Kate&Rose patterns

Bought some new patterns (just because I sew soooo often lately...:-S)
Okay, I just couldn't resist (read: might be hoarding again). I discovered the cute Kate&Rose patterns while browsing through the creations of the Sewing Indie month (may 2014) on the net. Yep, another thing I totally missed this year...

This summer is quite sunny and warm so I choose to wear wide, airy blouses instead of my regular fitted ones. I've got 3 different ones from the ethnic inspired English brand 'Monsoon' and wear them a lot! I wanted to make something similar for the hot summer days. The Monsoon blouses have Indian inpiration and I've got 3 fine cotton blouses with pintuck and (machine) embroidery details (sorry about the blue one, it was already 'stuffed' in the laundry bag, ready to be washed)

The thing with indie designers is that not everyone has stockists and selling points abroad. Some, like the Colette patterns are easier to get outside the US than other, less known names. The past years I had to order all of my Sewaholic patterns through the website, from Canada because there were no stockists nearby. Since I don't have a Paypal account, it is not easy to get something from an Etsy seller (you can buy Kate&Rose patterns through etsy). My credit card was hacked once after placing an online order, so if it is possible I prefer to pay online with my regular bankcard or with a simple money transfer.
I used to order a lot of patterns from the US, like during the sales of the big 4, but lately the post rates have gone up a lot, so it is barely cheaper (if cheaper at all) to get patterns there.

I'm not a fan of buying Pdf patterns as I find the printing-cutting-sticking annoying. I also prefer the touch and feel 'real' pattern tissue, and I trace everything. I never cut up my original pattern tissues, hoping that some day I'll have a daughter who will be happy to own and use my collection...

Though Kati Lovasz of Kate&Rose is a US (New York) based designer the paper patterns can be now ordered with other indie patterns from Berlin here. After the money transfer I received my order within 3 days. Great service!


I choose the two designs above. What I immediately liked about the Roza pattern were the raglan sleeves and the absence of any closures. A simple pull-over blouse, yay! The Zsalya top has a pretty yoke and no buttons or zippers either!
All of the Kate&Rose patterns have Hungarian names. I was born in Hungary myself, though have lived longer in Belgium and the Netherlands than there. The designs are inspired by Central European folkswear, which traditionally uses colorful (but also monochrome, like white on white) embroidery. Exactly what I was looking for. It reminded me of my childhood, back then I used to embroider a lot with my grandma! We (me and my sister) had a lot of embroidered garments. Practically all of our clothes, either sewn or knitted was made by my grandma until we were about 6 years old.
Right now I only have this damaged picture on hand, but you can spot the embroidery around the neckline and the front of my late 70's mini-dress: