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:  

A Walk In The Park - Greenstyle's Caroline Maxi Dress

This week Greenstyle Creations is having another contest.  If you "go out and about" in one of your Greenstyle Creations, you can post a photo on their Facebook page or Instagram, label it #showoffgreenstyle, and you've earned an entry.

Naturally,  I have to give it a go because Greenstyle is a favorite PDF pattern maker.  (I'm not telling you who all my favorites are.  There are lots.  But if you see more blogs about one than the other, you might guess which ones are. I haven't been blogging long enough for you to begin to guess!)

The Caroline Maxi Dress was a pattern I saw a couple years ago and thought about trying.  I was mostly making children's clothing and didn't want to quite delve into PDF patterns for myself.  Well, here I am, making myself a Caroline Maxi!  You can purchase the PDF at Greenstyle's new website.

I used an interlock knit purchased from Girl Charlee a few weeks earlier.  You can find it here.  I also had little light brown linen left that matched the stripes so well, it became the front yoke and a perfect place to monogram.

The pattern was quick and easy for me.  I love halter dresses.  I love maxi's.  I omitted the front collar ruffle and the ruffles at the bottom.  I'm just not a ruffle kinda girl.

I did add (or subtract, depending on how you see it) to the front skirt.  I printed pages 11 and 12 from their Lacy Slope PDF Pattern.  I wanted to create a slight slope in the front of the dress so I would have a subtle "hi/lo" effect and not trip on my dress as I am prone to do.

Yes, I know I really need to clean my olfa mat.  I'd rather buy a new one. 

Anywho, the photo on the right shows the subtle slope created in the pattern piece after mashing the two patterns.

I love it!

So, as the contest rules state, I went "out and about" to our local park.

Here's the photo shoot.  Ok, honestly, here's the photos from the shoot I will share with you.  Enjoy!

It was really windy.  And my back is starting to hurt. 

My back really hurt.  

When ya gotta go, you gotta go.

My husband absolutely loves this dress!  He wanted to go with me to the park to take pictures.

I said, "Honey, this isn't Maui.  We aren't taking those kind of photos today."

I really enjoyed this pattern.  Wish I had bought it years ago when I first saw it.  Thank you Greenstyle for making my selfish sewing absolutely gratifying!

I'm on my way to the doctor.  No more tilling the garden for me this week. 

gloriajune