Straight Stitch Capitol Hill Dress & Tunic Review x2

Hey y'all . . . 

hop on over to PatternRevolution.com 

for a quick look at Straight Stitch Designs' 

Capitol Hill Dress & Tunic

Its a two-fer as team member Lisa also reviewed the pattern!

Happy Sewing,
gloria june

A quick look at the Jocole Quick Dress/Top

The Jocole Quick Dress & Top

Hmmm . . . .

what to wear . . . 

I may go into town to shop today . . . 

I need something quick and easy . . . . 

Let's see what my sewing magic can do with the Quick Dress.

I have some Fashion Knit from Hancock Fabrics, a yard or so of Travel Knit from Hobby Lobby and the Quick Dress & Top pattern from Jocole. (The hyperlinks will take you to the pages for the fabrics at Hancock & Hobby Lobby -- but, there are lots more choices in the actual stores than online.)

Instead of making a facing for the top yoke portion, I simply cut 4 of the contrast yoke, attached each yoke at the shoulders, placed them on top of the other, right sides facing, and then stitched the neck opening only.  

Turned this right side out.

I cut a few strips of my Fashion Knit fabric, folded in half and pressed with the iron.  Placed the strips along the arm hole, right sides facing each other, then serged.  I did this on both sides.  

Looking good . . . .

A couple more strips sewn the same way on the 

arm opening of the remaining portion 

of the front and back of the dress . . . 

Attach the bottom of the dress to the yoke, sew up the sides, and voila, I have a new dress!

What sewing magic can you make with the Quick Dress & Top?

You can buy the pattern here:  Jocole Quick Dress & Top

Happy Sewing,

gloria june

I am sew Seamingly Smitten! And two how-tos . . . . and a giveaway!

The giveaway is now closed.  Winners are announced at the end of this post!

Smitten:  very much in love   

Magazine Street Maxi

That's how I feel about Seamingly Smitten and its owner/designer, Jenny Hall.

Jenny has created sewing patterns for Women, Boys, Girls and more.  The patterns are beginner oriented and include tutorial style directions with lots of helpful hints.  And, I might be a little bit biased, since she is in my hometown and an LSU fan like me . . . 

In my family, all of the women are of varying body styles and sizes, from petite to tall, and Jenny's patterns for women are sized XS - XXXL (sizes 0-26). If you find one that isn't, just email Jenny.  She'll guide you through to making the size you need.

I save the original printed & taped pattern pieces in its original state so that I can trace different sizes as needed.   

As you can see in the first picture, Seamingly Smitten patterns can be used for maternity wear as well!  (Just don't forget to account for the baby belly raising the length of the garment.  I did.  I'm not showing you her toes because I should've gotten that right and I'm embarrassed!)


This is one of my favorite PDF patterns to print and tape because you just lay the pattern piece pages next to each other -- no overlapping or matching symbols, and no cutting necessary until you're cutting out the size you need!

I've made several of her items . . . time to show off my creations!

The Adelaide -- my first Seamingly Smitten pattern:

                       

Aren't they gorgeous girls!

later, I made these for two other little girls . . . .

My most recent, the Laurie Claire Tunic . . . and of course I added a shelf bra!

(Details below)

 The ladies reversible vest for my daughter

and then the Magazine Street Maxi Dress for women . . . 

If you love elastic belts, this dress is perfect for them!

I made my own sleeves for this one . . . and used Doodles knit fabric in the Kids section of Joann's
(shh . . don't tell anyone I'm wearing  fabric meant for my grandkids . . . )

and The Magazine Street Maxi for Girls . . . 

Two cutie-patooties!  

 Which is also great for Mommy & Me outfits!

Next, the Sarabeth Swim Cover Up

My daughter is just stunning in this!  Love it!!

There are many more patterns I have yet to sew, but they're on my list of Summer must haves!  Start shopping now here, or here (today is the last day to use code SAVE50 to save 50% off your entire purchase of sewing patterns -- sale ends 6/10/2014) 

Jenny has graciously offered to give away Three Seamingly Smitten PDF Patterns (your choice!) to Two Lucky Winners!

