After months of development, it’s time to end the suspense: I’m happy to present our three new patterns for Fall 2015, Arum, Fumeterre and Cardamome!
If you’re impatient to see the new releases, you can skip this paragraph and go directly to the section on the patterns! 🙂
2015 was a pivotal year for Deer&Doe. In a few days it will be 3 years: 3 years since the febrile launch of the first patterns, 3 years since I started as an entrepreneur.
Three years that have passed in a very strange way. On one hand, it feels like yesterday that I published my first launch post, that I stamped my first parcels. After creating your company, things change very, very quickly: Deer&Doe have grown from a small business with simplified accounting to a company with annual balancing and multiple suppliers to manage.
And yet late last year, I started to… get bored. Certainly the work was more and more intense, with growing responsibilities, but I had the feeling that Deer&Doe wasn’t renewing itself, that I kept offering the same, well rehearsed formula, that the innovation of the beginning had disappeared. It was at this time that I developed the Jersey collection, but I wanted something else. I decided it was time for Deer&Doe to undergo a real evolution.
This includes a new visual identity and new packaging (about which I tell you more at end of post), more detailed and illustrated explanations, more professional photos, and the development of a wider range of styles. However, Deer&Doe remains true to its three fundamental principles: flattering designs for everybody, French manufacture, and respect for the environment.
But without further ado, let’s see the patterns!
For the Fall-Winter 2015 collection, I wanted to create three different but complementary patterns, which combined together and with other Deer&Doe patterns let you create a mini wardrobe! I also spread out the levels of difficulty so that everyone, from beginners to experienced seamstresses, can be satisfied 😉
THE ARUM DRESS
Many of you asked for a Deer&Doe pattern for absolute beginners to get eased in to sewing. My challenge was to create a flattering dress, that was at the same time extremely easy to sew.
The Arum dress is composed by 3 pieces (facings excluded) and doesn’t require neither darts, nor gathering, nor zippers, nor inset sleeves! It’s a shift dress, cinched at the waist and at the back by two big princess seams, with grown on sleeves. It’s decorated by a small patch pocket on the bust.
After interviewing beginners and more advanced seamstresses about their favorite finishing technique, it turns out that opinions are sharply divided on the matter: so I included in the instructions for Arum two finishes for the neckline: facing and bias binding! A small glossary is also included in the instructions, to detail some basic concepts such as finishing a seam, notching and topstitching…
The Arum dress is designed for beginners, but it will also be perfect project for those of you wishing to relax between two large projects! Simple to construct and completed in a few hours, it is also an excellent base that lends itself to many changes (shortened to blouse length, polo placket, collar, color blocking, scallops, yoke, smocking at the waist…). The cut will be enhanced by the fabric used: casual in a batiste or a printed viscose, or more glam in a black silk, accessorized with a statement necklace.
THE CARDAMOME DRESS
With Cardamome, Deer&Doe revisits its retro origins! With its difficulty rated at 4 out of 5, this dress will delight seamstresses who love technical details, with its collar + collar band and shirt cuffs. Thanks to its smocked waist, it is both flattering and very comfortable.
Cardamome is better suited to lightweight fabrics, but you can make it in a thicker fabric (provided you remove the pockets that would add too much weight and thickness to the skirt). Inspired by the 40s, Cardamome is also very versatile: you can make it with or without sleeves, and play with the colors of the bib and collar for completely different styles.
THE FUMETERRE SKIRT
The third pattern of this season is the Fumeterre skirt. Attracted by the multitude of long skirts and maxi dresses in the last fashion week, I wanted to try and design one myself that was flattering on wider hips!
The Fumeterre skirt is designed to fit the hips, and gently flare out along the leg in order to achieve a sculptural silhouette. The slightly elasticated waistband at the back makes it a high waisted skirt that is comfortable all day, and its wide facing gives it a Couture edge.
Fumeterre is available in two versions: version A, with its buttoned front, has more of a retro accent, and subtly shows off the legs with every step. Version B is decidedly modern with its two large flap pockets and a fly front zip, borrowed from menswear. Depending on the fabric used, Fumeterre will be more airy or structured for very different effects.
A new format for the patterns
On the occasion of the release of the Fall-Winter 2015 patterns, the visual identity of Deer&Doe was completely redesigned: a more detailed envelope, better structured and expanded booklets, color coded by collections and not difficulty.
Woven patterns for women are now part of the Botany collection, in yellow ochre. You’ll find in this collection the 3 newly released patterns, and all the “classic” patterns by Deer&Doe (Belladone, Chardon…), which will be progressively converted in this new format. The jersey patterns (Brume, Ondée…) will be edited in the Meteorology collection. The aim being to make room for the Deer&Doe family to expand with possible new collections 😉
On the back of the new envelopes, you can now find the measurement table, measurements of the finished garment, yardage and type of fabric, as well as all the supplies you need for the project. The booklets, with their new layout, can now contain more explanations and diagrams, and each step is numbered for clarity.
Finally, the patterns now have a reference number (useful for patterns rating sites such as Pattern Review) and a dedicated hashtag to share your achievements on social networks! For example, Arum has the D0019 reference code and the hashtag #DDarum.
