Closer Look at Anouk

As a Canadian, I've got a lot of pride that some of the best indie pattern companies out there right now are from my Home and Native Land (proud, but not like,  jumping around with red and white body paint or anything —  that is not how we roll in Canada).

There's Sewaholic in Vancouver, Thread Theory in Victoria, B.C. (where I lived for five years while I went to university...yes, I took five years to do a bachelor's degree; if you lived in Victoria, you wouldn't want to leave either. It's the most beautiful little city in the country), and Toronto-based Victory Patterns. 

What I love about Victory Patterns in particular are a few things:

1) Many of designer Kristiann Boos' patterns feature a couple variations — which can be uncommon in the indie pattern world. (Having two different hemlines does not a variation make in my opinion, ahem). So when you have the option of adding sleeves or a different collar for example, you have more room to play when it comes to sewing several versions of one of her patterns.
 

2) Her designs are distinctive: in her current collection of 10 available patterns you would have a hard time finding similar options elsewhere. She's not just turning out yet another pencil skirt or peter pan collared T-shirt. The Anouk, for one, is unique with its pieced placket, yoke, pintucks and cleavage opening (I know that's not the technical term, but c'mon: it's like, sneakily sexy):

  

3) And finally, what I love about Victory Patterns' designs is that they all seem to have been created with fabric fiends in mind: the majority feature many pieces and unique design details, giving the maker room to create something unique by blending fabrics, prints and textures. Or, of course, you could keep it simple and let the design details stand out on their own. 

Now, for a closer look at Anouk, which I first made as a sleeveless dress, using yellow ponte (gifted to me by the lovely blog reader Nurse Bennett), some scraps of white stretch denim and the remaining Marimekko printed cotton from my Mommy Poppins bag. 

It's very sweet and flattering as a dress. I love those bodice details. Each Anouk is like a snowflake....totally unique and beautiful:

Recently I attempted to make the other version of Anouk — the beltless tunic with sleeves. However, my deltoids proved to be too much for the sleeve cap and I had to rip them off, resulting in yet another sleeveless version. If I were to attempt it again, I would grade to a couple sizes up for the armscye and sleeve. Without the belt, I think the tunic version is a little maternity style, but it's still cute: 

I happened to have blue and white striped cotton to match my chambray, so I made my placket in a similar fashion to the Victory Patterns sample version.

And I'm on a covered button kick right now, so I matched my placket. COVERED BUTTONS ON EVERYTHING ALWAYS AND FOREVER:

 Have you made an Anouk? Share links in the comments below. I'd love to see more versions of this great pattern.