Maybe I had too much free time over the New Year to browse the Internet, or maybe a lot of people were inspired to release new patterns, but my to-sew list grew quite a bit over the last two weeks! Here are some new releases I’m excited about. (All images should click through to wherever you can purchase the pattern.)

#1 Workout Wear by Fehr Trade

Fehr Trade has been one of my favorite blogs for a long time, especially for pattern magazine reviews, but Melissa has really outdone herself with these two new pattern releases. The leggings description says “the design lines carry around the sides so you look good from all angles” which is something SO many RTW leggings patterns overlook, and they have a hidden back pocket big enough for keys and a cell phone. The top pattern has a built in bra which can be adjusted independently of the top, and the pattern testers (up to a DD!) seem to agree that it’s enough support without an additional sports bra. I may be making a lot of these!

#2 Jade Skirt by Paprika Patterns

This one hasn’t been released yet, but I’ve seen it pop up on a couple blogs who have been pattern testers and all of the versions looked great. I’d make it in a solid color to show off the folds better. What color to make it in though? Black? White? Crazy gold lame? Help! (Sign up on their website to get an email alert when it is released.)

#3 Dotty Blouse (and everything else) by StyleArc

Sometime this summer I kept seeing black and white striped blouses with crossover fronts (like the one above), but never in my size. I put black and white striped chiffon on my mental fabric shopping list for months and finally found a few yards. Elated at my victory after such a long hunt… I completely wimped out on drafting a pattern. Imagine my joy when this showed up in the January StyleArc newsletter:

Serendipitous, right?! And, StyleArc has a running promotion where a specific pattern is free with any order, every month. I usually save my order for a month when I like the free pattern, so did this month’s make the cut?

Gosh, yes. A side note to anyone not familiar with StyleArc patterns – they are located in Australia and shipping anything from Australia tends to be a little costly. It used to be about $12 (depending on the exchange rate) to ship 1-3 patterns, plus your monthly freebie, so I often put off orders until there were 3 patterns I wanted. However, they just started a new “Discount International Postage” option for one pattern (plus your freebie) that is only about $6, so for under $20 you can get two patterns with shipping. Not too shabby!

#4 A couple blouses from Vogue

Mostly I was let down by the Vogue spring collection that just came out a couple days ago. A lot of the dresses look very very similar to things they’ve released in the recent past. However, Rebecca Taylor never fails to disappoint me:

I love the curved front yoke and gathers. Elegant, but slightly different than a classic blouse. I’m also intrigued by this pattern:

It’s one of those drawings where you’re not sure if the real life garment would be really awesome or really hideous. (Care to make a guess?) Open comment to Vogue: WHY do you sew up and provide pictures for the most basic patterns (this release: a circle skirt and a gathered skirt?!) and give us only line drawings for the patterns I haven’t seen anything like before. Help us out a little more here!

Finally, if you were enticed by the promise of a freebie…

#5 The Plantain T-shirt by Deer and Doe (Free!)

French pattern company Deer and Doe graciously released a free t-shirt pattern for their followers a few days ago, and then followed it up by announcing a contest where you can win gift cards for their pattern shop and fabric. How generous! I have a lot of t-shirt patterns, but I like how this one has a little bit of an A shape instead of being tight fitted. Three sleeve lengths and optional elbow patches are also included.

How about you, any of these new patterns on your list? Or something else I missed?