Frocktober inspiration – indie pattern dresses

With Frocktober nearly on us, it’s time for a bit of inspiration! So just for the fun of it, here’s my pick of some of the best independent pattern dresses that are out there…..

La Sylphide dress from Papercut Patterns

First up – one of my all-time faves. The La Sylphide dress from Papercut Patterns. It’s a cute button-up shirt dress with a full skirt and a pussy bow at the neckline. It’s fun to sew, and to wear. (Although be warned – the skirt is quite short so I highly recommend measuring it’s length before you cut! I ended up adding 16cm to it when I made my version.) Added bonus: the pattern includes a peplum top and a skirt. (Also, Papercut has free international shipping, which makes it a rather good price for an indie pattern.)

Ceylon by Colette Patterns

It wouldn’t be an indie pattern round-up without a showing by Colette Patterns. This is my all-time favourite dress from Colette – the Ceylon. It’s a shirt dress, with a huge number of buttons down the front. What do I love about it? All the shaping and seam details! There’s a waist panel, rather than a waist seam. Yokes at front and back. Gathers at the bust, waist, and sleeve heads. So much potential for fun mix-and-match colour blocking or print mixing, don’t you think?

Ava from Victory Patterns

Dontcha just love the neckline on this one? Paired with the fitted waist and flared skirt – it’s so cute and girly, while still being a bit edgy. It’s Ava, from Victory Patterns.

Tiramisu from Cake Patterns

I imagine you would have all seen this one popping up all over the place in the past year – the first pattern by Cake Patterns, it’s the Tiramisu dress. A knit dress, with a full skirt, cross-over bodice, and cunning stripe placement lines on the pattern so you get easily-matched stripes every time. (I’ve tried this – it works well!) And the best bit? So far, it’s looked fabulous on every single person I’ve seen this pattern on!

Bleuet dress from Deer & Doe

I find it really hard to choose my favourite dress from Deer & Doe. The back cut out of the Belladone is so cute. But so is the bow detail on the back of the Bleuet. It’s a close call, but the princess lines of the Bleuet edge it just slightly ahead into ‘favourite’ place for me. 🙂

So there’s a few of my current indie faves. I’ve already made the La Sylphide and the Tiramisu, and have Ceylon and Bleuet in my sewing queue right now. We’ll see which ones I get made for Frocktober (typically, my plan is far more ambitious that what I can realistically make!) What are your favourite indie dress patterns?