Dressmaking

There are lots of online sites where you can buy patterns now, though not as much fun as the old days of looking through those big books in the local haberdashery department.

Luckylegs, why not try a trawl through some charity shops. I know that our local ones sometimes have a selection, though not neccessarily in the right size.

This a good site for sewing patterns.
jaycotts.co.uk/collections/patterns_dresses

Try sewdirect.com or go on ebay. They always have lots of dress patterns of all vintages on sale and are so random that you can find almost anything.

I googled 'Buy dress patterns' and the ensuing reults pages also included references to shops, local to me, that sold them. I know the shop well. It still has the big books of Butterick, Simplicity and Vogue paper patterns to leaf through.

Prima magazine still has a decent pattern free inside every month. It's the only reason I still subscribe, even though I haven't made any clothes for around 25 years.

Also have a look at Etsy - they don't just sell arty crafty handmade stuff, but patterns as well.

here are some sheath dress patterns
and some waterfall jackets

Just watch out for the delivery charges because many of the 'shops' are in the US. You can select 'United Kingdom' as the shop location in the left hand side bar, which will bring costs down (but also reduce the range )

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I bought Sew Style magazine this week from Tesco - the ‘quick and easy’ edition, and it came with 3 patterns, one of which is a simple sheath dress.

Simplicitynewlook is my go to site for patterns

I’ve bought a number of patterns off amazon, like previously mentioned, not as much fun as looking through the books at a haberdashery though

We can still buy patterns in Norfolk both in Norwich and Kings Lynn. Is this strange these days?

A very large chain-style craft store has a sale on at the moment of some sewing patterns, good quality sewing threads and other necessities.
It begins with H

I've been stocking up on threads from that well known craft store Jalima - at 65p each (Coats), great value!

Actually, I tell a lie! I was getting the 65p Coats threads from another well known household store to be found almost next door to the well known craft store beginning with.... oh for God's sake, this is getting silly! I got them in Dunelms, not Hobbycraft!
I think in Hobbycraft they're selling Gutermann threads half price, not Coats.

Some John Lewis haberdashery departments still stock the main pattern books, if that’s any help.

Yes, I have a sewing box filled with Gutermann threads now but no sewing projects in mind

I've got more threads than I'll probably ever use in my lifetime. Ditto fabric. Ditto patterns. And so many projects going round in my head all the time that I often find it hard to focus on just one.
So then I sit down with a cuppa. And GN

Bathsheb
Ditto - GN is a great aid to procrastination

sorry, Bathsheba

The website Minerva is excellent for patterns....and lots of other things!

GN is a great aid to procrastination
It is Jalima. The idea is that I go on GN as a gap filler in between doing all the important things. The reality is that the important things become the gap fillers in between coming on GN

Burda online is great too!

Quick question for the OP, I am a fairly newbie dressmaker, so do not know all the terms - what does "dimple" mean in the context of a sheath dress?
(Sorry if it is a stupid question)

Lisalou that was a typo - the OP meant “a simple sheath” ??

And just for the record, there is no such thing as a stupid question ?