Pattern Review: Love Notions Miss Mary Mack

I think this pattern is going to be a year round wardrobe staple here.  Lots of options, fast to sew, and really cute...

The Love Notions Miss Mary Mack Tunic is here.

The options:
Sizes 12mo - 14
Two bodice styles: curved and straight
Four sleeve options: gathered cap, short sleeve, flutter sleeve, and long sleeve (five if you combine the flutter and long which looks awesome)
Made for knits

This is Inara trying to look artistic while keeping the sun out of her eyes.  For this one the Fancy Nancy Fabric is a tight rib knit, and I did the bottom of the bodice in a stretch velvet to keep the "fancy" theme going.  The pants she's wearing are the Maxx-ine pants (also from Love Notions, and they have these crazy cute zippers on the sides)

Between sewing and cutting the pattern took less about 1 -1.5 hours to make.  The Short sleeves went a little quicker than than the long sleeve with flutter.  And on the purple one, I used clear elastic to gather, and that was much faster than using gathering threads like I did on the teal one.

What I loved: The flowy fit is great, without looking too wide on my slim kid.  And I love all the sleeve options - it makes it perfect for all year.

What I'd Change: I wish I had more clear elastic to gather the second top that same way.  It makes the knit gathers look so nice and even and I don't have to mess with gathering threads AND it stabilizes the seam.

Since Inara won't wear jeans, we have a rule that if she wears leggings to school her tush needs to be covered. So shirts like this are awesome, because they are long enough to cover her tush with leggings without having to add a skirt.  The shirt is great for highlighting prints and you could even fancy it up with a lace overlay on the skirt part.

Here's my best endorsement too... The teal fabric is from Peru.  My parents brought me back a meter from their last trip and I can't get anymore until they go again.... This fabric has sat on my shelf getting picked up and put back for a year... and I cut into it for this pattern because I love it and Inara loved the pattern and the fabric!

So... its on sale through Saturday and is available here.   I totally recommend getting the Maxx-ine pants and skirt to go with it if you don't have that pattern yet!

**Note: links to Love Notions site are using my affiliate link, but all opinions are totally my own! If I didn't love it, I wouldn't promote it!

Mommy and Me for Mother's Day (courtesy of Love Notions Sewing Patterns)

Mother's Day is fast approaching.  Judging by the state of the house and the fact that my children seem to have lost their marbles this week, I am simply hoping to make it to Mother's Day.  For the rest of you, though, I wanted to show off my super fun Mommy and Me combo and excite you with an awesome giveaway.

Love Notions Sewing Patterns is a pretty new designer who has tons of yummy knit sewing experience.  The owner is a well known and respected WAHM who has (much do my delight) ventured into making some of her custom designs into patterns.  Her first pattern was the Everyday Play Dress, which Inara grabs out of the drawer whenever it's clean.

After that came the Girls' Trendy Tunic, which I was so excited to get to test.  And I even used the rest of my super awesome Unicorns In The Rain fabric (from Bamboo, Hemp, and Reprints) for it.  The pattern itself is really easy to follow, the sizing is perfect, and we all know how important pockets are, right?

It was a rainy week... do you like our impromptu photo studio?  (This was before I claimed the hall and repainted it).  It's meant to be tunic length, but Inara is a little small for her age, so it worked out nicely a shorter dress.  She still sticks shorts on under it, because she is for some reason always standing on her head, but the awesome part is that we will get tons of wear time out of this.

During the testing we did a lot of begging/hinting/whining for the pattern to be available in women's sizes.  Tami listened and came out with the Ladies' Trendy Tunic... (my first one was a little big - I kind of forgot that I lost some weight and did a size bigger than I needed...)

I really need to be less camera awkward....

And here is where my inspiration for this post came from... As I was standing in the hallway, awkwardly attempting to pose/look natural/will myself skinnier... Inara goes "MOM! I have that! In me sized!" and ran off to her room.  She came back out a couple minutes later and jumped into the pictures... She did fantastic, didn't she?

I totally loved the first one, but I wanted one that was slightly better fitting, so I decided to not be dope, and actually go off the measurements on the size chart.  The bust measurement is most important with this pattern, since it flares slightly.  Here is my second one, in the correct size (AND in my fabulous Dr. Who knit)

The Girls' Trendy Tunic is available in sizes 2 to 14
The Ladies' Trendy Tunic is available in sizes XS to XXL
Or you can save and grab the Bundle of both patterns
Pattern uses knit fabrics - (recommend 4-way stretch for the side panels) and you'll need a small piece of c/l or ribbing for the neckline of the ladies' (the girls' neckline is done with a really nice facing. 

Difficulty Level: Intermediate (adventurous beginners can take a deep breath, take it slow through the pockets, and watch the awesome video tutorial and you'll be just fine!)

Sewing time: We all know I'm not fast, nor do I sew uninterrupted, but I'd say either one takes about 90min-2hrs.

**The code "tunic" is still good on Etsy for 15% off your trendy tunic or bundle!

Now, this is the SUPER FUN part of the post.  Because Sunday is Mother's Day and every mommy deserves a great pattern to sew for herself.  And because I know you will all want to make this for your little ones too... Tami is letting me give away a bundle... so enter the giveaway to get a free copy of both the Girls' and Ladies' Trendy Tunics.  Winner will be announced Sunday.  Happy Mother's Day everyone!
a Rafflecopter giveaway