I've been sewing for a while now, and recently I've noticed that I've been keeping the clothes I made around longer since they're of a higher quality and I've gotten a better understanding of my personal style. There are definitely staples I'm missing (and I hope to fill some wardrobe holes through my classic capsule wardrobe) but in 2018 I'm less interested in "maintenance sewing" for myself and more interested in branching out to things like lingerie and the topic of today's blog post... sewing for men!
It's insanely annoying to find decent men's patterns, so this is meant to be a round up of all the men's pattern companies/patterns I can find, but also a call for y'all's suggestions; if you know of a great men's pattern company I haven't included here, let me know, I'd love to add it!! In the meantime, this is what I've found so far...
Thread Theory - Probably the most well-known indie pattern brand for menswear! Sweaters, tees, underwear, even coats. In addition to their in-house line, their pattern shop also carries some of the other brands mentioned here (Colette, Merchant and Mills, and others) so check here first and save on shipping!
Patterns I've made: The Jedediah pants, which I've made into elastic waist shorts seen here and here. Really lovely wearable pants with clear instructions.
5 Out Of 4 Patterns - A rare boxer shorts pattern, among a few other men's patterns.
Patterns I've made: none.
Colette - I had high hopes that
Colette's Walden line of men's patterns would take off, but it looks like it has
died off instead, with just three patterns: a camp-collar shirt, a duffle coat, and a convertible bag. Their newer offshoot
Seamwork does have a few men's patterns as well.
Patterns I've made: The Paxton raglan, which ran super small and fits me rather than Alex, possibly user error.
Burda - As a general rule, it's safe to assume that anything an indie patternmaker puts out has been done by Burda, better, cheaper, and 5 years ago...
if you're willing to wade through their website, trace and add seam allowances, and go it alone or wade through minimal/terrible instructions. The same seems to hold true for their men's selection, which is the most varied of this list.
Patterns I've made: none.
Sew Sew Def - Mimi G's magazine has been including a men's pattern in each issue of this magazine and they really vary from a pretty standard tee to skinny jeans with lots of seaming and welt pockets. Not really sure what's going on with Sew Sew Def since it's marketed as monthly a year but there have only been 5 issues in the past 8 months and no sign of a November issue...? If you're into trendier looks, get it while you can!
Patterns I've made: none.
Tailor Taylor - Primarily a menswear sewing blog (sadly not updated for about a year), but Tailor does have a
backpack pattern and kit.
Patterns I've made: none.
Jalie - the go-to online shop for activewear/dance/swim has men's patterns as well! Alongside your usual unisex tee shirts and sweatshirts, Jalie has really specific and unusual patterns for men, like singlets, bodyshirts (for dance, I think?), "gymnastic pants"(??), footy pajamas... even a men's thong. You do you, Jalie, you do you.
Patterns I've made: none.
Big 4 - Consisting of
McCalls/
Butterick/
Vogue and
Simplicity, the "Big 4" pattern companies provide a consistency often lacking in indie patterns: you basically know what you will get for better or worse. (On a side note, I LOVE this, which is why I make so many big 4 patterns, more than most bloggers I think.) Although they generally only publish one or two new men's patterns a season, they all typically have 4+ pattern releases a year, putting them about on par with a larger indie company as far as men's patterns go. Bonus: a lot of these patterns are technically unisex and have a men's and women's pattern in one envelope so you get a pattern for yourself too!
Patterns I've made: Simplicity 8528.
Hot Patterns - Although none of these are particularly fashion-forward, Hot Patterns has hard-to-find patterns like jeans and coats for men with nice styling. I especially like the H. P. Hemingway Windcheater and the button-fly jeans, though fairly wide-legged, would be perfect for more vintage-inclined men. Raw denim anyone?
Patterns I've made: none.
Wardrobe by Me - A decent selection of men's knitwear--tees, cardigans, sweatpants, etc.
Patterns I've made: Rebel Raglan, made for Alex.
Peekaboo Patterns - A great selection of menswear basics, if a little too basic: pajama pants, tees, robes, etc.
Patterns I've made: none.
Ottobre - this beloved Finnish pattern magazine (think Burda) has "Family" issues in addition to the more frequent "Kids" and "Women" publications--these issues have clothes for men and women alike, but have more of an emphasis on men's clothes since they produce women's patterns year round! You can buy a single issue for about 10 euros, and they ship to the US. Not bad considering the most recent family issue included
11 menswear patterns!
Patterns I've made: none.
Merchant and Mills - Alongside women's patterns, M&M offers a tee shirt, a camp collar shirt, and a field-type jacket as well as a tote and rucksack in their signature "heritage" style.
Patterns I've made: none.
Vintage - There are decades of sewing patterns available for men
on etsy if you are able to look through the sometimes cringey pattern illustrations! Obviously a 70s bellbottom stretch poly jumpsuit is always going to look like a men's bellbottom jumpsuit, but a collared shirt can only change so much. On the other hand, where else are you going to find a bellbottom jumpsuit pattern or a men's kaftan?
Patterns I've made: none.
Patterns for Pirates - This popular PDF pattern company has four men's patterns: a henley, a tank, sport shorts, and joggers.
Patterns I've made: none.
Free Sewing (formerly Made to Measure) - To be quite honest, I'm a bit perplexed at this one as it really seems... too good to be true? Joost de Cock has been hard at work building this site, featuring fully customizable patterns that are all free. You enter in your body measurements (just like
Bootstrap/Leko) as well as style preferences (i.e. collar type, placket type, yoke dart, hip flare, omg so many options) and print out a custom pattern... free. You try it and tell me how it goes, okay?
Patterns I've made: none.
Japanese sewing books - I first learned of these types of books through Mainely Dad who made several gorgeous coats out of one. I've just ordered two of these pattern books for men (one on everyday clothes and the coats one as seen on Mainely Dad) and you can read my pre-sewing review
here. I will note that the menswear books seem to be more classic styles than the women's fashions are; a lot of the women's patterns are sort of oversized and drapey or look like little kids' clothes in grown up sizes, but the men's patterns are your standard button downs and sweatshirts. (Although a drapey, Yohji Yamomoto style pattern book for men would be amaaaazing right?)
Patterns I've made: none... yet!
Did you notice how many of these pattern companies had "none" after "patterns I've made"? I hope 2018 will be the year I rectify that... but in the meantime, have you made anything by these companies? Which patternmakers am I missing?
xoxo,
