Hello, readers!
It took us a little bit longer than we planned to put this together, but we’re happy to share the best curvy patterns of 2016 chosen by our readers.
Favorite Knit Dress Pattern
Winner: Cashmerette Turner Dress
The Turner Dress was the big winner in this category at 43.5%. Readers love this curve-friendly knit dress that’s easy and quick to sew and wonderful to wear. The fit-and-flare silhouette looks great on almost all body types, and like all Cashmerette patterns, is available in bust cup sizes up to a G/H cup.
Runner-up: Cashmerette Appleton Dress
Once again, the Appleton Dress makes it in at 33.3%. Curvy sewers continue with their love for Cashmerette patterns and their easy fit. The Appleton was the first pattern released by Cashmerette back in 2016, and with its classic wrap-dress design, is proving to be a perennial classic for CSC readers.
Favorite Woven Dress Pattern
Winner: Cashmerette Upton Dress
The Upton Dress is a clear favorite in this category at 40.5%. The versatile Upton dress can go from casual to cocktail, depending on your fabric choice. Choose between two different necklines and either a gored or a pleated skirt to suit your personal style tastes.
Runner-up: McCall’s 6696 Shirtdress
Another perennial favorite, McCall’s 6696 make to second place in this category at 21.8%. This was the pattern that was known as “Mary’s shirtdress” for a while, although it’s been made so many times by so many of our readers at this point, I think we can just start to think of it as the “CSC shirtdress”.
Favorite Knit Top Pattern
Winner: Cashmerette Concord T-Shirt
The Concord tee was the overwhelming winner in this pattern at 50.9%. With so much potential for design interpretations, it’s a quick staple to make. The Concord includes Cashmerette’s popular cup sizing, three different neckline options, three different sleeve options, and three different hemline options. We’ve even seen a number of CSC readers hack this pattern into a t-shirt dress.
Runner-up: Hot Patterns Weekender Swingy Sweatshirt
In second place at 21.9%, we have the Weekender Swingy Sweatshirt with its loose silhouette and shaping provided via panel seams and Dior darts, you can wear this top with leggings or skinny jeans. There’s also a dress view, which looks like it would be perfect for a “secret pajamas” option. Although a relatively new pattern, we’ve already seen some really cute versions of this pattern turning up on the HotPatterns Facebook group already.
Favorite Woven Top Pattern
Winner: Cashmerette Harrison Shirt
Our readers love the Harrison shirt, which came in at 47.9% vote in this category. Is it practically impossible for you to buy button-down shirts in ready-to-wear (RTW) because the shoulders and waist are huge if the bust fits, or if everything else fits, the buttons strain and gape? The Harrison shirt solves this frustrating issue for curvy sewists by providing pattern pieces that fit up to H-cups and double princess seams for lots of shaping. There’s even a newly-available hack pack to extend this blouse into a shirtdress.
Runner-up: Cashmerette Springfield Top
The Springfield top comes in at second place at 16.9% and is a great wardrobe builder. The drafting of the Springfield helps avoid the armhole gape problem that many curvy sewists encounter with other patterns for sleeveless and shell-style tops. Because the Springfield doesn’t use much yardage, this is a great choice for that special fabric that you’ve been holding onto but didn’t buy much of.
Favorite Skirt Pattern
Winner: Sewaholic Hollyburn Skirt
The Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt continues to be a favorite among our readers, coming in at 28.4%, winning this category for the second year in a row. What’s not to love–it’s a twirly skirt with pockets!
Runner-up: Colette Mabel
In second place is the Colette Mabel at 24.7% — a easy to sew and wear curve-hugging knit skirt pattern in an inclusive size range. Drafted for beefy knits with stretch, such as ponte, the Mabel includes two different hem-lengths, a gored or straight view, and an optional faux button placket.
Favorite Pants Pattern
Winner: Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans
At 38.5%, Ginger jeans are a favorite of our readers. With their great sewalong on the designer’s site, this pattern showed many women that they could sew jeans. The Gingers include an option for a high-rise skinny jean and a lower-rise straight-leg jean. Many of the women who have made these have commented that these are the best-fitting pair of jeans they’ve ever worn.
Runner-up: Hot Patterns Fast and Fabulous Tailored Track Pants
In second place are the Fast and Fabulous Tailored Track Pants at 29%. Released a few years ago, this pant pattern continues to be hugely popular among the HotPatterns Facebook group. With a slim-but-not-skinny leg silhouette, this versatile pattern can be made up in a woven or a knit and can be dressed up or down, depending on fabric choice.
Favorite Outerwear Pattern
Winner: Closet Case Files Kelly Anorak
40.1% of our readers love the Kelly Anorak and its utilitarian feel. The Kelly is one of the few jacket patterns with a zipper closure and an optional hood. Make it up in a twill to mimic the military-inspired jackets that have been popular in RTW for the past few years, or use a waterproof fabric to make yourself a stylish rain jacket.
Runner-up: Closet Case Files Clare Coat
Our runner-up is another Closet Case Files pattern — the Clare Coat, at 19.8%. The Clare has two distinct views with two different neck options, and an option for a button-up coat or a zippered coat. If you’ve never made a lined coat before, the Clare is a great choice because of its comprehensive instructions and minimal tailoring required.
Overall Favorite Pattern of the Year
Winner: Cashmerette Concord T-Shirt
After winning both the Favorite Knit Top category and Best Overall category, it’s clear that our readers love the Concord tee and it is the overall favorite pattern at 22.4%. The Concord is a versatile pattern that many sewists have altered and turned into tunics, dresses and even cardigans and hoodies! Amazing!
Runner-up: Hot Patterns Fast and Fabulous Draped Blouses
At 16.9%, the Fast and Fabulous Draped Blouse pattern came in as the runner-up. This versatile pattern includes two distinctly different views and can be made up in either a drapey woven or a knit. Like the HotPatterns Swingy Sweatshirt, the Draped Blouses are another relatively new HotPattern offering that have quickly gained a following among this company’s fans.
We had 557 responses to our final survey.
HotPatterns Discount Code
As a “thank you” to Curvy Sewing Collective readers, HotPatterns is offering a 20% discount code on all orders for the next two weeks (ending March 18, 2017). Simply enter the code “CSC20” at checkout to receive your discount!
Being new to this group I find it all helpful. I didn’t think that there were any other patterns available than those in the fabric stores. Being a 52 G bust and generally a 3X size this ment a lot of adjustments or creating my own patterns. It is a relief to find larger sized patterns out there. I am not a super experienced sewer but was taught by my mom that if I could to a puzzle I could sew…so with that in mind I sew on. LOL. Anyway, I am very happy & grateful to find this sight and love reading everyone’s posts. I have purchased my first “I can find myself in the sizes” pattern and am looking forward to trying it out this Easter weekend!
That is a really helpful list, but I’d love to have two lists – one for indies and one for the Big 4, because the Big 4 are the easiest to access for a lot of people and it would be awesome to know which are worth buying.
Dani, it’s certainly true that Big 4s are easier to get in some countries, like the US… but worldwide, it’s often easier and price-comparable to go the Indie route. I”m glad you found the list helpful though! What are your favourite big 4 patterns?
I’m still a beginner, so I haven’t really sewn much yet, which is probably the reason I’d love a list. When I look at the catalogs I get overwhelmed.
It has been mostly Burda so far for me, but their sizes seem to run a little big in mostly the wrong places. xD
People in the english-speaking countries seem to favor single patterns while pattern magazines are more common here, but they are a mixed bag.
Thanks CSC. I value everything you are doing.
I understand why some may think the survey was biased, but I can honestly say that the reason we all love them is because it can be as easy as – cut, sew, wear. I mean seriously, Cut, Sew. Wear. I’ve never had that experience and it is the reason I stopped sewing clothes and started quilting. There’s no making a muslin of a quilt, so it’s pretty straight forward sewing. I have the ability to do straight forward sewing for clothes now and it’s pretty freaking awesome. I just don’t want t make 8 million adjustments. Call me lazy and see if I care whislt I’m wearing one of my Turners to work and slaying all day!
I’m referencing Cashmerettes’ pattern’s btw.. and that should be whilst*
Meh. I get that it can appear to be bias, but I gotta say that I love the patterns by Cashmerette. I voted for many of them. I can cut a pattern straight from the envelope and it needs minimal alterations if any. I have never had this with any other pattern. I usually have a FBA, sway back and narrow shoulder adjustment. There have been times when I would just stop sewing because I always had to make so many alterations and at least two muslins before I couls even touch the good fabric.I must be shaped pretty darn close to the block that she uses.
And that’s the thing for most Cashmerette fans–they get to skip the FBA and typically a swayback adjustment. If any other patternmaker out there was targeting the same full-busted/curvy audience, I’m sure there’d be more competition.
We ran a sizing survey last year (http://wp1094.hostgator.com/~waezmq0ac6rs/results-of-csc-sizing-survey/) and found that the most common bra cup size for survey respondents was a DD/E cup, and that more respondents wore an H/HH bra cup than the targeted-by-most-pattern-companies B-cup. Taking that into consideration, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Jenny’s patterns are popular among the CSC readership.
The fact that Jenny is an editor of this blog and Cashmerette won every possible category, makes the results seem biased. I would not want to publish them because it just looks bad.
That was a concern of ours, as well; however, this is a curvy-focused sewing group, and Jenny is one of the few pattern designers to cater to a curvy customer base, so it makes sense that her patterns are very popular with our readers. What would you have done differently?
I have very similar concerns to those expressed by Bonnie. ‘Popularity competitions’ decided by votes can be problematic in all forms of media; bias is a damaging accusation, and difficult to counter once made.
It is perhaps best to avoid creating a situation where such an accusation might be made; in CSC’s case this could easily be done by running two popularity competitions side by side, one for patterns created by founders, editors or others intimately associated with CSC, and one for all other patterns.
You’re right–this poll absolutely is a popularity contest, but I don’t think we ever tried to present it as anything otherwise. The poll was simply supposed to be a fun way to highlight patterns that were popular among our readership. We even intentionally framed it as “favorite patterns”, rather than a “best patterns” poll. From the feedback we’ve heard, Jenny’s patterns are popular with our readers because they get to skip the FBA that many of us have to do on nearly every single pattern. Less time doing pattern adjustments = more time to sew. No one else is currently doing this right now.
Trust me when I say that we’re taking the feedback that we’re receiving into account. If we choose to host another poll for 2017, our reader input/suggestions will be considered. That said, creating these polls and compiling the results are an awful lot of work for us, and we’re all volunteers with jobs, families, etc. If our readership doesn’t find the poll to be valuable, or at least fun, there really isn’t any reason for us to continue with them.
Michelle, I think these contests/polls/whatever you call them *are* interesting, fun and/or helpful, and I don’t *actually* think any conscious bias or underhandedness has gone on at all, in any way or by anyone.
However, when products from a person directly associated and identified with CSC win every possible category *in CSC’s popularity contest/poll* … well, I am sure you can see why suspicions might be aroused.
Potential problems can easily be avoided by making it clear that Jenny’s brand is a *non-competitive* participant in any open poll or contest organised by CSC, and reporting on the votes for top, runner up and Cashmerette. That way Jenny will still get her publicity, those of us who prefer other brands for whatever reason, or who just want to try a new brand, will have the top and runner-up in each category to choose from, and any expressed suspicion that ‘it’s all been fixed!’ is irrelevant.
I have to say that I was scratching my head over terms like “suspicions” and “underhandedness” being used. Suspicions of…what, exactly?
Then I flipped over to GOMI and found a comment that explained what I think you mean. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re asking for more transparency with regards to the relationship between Jenny/Cashmerette and the CSC, right?
Jenny is a founder of the CSC, but she doesn’t have any more influence over the content that appears on the CSC site than any other individual editor. Has she given away copies of patterns for review? Yes, but so has nearly every other patternmaker out there, including Simplicity.
With regards to suspicions about certain guest contributors, we have never asked a guest contributor to “shill” for Jenny. We want contributors to express their own opinions and have their own voices. We ran a post recently that gives some visibility into how our contributor posts come together:
http://wp1094.hostgator.com/~waezmq0ac6rs/behind-the-scenes-at-the-csc-writing-a-guest-post/
I don’t recall the exact post where it sounds like someone was comped a Cashmerette pattern for review and apparently gushed a little too heavily. However, I can assure you that she had no influence from us in what she wrote.
With regards to the post where the person had a pattern not work out for her, and then wound up needing to frankenpattern a Cashmerette Upton to get a wearable garment, I worked with that particular contributor. I had not seen her final post until shortly before it was scheduled to go live, beyond the fact that I knew that she was having some struggles with the pattern. IMO, I thought that the post showed a way that someone could adapt/fix a wadder and get something wearable, which isn’t something that you see in a lot of our reviews/posts. I also appreciated her being willing to share something that wasn’t ideal–we do sometimes get promises of pattern reviews where the reviewer ends up with a wadder and then decides not to post. I thought that her review provided a nice counter-balance to the mostly positive reviews that we usually get.
I am just enjoying the fact that there are pattern choices out there for Curvy Gals, speaking as a Curvy Gal, and I appreciate hearing others experiences sewing said patterns…this is all for fun, to me. I honestly have not sewn much since becoming a big person. It was easier to sew my for child! It’s daunting to me to try to fit clothes to my body in its current shape. I am heartened and inspired by the women who sew here. I hope to post a picture of my own creation when I can. (Summer?)
Thank you all for sharing!
Lori
Hugely helpful! I’ve bought too many patterns I have regretted and that adds up. I hadn’t bought any Cashmerette yet but that changed in the 10 minutes between reading this post and typing this comment!
For those of us who are facebook-challenged, I hope there’s a way to post some photos of the Hot Patterns draped blouse and swingy sweatshirt. Thanks
We’d need to ask permission from the folks who have made them in the HotPatterns Facebook group. I will try to solicit a review or two from that group, though.