Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Summer Romper by Brownie Goose

Oh happy day!

I am so excited about this pattern! It screams play days with Aunt Jenny and I can just picture my nieces in it with a sno-ball in hand. (Spring is almost here right?! Please be here soon.)

My last review was for the company "Brownie Goose" and as I had mentioned in the video, I loved the Lake House dress pattern so much that I bought 4 more of BG's patterns. So, here it is! The Summer Romer by Brownie Goose. Isn't it adorable?!
I'll begin with saying that you should run to the store (or quickly click this link) and get this pattern! It was $9.00 and arrived (with the other 3 that I bought) within 2 minutes of me clicking 'purchase'. Seriously, life in the digital age is awesome. I didn't even have to put shoes on! ;) The pattern was printed and ready to use in 15 minutes.

This pattern was 4 pages which made it easy to put together and begin in a jiffy. Good news, my cutting and taping skills are improving as all seams matched JUST RIGHT. Snap. Peyton, my kindergarten teacher sister-in-law, would be oh so proud.

This one took about two hours to make, however, I think if I did it a second time it would only take 30-45 mins. Its super simple and straight forward. The hardest part is getting that dang elastic to string through the casing.
Finished Product! Are you swooning like I am?

Points to get EXCITED about:

  1. Making this dress means Spring/Summer is only a week away! RIGHT.... no seriously...
  2. Super cute and simple. Your little one will wear this one over and over again. She can PLAY and have fun without all the frills of a dress but WITH all the frills of cuteness. 
  3. Easy bang for both your buck and time. Don't you just smile when you see it... 


Points to look out for:



  1. When aligning the shorts, align the bottom edge of the shorts so that the crotches match.
  2. The middle elastic casing, if not done perfectly, will not hold one inch elastic. Buy either 1/2" or 3/4" elastic in addition to your 1" elastic so that you have it on hand. I used the 1/2" for the waist band and like the results. 
  3. When buying elastic, make sure you purchase the no-roll kind. This will help prevent the elastic from rolling when you string it and after many wears/washes. Last thing you want is to make this cute design and have your little one complain about the elastic being uncomfortable. Spend the extra quarters and get the no-roll! :) 


Fabric:

  • Body
    • Designer: Jennifer Paganelli
    • Collection: Disco Dance With Me
    • Design: Libby
    • Color: Red
  • Trim
    • Designer: Timeless Treasures
    • Collection: Alice Kennedy
    • Design: Lily
    • Color: Green
Halter top
Peek-a-boo cut out. 
Seam Ripper Count: 5 (Ouch!)
essie Nail Color: miss fancy pants

Monday, February 18, 2013

Brownie Goose's Lake House Dress REVIEW

Hey guys! I'm back!!! The holidays and post holidays drained my time and energy from all things creative. Oh how I am so excited to be back in my creative spirit having fun with patterns, fabrics and designs! It's been too long. :)

So, I'm wanting to try something new with this blog in that I want to incorporate video reviews. I thought this would be a neat way to go over the pattern and add a new dimension. I hope you like them. My goal is to do one review a week. How great would that be. :)

Now to it! The first pattern review of the "Sew Lovely" blog goes to Brownie Goose's Lake Dress.


First things first, I loved this pattern. I bought it one evening and within 5 minutes the download for the dress was in my inbox. Talk about INSTANT GRATIFICATION! I was able to download it and print it off immediately. It printed to 12 pages and required some kindergarten skills of cutting and taping to put it together. It was like an arts and crafts project combined with a sewing project. Two for one. I will warn you that you will want to be super careful cutting and taping the pattern together! By the end, my last few pages were getting quite askew. Yikes. I should have gone back and re-taped them, but I powered through instead. I regretted this towards the end of my sewing as the seams were not matching up so perfectly. Next time I will be more careful with my alignment of the pattern. Here's what it looks like all put together. I love the multi-colored lines for each size. Very helpful.


Main points to get EXCITED about:
1. Super simple, easy one night project.
2. POCKETS! Super easy and super cute. You can't even see a hint of the pocket from the side, but they're there! I chose the pink dot pattern for the pockets to add an extra POP. Who doesn't LOVE pockets?!
3. The toughest part of the pattern is choosing the fabric! (Isn't that always the case.)


Main points to look out for:
1. Cut the pattern and tape together carefully!
2. Complete each step! I know it sounds like a 'given'... but I skipped a couple that I thought I didn't need to do and ended up having to go back, seam rip and complete.

I would recommend this pattern in an heartbeat! As a matter of fact, I bought 4 more of her patterns last night! It was simple, to the point and her writing was cute and fun to follow along. Go to etsy and buy it quick! Brownie Goose's Lake Dress You will certainly not regret it!

Now to my video review.... Hope you like!


Adding the pleat allows for the perfect amount of extra volume to the dress. 

Pockets pinned and ready to be sewn. 

Pockets ready and waiting...
We're about to have a dress. Two sides aligned and pinned. 

My favorite part of the dress--> Center placement of this beautiful Amy Butler Love Momento fabric. 


We <heart> tab flare.
Happy Sewing! 

Jen