Get ready for Garnet!
We’re putting the finishing touches on Garnet this week, and I’m happy to say that it’s almost ready to release. I introduced Garnet on my blog this summer, thinking that it would be a late summer or early fall pattern launch, but…well…life got in the way (if you follow along with my Friday Faves, I put personal updates there), so we postponed the launch by a bit.
Since it’s been a while, let me reintroduce you to this lovely new design…
Garnet is designed for woven fabrics and features a square neckline and dramatic gathered sleeves. It can be sewn with two contrasting fabrics; one for the yoke and cuffs, and one for the body, or the entire blouse can be sewn with a single fabric. There are two sleeve finishing options: separate cuffs or elastic cuffs, and you can also add wide tucks on the sleeves and hem for a fun structural detail.
To simplify things, we’ve divided all of the options between two views:
view a - two contrasting fabrics, without tucks, separate cuffs
view b - single fabric, with tucks, elastic cuffs
(Of course, you can always mix and match the options between views…I’ve made a few examples to help you envision what this looks like - stay tuned for those posts here on the blog soon!!)
Garnet + Ruby
Garnet is designed as a sibling pattern to Ruby so you can mix and match the two patterns for even more options. Garnet’s sleeve can be added to Ruby, or swap Ruby’s yoke for Garnet’s if you want a rounded neckline paired with Garnet’s voluminous sleeves and body.
skill level: intermediate
Garnet is a great project for the confident beginner sewist who is ready to add some skills and variety to their garment-sewing repertoire, and we’re giving it an “intermediate” designation because we’ve included some techniques to help someone who’s sewn Ruby to “level up” their sewing skills.
sizing and fabric requirements
Like the other patterns that we released or updated in 2022 and 2023 - Citrine, Ruby, and Cleo - Garnet is graded into a range of fourteen sizes, A-N.
For Garnet, the key measurement for selecting size is chest; measure around the fullest part of your chest and use that number to select your size. Waist and hip are provided for reference, but due to the generous ease and design of this pattern, we don’t recommend grading up or down for a larger or smaller hip size.
If you’d like to get ready for Garnet, you can use the following chart to determine how much fabric you will need. The view a yardage is given for two fabrics, and the view b yardage is for a single fabric. If you want to switch features between the views (such as adding an elastic cuff to view a, or taking the tucks off of view b), that’s fine.
In addition to fabric, you’ll also need 1/2 yard [.5 m] lightweight interfacing for the yoke, and if you’re finishing the sleeve with the elastic cuffs, you’ll need 3/4 yard [.9 m] of 1/2 inch [13 mm] wide elastic.
[ see my favorite garment interfacings here ]
RECOMMENDED FABRICS
I recommend light to medium weight woven fabrics such as cotton lawn, voile, double gauze, poplin, rayon challis, shirting, shot cotton, and silk.
You can use something a bit more structured for the yoke, but because Garnet has a lot of volume, I think you’ll like the body of the top more if you use something light or flowy for the front, back, and sleeves.
I hope you are as excited as I for this pattern! Stay tuned for more peeks at the Garnets I’ve been sewing over the past few months, and of course, a launch post soon!!
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