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Showcase Michelle Sew Journers The Simple Life Pattern Company

SLPco Showcase with Michellle from Sewjourners

Hey there! I’m honored to be a part of the SLPco Showcase series today and I’m sharing what has quickly become one of my favorite dresses now. The Jane dress and romper has more of a comfortable play dress feel to it. The details and finishings both inside and out make it a classy sew that show off your skills or teach you new skills. This dress has loads of options which I’ll touch on later. I chose to do the flat front bodice with no ruffles since I went with a gingham bodice, but mostly because I barely had enough of it for both dresses.

So let me take a quick detour and talk about this fabric. I give 100% of the fabric selection credit to Allie at Crafthouse. I came traipsing into her adorable store with my two toddlers in tow and ran around like a little girl in a candy store while I drooled over all the lovely fabric, taking constant breaks only to keep my children from pulling the bolts off the shelves or unraveling the yarn. I mentioned to her that I liked the ginghams she had posted on Instagram, then I was off to chase my girls and came back to find this blue Gingham Story Cotton and Steel print with a couple bolts of Asuka Floral by Dear Stella on the cutting table. “Sold!” I said and then foolishly proceeded to only order a 1/2 yard of each. What was I thinking? Fortunately this pattern is not a fabric hog and the separate bodice and skirt allowed me to get both dresses out of three 1/2 yard cuts!

Yep, my daughter knows that is cause to celebrate – Sound of Music style.

I wanted to cut into it right away because the combination screamed “fall” to me. When I laid out both bodices and sleeves on my 18″ of gingham I was so pleased to see they fit as long as I made zero mistakes! I was able to line up the stripes on everything but the waistband, which I figured I could get away with. I did have to sacrifice some width on the skirt so it’s less ruffly than designed, but I like it. I’m also a fan of matching girls outfits with slight variations so the two different floral tones were perfect for my preference.

My girls gave these dresses a true childhood test: running, chasing, picking flowers, dancing, catching bugs and playing around rocks and streams.

But they are also perfect for school…or in our case, a trip to the library.

The way the sleeve is drafted it is easy to add some length and make them long, which I talked about when I made this denim version. So don’t hesitate to try these for fall or winter! They also pair beautifully with a cardigan.

This pattern has options for a romper, ruffle placket, and pieced bodice with lovely gathers. I’m doing the pieced bodice next, it’s so feminine!

The inside of this dress is just as nice as the outside. The instructions guide you through a process that leaves you with fully enclosed seams. Add a contrasting fabric for the neck facings so when your younger children need you to dress them still you can appreciate those details and do a little happy dance.

Thanks for letting me share with you! If you want to follow along with my sewing journey, my Instagram handle is SewJourners and my blog is SewJourners.net.

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