Loving the Lea by Made for Mermaids

Does your little girl love the comfort of knits? I know mine certainly prefers them most days, so I was thrilled to test out that latest Made for Mermaids pattern- the Lea tunic, dress & romper!

This sweet little pattern is loaded down with options. Lea can be a tunic or dress in all knit or with a knit bodice and woven bottom OR she can be a romper with either long or short legs in knit! This is the dress version in all knit with rolled cuff sleeves. The sleeves can also be hemmed if you prefer the look of no cuff.

The neckline has a gorgeous scoop in the back making it super easy to pull on and off. I love the look of the elastic casing at the waist, it makes for such an adorable silhouette.

For this test I used this sweet Art Gallery knit by Bonnie Christine from the Hello Bear Collection. This particular knit is the Firefly Knit in Sigh. I made the Size 1 width with Size 4 length for my little one, but really should have done the Size 5 length based on her height for a little added length. We plan to pair with little shorts underneath for easy play.

We LOVE pockets in our house, so the in-seam pocket option on this one was a must for us! There are also instructions for an optional bodice pocket.

This pattern covers sizes 1/2 to 14 years, but guess what, there is a mama version too! Both are a great staple to add to your pattern collection. And both have all of the features we love about Made for Mermaids PDFs- layered sizing so you can print just the sizes you want and those fabulous no-trim pages!

The Lea and Mama Lea are on sale through Saturday, 8/27 midnight CST. Grab them for the sale price while you can and save even more if you buy the bundle!

Made for Mermaids- Back to School Tour

It's hard for me to believe that school has already begun for us this year! We kicked off on Monday and for the first time ever all three of my "babies" (don't tell them I said that)- headed off to school all day! I was tickled to be invited to the Made for Mermaids Back to School blog tour. I wanted to make something special for the first day of Kindergarten anyways- so what better excuse to make something sweet and take loads of pictures.

I chose to use the Sophie pattern. It's one of those I have had in my collection for a long time because I just love the classic style, but just haven't taken the time to make. So, I was tickled at the opportunity to sew one up for the tour! 

I changed the construction up a tad as I wanted to add piping just to the center contrast panel. I picked up this gorgeous pink piping from one of my favorite online retailers who just so happens to be within driving distance for me- Farmhouse Fabrics. 

Farmhouse Fabrics also has a fabulous selection of fabrics like this lime green pima cotton I snagged for this Sophie dress. At 60" wide I was able to just use one full width for my skirt and make sewing even faster!

I fell in love with these little apple shaped mother of pearl buttons that I purchased for the back of the dress. Such a sweet little touch for the back. I also modified the back just a smidge by cutting down the back pattern pieces to make more of a square (well it technically turned out to be more of a trapezoid- ha!) neckline.

The Sophie pattern comes in size 1/2 - 14 years and it is loaded down with options. The regular pattern comes with mid-length and long sleeves and there is a pattern add on for cap, short, and flutter sleeves! There is so much you can do with that center panel- from buttons to embroidery or even showcasing special fabrics. The back can have buttons or a zipper- traditional or exposed. 

I love that this pattern is dress code friendly and can also take you through the seasons with so many options. It's just waaaay too hot down here in the south for anything but sleeveless right now! Ha!

And some GREAT News- Made for Mermaids Patterns are all 20% OFF with the code "M4MB2S" for the duration of the blog tour! (Does not include fabrics) 

A big thank you to the Made for Mermaids team for including me in this tour. Make sure you don't miss out on the rest of this week's Back to School fun!

Aug 8 - Lily Shine Boutique   Wild & Wanderful   Paisley Roots

Aug 9 - Handmade boy   Coles Corner & Creations   Pattern Revolution

Aug 10 - Pear Berry Lane   Snickerdoodle Stew   Squishy Face Collection

Aug 11 - Not Sew Plain Jane   Three Penguins   Sweet Red Poppy

Aug 12 - Better Dressed Child   Sew Sophie Lynn   Sew & Tell Project

P.S. You can always shop Three Penguins at www.threepenguinsclothing.com