Ellie and Mac – Wrapped in Love

Hi friends in Blog land,

Hope you are doing well and not stressing about the holidays. I think this year has had plenty of stress, so we need to take this time to relax, enjoy life, and wrap ourselves in love! I couldn’t think of a better dress pattern to use for this purpose than one literally called Wrapped In Love.

Over the past few years I have sewn dozens of Ellie and Mac patterns. I love that they are pretty, tend to be fairly quick and fit me well. I printed and taped this pattern before I realized I have actually made the skirt before. #seamstressproblems I hacked the skirt and combined it with the Be Breezy to make a small capsule and I loved the outcome. I actually wrote the hack for the Ellie and Mac Blog. Here is the link there. Below is one photo of that set. Click the link to check out the entire set!

For this dress, I made a few small changes. I omitted the bodice lining. I know it gives a cleaner neckline finish, but honestly I hate wasting all that fabric. I also scooped the neckline 2.5 inches lower, then cut a neckband. Easy Peasy! I smoothed out the back curve and cut the back bodice on the fold. I made the sleeves slightly roomier as the regular pattern is very slim. I actually wanted these to come out larger, but alas they aren’t as poofy as I dreamed. Once I had the bodice assembled with the sleeves, I put it on. I marked on my arm (yea with a purple ink pen that was holding my hair up #protip) where the cuff would hit. I then measured the circumference of my arm at that point and subtracted 1/2 inch. This would ensure my sleeve cuff was tight enough to be snug, but not cut off my circulation. I shorted the skirt length by 2.5 inches.

Because pockets are everything!

So what do you think about this fabric? This oh so glorious fabric?? I am in awe of it really, the colors, the weight, the cool slinky feeling of it. This is DTY from Sly Fox Fabrics and it is gorgeous. GORGEOUS, folks! I actually don’t have enough words to say how much I love it. When it was offered up in to the promo team, I signed up IMMEDIATELY! I needed this fabric in my life! I was grateful to be chosen to sew it up, then ordered 2 additional yards because it HAD TO BE A MAXI DRESS! I am still living in dresses since my surgery. My body still isn’t super happy about wearing jeans. Thankfully, I have a pretty well stocked closet!

Maxi dress for the win!

This fabric is called Azalea in Navy and the Sly Fox Website lists several coordinates for it and they are all lovely! Here is the link to head over to order this print yourself! SFF has free shipping on orders over $150. #Selflovecomesinfabricshipments.

Wrapped in Love is currently on sale for $4.97! So worth every single penny!

Here is my afflink. This costs your nothing extra, but I do receive a small commission from the designer for “Sharing my Love.”

Fabric is DTY from Sly Fox Fabric and is Gorgeous remember. It is called Azalea in Navy!

Here is direct link to it.

On a side note, my sewing machine is back from the repair shop and seems to be doing ok. A good cleaning and a new type of needle and it is happy again. Let’s hope this continues! I have several projects coming your way this week including a new Youtube video which is kicking off a new series on my channel. I hope you have all subscribed to get notified!

SequoiaLynn Sews on Youtube <–give me a click 🙂

Love Notions – Summer Basics Maxi Dress

The Summer Basic tank and dress pattern has just released in sizing inclusive through 5x. This pattern includes a tank top and 2 dress length dress options PLUS a shelf bra and a FBA option. I have written several times about my love of quick sewing garments with opportunities for hacking them to create different looks. I can already picture several options for new looks/styles and can’t wait to give them a try. Don’t worry, you will be the first to know.

From start to finish this dress was only took about 2 hours of work. I sewed it up as soon as I returned home from vacation. I quickly wished I would have had a suitcase stuffed full of the Summer Basics! This one would be perfect for site seeing, long hours of car riding, a wedding, and lounging at the hotel.

I decided to make the maxi length in this awesome DBP from Stitchin’ Pretties. I would love to encourage you to go buy it for yourself, but I have been hoarding it for at least a year because I knew I wanted a summer dress from this bright, fun print! This color combo is one of my faves!

I made a 4x FBA graded to a 5x at the belly. I extended the length of the bodice by 1 inch. I cut and assembled the bodice and tested the fit/length before adding the skirt. I was a wee bit worried that my empire waist was going to ride a bit too high, but the weight of the dress pulled it into the perfect place! I actually really LOVE this pattern! I love that it is maxi length, but didn’t take miles of fabric because it isn’t overly full. I can 100% see myself making several as they are easy to make, fun to wear, and uber comfy! Throw on a cardigan and it has you covered for fall and winter!

