Party season will soon be upon us and we are all thinking about party frocks! Before you start franticly searching for new party frock patterns, you should consider what you may already have in your sewing supplies. A very simple looking shape made in a beautiful fabric can be all it takes. You can give an outfit a whole new look with a pretty trim. To inspire you, we have made FOUR festive versions of our existing patterns, each with some extra little trimmings to make you feel like the bees knees.

Our first dress is the Triple Tuck Smock made in a fabulous crinkle velvet. It looks COMPLETELY different to its more practical, everyday sister-smock that is shown on the front cover. We’ve added some pretty, fluted sleeve frills to lengthen the sleeves (I can’t stand being cold) and to give it a feminine edge.

There is a FREE pattern piece for these frills for you to download and print at home. Just add them on to the existing sleeves.

SLEEVE TRIM PATTERN – click to download

I also added some length to the lower hem of the dress to bring it down below the knee for a more elegant look.

It doesn’t have to all be about dresses for the festive season. This Swing Jacket looks super luxurious and perfect for a theatre trip or party, alike. Mel is wearing it with shorts and heels for a contemporary look.

I’ve used a sumptuous purple velvet for the lower half of the jacket, and one of Sew Different’s own fabrics – Tropicana • Plum – for the upper half.

I’ve added some matching velvet trims to the sleeves to lengthen them slightly and to tie in with the lower half. I used the same width as the neckline trim to finish the sleeve edges.

This Moscow Dress is made in a beautiful pale gold velvet alongside another one of Sew Different’s own cottons – Silver Birch. Our cottons do combine well with a lot of the wintery fabrics out there, such as velvet and tweed, as they are heavier than your standard summer-dress style cotton.

dress pattern

Again, I have added sleeve trims, not just for length, but to echo the fabrics of the centre panel and bring the design of the dress together.

The sleeves in this pattern will easily lengthen to 3/4 length or full length.

In this super-pretty version of the Stella Blouson, I’ve used different three fabrics for a luxurious look. The upper outer is another of Sew Different’s own fabrics – Ditsy Leaf • Rose, while the lower half and the cuffs are a co-ordinating lilac velvet. The lining is a gorgeous violet shot-silk that combines both of the colours in the patterned fabric


Whatever you go for, be bold with your colour and pattern mixing (and don’t forget the eyeshadow!) Happy seasonal sewing!