Sew Hot Right Now!

It’s nearly March! And that means…. time to start thinking about the next Monthly Stitch challenge!

This March, we’re going all ‘trendy’ and making things that are “sew hot right now”.

So, what does “sew hot right now” mean? Anything that’s on trend! It could be something that’s currently popular in the online sewing world. A fabric range or type of print that’s appearing everywhere. Or a fashion trend, straight from the runways or RTW (ready to wear).

Here’s a few of the current trends to get your thinking started.

Lingerie

Bra making took the online sewing world by storm during 2015, and it seems to still be going strong! Making underwear seems to be getting increasingly popular as well.

The Curvy Sewing Collective have just held a month focussed on lingerie sewing, so if you’ve been considering giving it a try for the first time, there’s a lot of inspiration and tips over there.

There are a few indie designers who have released lingerie patterns, including Cloth Habit (and their very popular Watson bra), Ohhh Lulu, and the also popular Barrie boy cut briefs from Kitschy Coo.

Watson bra by Cloth Habit

 

Activewear

Activewear – it’s a ‘thing’ at the moment! In two ways – in fashion-land, there’s the ‘athleisure’ look – wearing athletic gear as regular clothing. And in sewing, we’ve been seeing quite a few exercise gear patterns being released, and a lot of people making them up.

Sewaholic and Papercut have both released exercise wear collections, and Fehr Trade specialises in exercise gear. Jalie also have some great exercise patterns.

Anima pants and Undercover hood by Papercut

90’s Revival

Love ’em or hate ’em, the 90’s are back in town! Small floral prints, shoestring straps, lingerie inspired clothing, beanies, dungarees, it’s all happening.

Want to get a bit of 90’s love back into your wardrobe? There’s the Sabrina dress from By Hand London (complete with shoestring straps and lots of little buttons down the front), the (free!) lingerie-style Bailen top and dress from Pauline Alice, the Roberts collection by Marilla Walker with it’s dungarees and pinafore dress, and the Delia beanie hat by Named.

Make the Delia hat, pair it with the Sabrina dress in a navy blue with a tiny floral print, add Dr Marten boots and a tiny backpack, and you’re all set!

Bailen top and dress by Pauline Alice

On-trend colours

Feel like taking your inspiration from colours? There are three that are ‘hot’ right now.

The Pantone colour of the year for 2016 is actually the blending of two colours – Rose Quartz and Serenity. Rose Quartz is a warm and welcoming rose pink colour. Serenity is a cool and tranquil blue. This is a real first for Pantone, and it looks like there has been a lot of thought put into it around how they reflect current society trends and topics.

Another hot colour for this season – orange has been declared to be ‘the new black’ on the runways. Bright and bold, or autumnal and rusty, your choice (perhaps depending on what season you’re about to head into?).

Pantone 2016 colour of the year

 

Marled knits

Moving on to fabric inspiration, another trend that’s all over the spring/summer 2016 runways was marled knits. Sure, that may sound a little strange for the warmer seasons, but all sorts of knits come in marled colours! Tshirting, sweatshirting, sweater knits. And it’s always useful to have a warmer layer to throw on in air-conditioned buildings or cooler evenings. (And for those of us heading into autumn – this is the perfect time to be thinking of leggings or cardigans or cozy sweaters. All of which would look great in a marled knit.)

For spring, you could make a knit dress, such as the Prilla by Ralph Pink. Or for autumn, try a snuggly sweater like the Jasper by Paprika Patterns. Whichever season, make a shrug for an easy additional layer, such as the Tahi by Muse Patterns.

Jenna cardi by Muse Patterns

Zebras

Having an ‘on trend’ animal is pretty common – in the past couple of years we’ve seen cats, squirrels, owls, and most recently, foxes. What’s next? We’re predicting… zebras! Zebra printed fabrics have been starting to appear all around the place. And by ‘zebra printed’, we’re talking ‘pictures of cute little zebras’. With all this zebra love appearing in places like The Fabric Store, it’s only a matter of time before we see zebras all over the blogging world. Why not take the chance to be in right at the start of this next animal trend?

Here’s some zebra fabrics to get you started:

• zebra tshirting from Fabric.com (plus, it’s marled! Two trends in one!)
• zebra quilting cotton by Michael Miller
• another zebra quilting cotton, this time by Timeless Treasures
• floral zebra crinkle chiffon – apparently used by a famous New York designer!

 

 

Not spotting any current trends that are inspiring you? What about a past trend! Something that you always meant to sew but never got around to it. Remember how pineapples were “sew hot right now” a year ago, with a whole lot of bloggers making pineapple printed garments? Or two-piece outfits? How about that cardigan trend that was out a while ago? Or the By Hand London Anna dress that it seemed everyone was making? Now’s your chance to revisit that trend!

Which ‘trend’ will you be sewing for this month?