****Just leave a comment on my blog about today's post for a chance to win.*****  

On the evening of Thursday, June 12th, 2014, we will randomly select 2 winners!

Now, onto today's How-tos:

For the Laurie Claire Tunic, I added a shelf bra:

 

I've also made the Magnolia Wrap Dress. I love the comfort of this dress! And, if you're like me, you have good body days and bad body days, so you want a dress that will expand and shrink, just as your body does!

This is my 22 year old daughter in the wrap dress above.

And then me, um, . . . .more than double her age, in the same dress below.

The pattern instruction has a simple straightforward way to complete the sleeves. I prefer to have a finished look on my sleeves, so this is how I did it:

I attached the sleeve binding to the dress.

Flipped the dress open to the wrong side,  turned in the sleeve binding (folding it in half) to the seam line and serged.

Voila!  Beautiful finished seams at the armscye!

Don't forget to leave a comment for your chance at Three PDF Patterns of Your Choice from Seamingly Smitten!

Giveaway has concluded!

The Winners are . . . . . (insert drum roll) . . . 

#1 Stephanie Woodson

#7  Jessica Pierce

Congratulations!  Please provide us with your Email address or send it privately through the contact button on this page!  

Thank you everyone!

Happy Sewing,

gloriajune


PS: 


I'm working on something special for Emma Rose.  
Come back later this week to check it out!  




Want a sneaky peek?  


A new pattern collection from Stitchwerx.  



Win it before you can buy it here:  

Greenstyle Creations Lille Racerback - A Sewing Pattern for Day to Night and Inbetween. Plus a Bonus How-To AND Discount Code!

Greenstyle Creations' Lille Racerback Tank or Dress is an absolute must-have pattern!  You can dress it up, make everyday wear, workout wear, sports wear, evening wear, . . . . its all up to you!  

You can purchase the pattern at GreenstyleCreations here.  Look around the website, there's lots of PDF Sewing Patterns to choose from, not just women's patterns, but children, teens and men too! 

 There may be a code at the end of today's blog for a discount!!!!  keep reading . . . . 

I love knits -- they are so very forgiving.  As my body changes, I find it much easier to dress in knits and also to sew my own wardrobe to make everything fit my body the way I want it to!  And the cherry-on-top for me with this pattern is . . . . . the Built-in Shelf Bra!!! Yay!  

Here are some of the creations I've made with this sewing pattern:

The Maxi Length made custom length for me because I walk fast!

Every Southern Girl Monograms!

 I love Tennis!!!  

Now I can make my own Tennis Dresses!

Yep, I embroidered on this too . . . Peace, Love, Tennis

How about some summer evening/date wear?

I used stretch lace here as an accent.

Love how this dress accentuates my curves!

And here is an everyday, 

built-in shelf bra 

because I'm too lazy, short dress version

 BONUS HOW-TO

I did mention that I was lazy, right?  I decided not to bind my everyday shelf bra dress (above).  I was done.  Tired.  Just mowed the "back 40" (southern term).  This was my third version of the Lille in the testing process (I wanted to make it in as many ways as I had the time for).  I wanted something to throw on after a shower, something that would keep the girls in place, something comfy, something Greenstyle.  

Here's what I decided to do:

I used tricot for the built in bra.




Followed instructions in the pattern to attach, and added my own twist . . . .

I stitched my tricot and fashion fabric, right sides together, along the armscye and necklines . . . . . . 

. . . . stopping just short of the ends at the top seams.  You'll see why in a moment.

Having this opening (shown above) allows us to achieve the  non-binding method.  

Here I am, happy as a clam, but not picture happy (selfies are a necessary part of testing).  

I'm happy because my girls are in place, I can be lazy today, and I didn't have to attach binding.  I love the clean look of this!


Now, take this link to the GreenstyleCreations website.  

Use the special code of "Gloria25". You can get 25% off your total order today!



Happy Sewing,

gloriajune