One Pattern Two Styles

I'm so excited to have my first guest blogger on all this for them. And it's a fabulous one - Marte from Compagnie M. She is a Belgian seamstress with a keen eye for modern kids' wear and she designs her own FREE patterns as well! I stumbled across her blog not too long ago when she posted these darling Charles Pants and I immediately requested a copy of her pattern. We struck up a correspondence and now she's here today to share a dress she made that was inspired by my blog (how cool is that?)! I'm so flattered and honored to have her here today, showing you her incredible talent. Please be sure to check out Compagnie M. to see what she's sewing because, believe me, she's not only extremely talented, but also very efficient. She has something new all the time. I particularly like this new top, this cardigan, and this adorable coat. So without further adieu, here's Marte!

Hi there, first of all I would really thank Mary Jo for letting me guest post on her very beautiful blog. I got to know her work, because she requested one of my free patterns. I never thought so many talented seamstresses would be interested in my work. To be honest I'm really honoured to have readers like Mary Jo. When I saw her version of the Maggie Mae dress by Shwin & Shwin I was blown away. What a cute little girl with such an adorable little dress.

'I also want to make this pattern' was my first reaction and when I started thinking about fabric combinations, I thought: it would be nice to show two totally different results made with one pattern. So ' 1 pattern, 2 styles' are presented here! 

 When my version of the dress was finished, I was really happy with the result. I love the pattern sooooo much.

 It's en easy project with a stunning result. The instructions are very clear so any sewist should be able to make this beauty! I hope you are convinced enough to just buy the pattern. I surely recommend this one if you're looking for a new project! But of course you can also have a look at my own blog and free patterns. I'm glad to welcome you!

Later this week, Mary Jo will also present her version of my Charles' pants on my blog. I'm really curious to see what she's about to create at this moment. Make sure to check it out later this week! I'll be happy to show Belgium her work!  

Tot ziens! (See you!) Marte for Compagnie M.

Thanks again, Marte, for blogging with us and sharing your version of the Maggie Mae dress with my readers. I love your color combination and button choice. The mustard/teal combo is definitely on trend for a modern look. And isn't her pleating just perfect?? Be sure to jump over to Compagnie M. and follow her to keep up with her super-cute clothes and free patterns. She is definitely a blogger you do not want to miss!

May Flowers Dress 2.0

I really loved how my daughter's May Flowers Dress turned out when I sewed it up last month. It has gotten a lot of use, and every time she wears it, I can't help feeling proud. My friend, who doesn't live locally anymore (sad!) saw it on my blog and decided she wanted one for her daughter, who is 6 1/2. Could I sew one for her? Absolutely! Only problem was that my version of the pattern, which is Shwin&Shwin's Maggie Mae Dress, only went up to a size 5*. And so I needed to test my resizing skills in order to make a size 7 for Clara. I may have overshot a little for this sweet, skinny girl, but Clara's mom didn't seem too bothered. And it was thrilling for me when Clara tried on the dress and broke out in a huge grin. Success!

I used some pretty flower buttons from Joann's for the back.

In order to resize this pattern, I printed out the largest size (a 5) and traced the bodice pieces on paper. Then, I looked at the lines from a size 3 to a 4, and then from a 4 to a 5 and estimated how big a size 6 would be and then a 7. I then measured what ended up being about .5 inches around the size 5 bodice pattern pieces and cut them out. I did a similar thing for the skirt and band pieces, looking at the sizing on the pattern and adding the necessary inches and cut them out too. Voila, size 7! 

Oh and Miss Clara was very fun and easy to photograph. No treats in the pockets needed. Seriously, it was like - Look right (Ok!), hands in pockets (Ok!), twirl (Ok!). The quickest photo shoot ever.

Over the course of the two days that I saw Clara (in town visiting), she wore this and this skirt that I made her last summer (they still fit!). And they looked sufficiently worn (yet still holding up) after a year. Made me very happy to see she that still liked (and wore) them.

And just a final note, if you've never tried Shwin&Shwin's Maggie Mae pattern, I think you'd really love it. It's a very satisfying pattern with very polished results. Quite simply, I love it.

Hope everyone is enjoying the month of May. We are so happy here to finally see May flowers.

I'll be linking up with some of these fun parties!

*Note: (Shwin&Shwin has recently re-released this pattern and now it goes up to a size 10. No guess-work needed!)

May Flowers Dress

It's not May yet, but we're dreaming of May flowers!

For the last week of Project Run & Play, the theme is "Spring Formal Wear." I wanted a dress for my daughter that had a little extra pizazz so that it could be worn to church or a party, but would not be too dressy to wear any day of the week (gotta get some use out of it, right?)

The pattern I used was the Maggie Mae Dress by Shwin&Shwin and I stuck right to it (not altering a thing) and finished with a beautiful spring dress!

I cut a size 5 (I have this sizing-up addiction so that whatever I make can be worn longer) and I feel like it's true to size. I've found that some patterns seem to run small, but Shwin&Shwin's patterns always seem to be right on target (like this, this, this and this.) So the 5 is definitely big on my little girl (she wears a 4T these days), but I still love the look and will enjoy seeing her in this dress all spring and summer.

And for the pizazz? I chose three sparkly vintage buttons in my stash to glam it up a bit.

The pattern calls for pleats in the front and in the back and I found this alternative to gathering quite refreshing. I think pleats also dress up the, er, dress quite a bit too!

Can you tell my daughter loves the pockets?

(That and the Swedish fish swimming around in there.)

I used the same kelly green pinwale corduroy that I used on my Fox Jacket, which gives the dress a nice structure and a bit more formality. And the flowery print is quilting cotton. Both are from Joann's.

After a while, we got a little silly...
 
Here's hoping that May flowers are around the corner...

 

...along with plenty of use for this May Flowers Dress!

Thanks for reading and for stopping by! You can find many more beautiful Spring looks at Project Run & Play.

I'm also linking up with these parties.