresses, this one’s an Arum dress. No changes to the pattern were made here. I used a Liberty Tana Lawn that I got on sale. It’s very soft, crisp, and light but creases easily.

Last up is the Goji Skirt. I didn’t think I was going to buy this pattern initially but I realized it would be perfect for filling the “casual skirt gap” in my wardrobe. I chose this light, South-West inspired blue and white cotton. Despite worrying excessively (or perhaps because of worrying excessively), I got the horizontal stripes to match up on all the seams (I didn’t try to match the repeat within those stripes). And I cut the pockets on the bias.

This is a fun pattern. I really like the paper-bag waistband. I want to make another using a border print in my stash.