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:  

Get your Twirl on with Candy Castle Patterns Peppermint Swirl Add-on for Ladies

Isn't this a fabulous dress! 

I made this Peppermint Swirl Add-on for Ladies during the testing process. My daughter saw the testing call and her jaw dropped, 

"Mom, we gotta do that one!  Ask Rebecca if we can!"  

and so I did.

And Kelly was very thankful!

So was I.  This incredible twirling wonder had me dizzy with excitement!

I secretly put on my daughter's dress and twirled a little . . . ok, I twirled a lot, but I didn't want to give you three minutes of me twirling!!

The Add-on, as tested and highlighted in this post, began with the Cherry Cosmopolitan Dress for Ladies (which we also tested).  Here's a couple of photos of the Cosmo before we transformed the pattern with a twirl.  

A sampling of me (48) my 22 year old daughter in the same dress. 

Its really compliments a wide range of ages, you should try it!

Don't be put off by the amount of fabric it requires.  

My broadcloth purchase was a steal at my local Walmart:

The pattern is well-written and photos help you along the way.  I took almost an hour to sew up the swirls using my serger, which went very smoothly, and I didn't notice the hour pass at all!  

I made a template by adhering the pattern pieces onto cardboard so that I could measure out on the fabric itself where/how I would cut my swirls and easily through all the layers required for the size I chose.  I traced the templates first, then moved them over and traced again to determine the best way to cut and utilize the fabric.  There are recommendations drawn out for you in the pattern instructions that help with this part!! Sweet!

After that, it was smooth sailing.  

You will be amazed at how it all comes together!  Its truly magical!  

We had a bit of fun with photo editing here . . . .the dress seems so perfect for cosplay / fantasy wear! 

What are you waiting for!

You can add any bodice to this skirt if you know what you're doing; however, if you're not quite comfortable sewing a mash up on your own, the Cherry Cosmopolitan pattern is available in the shop for your sewing pleasure!

It was my pleasure testing this dress for Rebecca at Candy Castle Patterns.  I look forward to many more items for Ladies.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

See you again soon!

gloria june