Sew Over It and the Penny dress

Let’s all give a warm welcome to Sew Over It – one of our fabulous sponsors for Indie Pattern Month 2017! Sew Over It are based in London, where they design vintage-inspired patterns, have store, and run sewing classes. Kat caught up with Alex, one of the Sew Over It team, to talk about their new Penny dress pattern….

Hi Alex! Welcome to Indie Pattern Month 2017! We’re so happy to have you here. 🙂 To start with, can you tell us a bit about Sew Over It patterns, for anyone who hasn’t discovered them yet?

Thanks so much! We’re so pleased to be involved in Indie Pattern Month again this year. At Sew Over It we create modern sewing patterns with a little vintage twist. Whether you’re into the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s or more modern styles, with over 30 patterns we have something for everyone. In 2016 we released our first sewing pattern eBook, My Capsule Wardrobe: City Break, which contains five modern patterns all designed to work together as a capsule wardrobe. More recently in 2017 we launched our popular PDF Club, in which members are given one week early access to new patterns, plus an exclusive discount.

You’ve recently released the Penny Dress pattern, and it’s such a cute style! We’d love to hear a bit more about it. What was the inspiration behind Penny?

Yes, the Penny Dress was one of our PDF Club pattern releases! All of us at Sew Over It are shirt dress fans, and we noticed there was a demand for a really simple-to-sew beginner shirt dress pattern. There are so many beautiful shirt dress patterns out there but they definitely catered more for intermediate sewers. We teach a lot of beginners in our London sewing classes, and wanted to offer them a pattern they can move onto and work on at home after making a simple shift dress. We decided to go for a shirt bodice with full skirt, easy-fit elasticated waist and flat collar. And we love the result!

What’s the story behind the name ‘Penny’?

The Penny Dress is a sweet, vintage-inspired style and we thought the name Penny perfectly reflected that.

What’s your favourite thing about the Penny pattern?

There are so many things to love about Penny, but my favourite thing (apart from how quick it is to make) is how versatile a pattern it is. Penny works in lots of different fabrics for lots of different occasions. We’ve all made everyday versions in cotton and rayon, but depending on the fabric, Penny is at home strolling the streets of Barcelona, looking pretty at a wedding, covering up at the beach or sipping evening cocktails at a favourite bar. And it’s not just for summer; for winter make Penny in a crepe to wear with tights and boots. It’s a great year-rounder!

Can you share some of your favourite Penny Dresses that you’ve seen made up by others?

We’ve been so overwhelmed by how many people have sewn Penny so far. Our Instagram tag #SOIpennydress filled up really quickly with beautiful makes! @ateliercarmsi has made so many perfect Pennys!

It’s such a lovely design, I’m sure you have Penny in your own wardrobe – can you tell us a bit about how you like to wear and style your Penny Dresses?

The beauty of Penny is that it’s so easy to wear – basically an outfit in one! Almost everyone on the team has made a Penny Dress, or a top version using our tie-front Penny shirt tutorial. Louise added a little extra ease into the bodice to make a loose-fitting Penny Dress, Rosie straightened the skirt and added a drawstring instead of elastic, and Nicole and I both made tie-front shirts. You can see the Sew Over It team’s versions in action on our vlog!

Do you have plans for any more Penny Dresses in your future?

Yes definitely! I’ve got my eye on a beautiful floral crepe for my next version. I think it’ll be perfect for summer (I’ll definitely be taking it on my upcoming holiday in Spain) but should also work well into autumn worn with a little cropped jumper or cardi. And that’s just the first one!

Thanks so much for chatting with us Alex! The Penny is a gorgeous pattern – I have plans for it in my wardrobe too. 😉

(Hot tip: if you’ve never tried a Sew Over It pattern, their Tulip skirt is in the Indie Pattern Month pattern bundle sale – which makes it the perfect time to try one of their gorgeous designs!)