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| Lotta Jansdotter Everyday patterns / Lotta Jansdotter NY: Abrams, c2022. 144 p. |
I picked this one up because I really enjoyed the first pattern book that Lotta Jansdotter created. This one has similar silhouettes and style, with lots of great photography. A real lifestyle book.
This one has six garment patterns and a couple of accessories included. The title states that the pieces are mix & match, and they are -- a whole capsule wardrobe if you want it. The patterns are:
Billie Top & Tunic
Rui Shirt & Shirt Dress
Maar Dress
Pym Pants
Kiko Jacket & Robe
Rickie Skirt
Stina Everyday Tote Bag
Scarf
Headband
As usual in her books there are a variety of models from her circle of friends and acquaintances. There are both young and old, male and female, although probably half of the model photos are of Lotta herself. She's really trying to make these patterns appeal to both men and women, but I'm not sure it it carries over fully. The styles are very much in her aesthetic, boxy fits and lots of cotton and linen. If you are a Lotta fan these will appeal to you, although these days I'd say there are many similar patterns out there from tons of indie designers.
I liked this one for its visuals - great photos, nice cohesion to the wardrobe patterns, great fabric choices. But I can't give the book itself a perfect review because of the massive issues with pattern errors. There is an enormous list of pattern errata at the Abrams website, for nearly every pattern. And if you want to download and print the fixed patterns, they are all only available in copyshop format. So if you want to spend more than the book's price on getting all the patterns that were supposed to be included as traceable in the book itself on reprinting copyshop versions of the patterns, go for it. But I won't be doing that. A skilled sewist might be able to recognize the pattern issues and redraft, but why should someone who has bought this for the patterns have to do that? **ETA: a reader notes in the comments that it is indeed possible to tile these files in Adobe and print them yourself, if you want to try that.
The patterns seem to mostly have sizing lines labelled incorrectly, with a few of the patterns having fully revised pattern sheets to download. I can't quite tell if that is because of the sizing marking issues, or further issues though, since I have not downloaded the new pattern sheets.
So this was both beautiful to look at, and inspiring when thinking about simple sewing and a capsule wardrobe. But I feel badly for the author that the technical aspects of the publication lower the value overall.
So this was both beautiful to look at, and inspiring when thinking about simple sewing and a capsule wardrobe. But I feel badly for the author that the technical aspects of the publication lower the value overall.
I’ve had a hold on this at the library for a while now and just picked it up yesterday and thank goodness I checked Sewing Pattern Review or I might have already been knee deep in cutting out fabric based on error riddled pattern sheets. I’m going to advise the library when I return the book - hoping they might get the revised pattern sheets printed but if not at least put a note or warning on the book to save others from trouble. It is really too bad as the designs are interesting and I really liked the first book. So too bad. I wonder if they will ever do a reprint with the revised pattern sheets…
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate, for sure. But thank goodness for PR!
DeleteIf the errata list all the errors, it seems to be just that they got the cutting line sizes labeled backward on a couple of the pieces and left a size out of one piece. That's confusing for new sewers and people not accustomed to multi-size patterns, and not how you want to publish, but it doesn't seem like a show stopper. Or is that not all the errata? Also, it looks like you can use Adobe Acrobat Reader to print the pages as tiles -- again, more work, but doable. A challenge, perhaps.
ReplyDeleteLove the blog, btw, have been lurkishly following you for years. Always admire librarians.
Thanks for the heads up about tiling the files. I'll have to try that and see what the revised pattern sheets look like -- if there are more issues than the size markings or not. If it can be easier for the home sewist to print, that would be great!
DeleteI guess I was just disappointed in the high number of errors when I first saw them. If it is just the size markings that are wrong, yes, that's confusing but able to be overcome, you are correct. And I did note that most of their craft books seem to have errata pages on the website so I guess it's an accepted practice and we all just have to be careful to check for errata before we start with a craft book!