This pattern is currently on sale for $9.00 (reg. $12.00) and you can pick up the pattern here using my afflink.

 

Madeleine

I was lucky enough to be a tester for the Rebecca Page Madeleine Maxi Dress. I loved the style as soon as I saw it even though I had no clue where I would actually wear it. I loved that it was a long flowing maxi dress and really loved that it had two different strap options. One of those strap options will even cover real bra straps! Thank you very much!

Madeleine comes with detailed, step by step directions which includes pictures. This pattern is fairly involved and requires some work, but it is so worth it when finished. I was able to use my serger to assemble most of the dress and it took about 8 hours from printing to hemming. Several of the techniques were new to me, but after doing them, I think it will be faster for the next one. I would really love to hack this to a shorter length for a flowy tunic to wear over leggings. Momma Mia also states she wants one.

I would rate this pattern as a confident beginner to intermediate level based on techniques that some people may not be familiar with. The directions are super helpful and if you ever need help the Rebecca Page team is always around.

I used this beautiful Double Brushed Poly that I picked up from Stitchin’ Pretties. This print is called Annella. Aqua and Orange is my favorite color combo so when you add in the pretty floral hints, I become obsessed. I am so glad I had 4 yards of this on hand! Double brushed poly really does have a wonderful drape needed for the full effect of the Grecian look. Be sure to stabilize the neckband and straps though like the instructions say! There is a lot of fabric in this dress so DBP will need the extra support of the interfacing to hold it in place.

Madeleine comes in sizes XXS to 5X. I sewed up the 5x with only height adjusting the skirt portion. I am only 5’1 so this proves that short girls can wear maxi lengths when they are fitted correctly. I hope you give this beautiful dress a try! It is pretty amazing! I also hope you tag me when you make yours. Here are the links to pick up this fabric and this pattern.

Click here for the Madeleine pattern. It is currently on sale for $10.00.

Love my fabric too? Click here to shop for Annella at Stitchin’ Pretties. 

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Virginia Tank 2.0

So yesterday I told you about my black and white striped DBP tank! Today I am talking about my second tank. I used the 1 yard cut of  this colorful Mandela type print. I like busy prints, obviously. I have been throwing prints in your face for weeks and preaching that you should be wearing them as well. I like prints because they hide a multitude of sins that usually come in the form of lumps and bumps and rolls on my body. I am all about you should love yourself and work with what you got, but I also don’t wish to draw attention to areas I want to minimize. Personally, that isn’t good for my self-esteem. This print is kinda amazing though. I love it, I am praying it restocks soon. I think this will make an amazing dress for spring.

When your print has all these amazing colors in it, you can pair it with anything! I am wearing a super bold teal beaded necklace in my pics! Sometimes, all you need are awesome accessories to go from casual to snazzy!

Today I am not breaking the prints rules, but I am working on an amazing pattern hack tutorial. I will be using some another amazing Sly Fox Print and it isn’t a stripe and it isn’t a floral! Trust me, it will be epic!

Again here are all the options for Virginia. 🙂

• Tank top with optional built-in bra
• Separate full bust adjustment (FBA) pattern pieces for the tank and bra
• Knee length or Maxi length skirt
• Skirt can be made from woven or knit fabric
• Tank top has two neckline options in the front and two neckline options in the back
• Dress can be made with knit waistband or elastic casing
• Maternity option
• Pockets!
• Sizes XXS-5XL
• Matching girls’ option! Check out the Girls’ Virginia Tank & Maxi and get 10% off when you buy both patterns at once!

Pattern Links

Here is the link to the Women’s pattern.

Here is the link to the Girl’s pattern.

So since this is a House of Curve #Breakallthedamnrules post I must remind you to hurry and sign up to win a $25 shop credit to Sly Fox Fabrics! You too can wear these amazingly versatile stripes!! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram and Facebook!! Use the code #Breakallthedamnrules Today is the last day to sign into the raffle to win from Sly Fox Fabrics! Click Below!

Here is the post where you will find the raffle link! 

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This blog post contains Affiliate Links. This means that when you make a purchase from one of my blog links, I receive a small commission. This doesn’t change the price for you, but is a little Thank You to me! It also helps me to buy more fabric to show you new and upcoming patterns. So thank you!!