Visiting with The Cottage Mama

Blogging has afforded me the opportunity to meet so many great people including several amazing new designers/bloggers.  One such person that I think most of you may know already is Lindsay Wilkes, aka The Cottage Mama.

When I first discovered Lindsay's blog, I fell in love with the beautiful outfits she was making, and when she first began selling paper patterns, I bought The Janey Jumper right away (absolutely great pattern)! Here's the post on the first Janey Jumper I made.

Since then, Lindsay's brand, blog, and pattern collection have grown immensely, and I was fortunate enough along the way to be a very small part of it.  Several months ago, I tested one of her latest amazing patterns, The Matilda Dress and Top, and I got the opportunity to meet Lindsay in person and have dinner with her.  So much fun!

Here's my post on my Miss Matilda Dress.

All this brings me to today where I can proudly say that I'm a guest contributor at Lindsay's blog, The Cottage Mama.  Please come visit me there and check out my tutorial on how to use up some of the decorative trims in your stash drawer!

Oh, and I'd love it if you'd leave a comment over there letting me and Lindsay know what you think about my project!

Have a great day, and have fun sewing!

The Cottage Mama Pattern Tour: Miss Matilda Dress

My dear, talented friend, Lindsay aka The Cottage Mama, recently released four new patterns in both pdf and paper formats.  If you're not familiar with Lindsay's work, let me tell you, you are missing out! Lindsay has a knack for not only designing classic children's clothing, but she knows how to combine modern fabrics and trims in a way like no other!

I was fortunate to test one of her latest dress patterns, The Miss Matilda Dress and Top PDF Pattern, for Ella, and this dress has quickly become a favorite at my house!  I just love this picture of her. She looks like such a little lady!

Disclaimer:  The pattern was provided free of charge to me in exchange for testing it; however, all opinions stated in this post are 100% my own.

The Miss Matilda Dress and Top Pattern has a very classic style and is a well written pattern accompanied by lots of color photos and excellent instructions.  The final product definitely looks like a boutique design.  

I tested a size 5 of View A of the dress which includes the full ruffle around the neckline and down one side of the button placket on the bodice plus the attached sash.  

However, the pattern includes two other options:  View B is for a top with only a neck ruffle and sash while View C is for a dress with no ruffles.  Plus all views can easily be embellished with trims and piping to make the piece even more unique.

I agree with Lindsay's difficulty rating that a confident beginner could accomplish this, and for an experienced sewer, it only takes an afternoon to complete from start to finish.

Ella reports that this dress is very comfortable and makes her feel good when she wears it.  I think she looks sophisticated and quite beautiful.

The fabrics I used are all cotton, but I could not find the selvedge of the floral print to tell you what it is. The lilac and pink with a touch of blue/green is very sweet and reminds me an Easter dress!

For Fall, I think I'll make the View B version top without any ruffles to pair with capris or pants.  I really like the top test versions everyone made.

Be sure to check out Lindsay's shop to purchase either the pdf or paper versions of all her patterns. Below are the links to the newest pdf patterns in The Cottage Mama Shop.

The Miss Matilda Dress and Top Pattern

The Georgia Vintage Dress Pattern

The Skip and Play Pants and Capris and

The Daphne Wrap Dress and Top

Hope you'll decide to follow along the Cottage Mama Pattern Tour and visit all the other lovely bloggers that are sewing up these wonderful patterns!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll continue to follow along on my sewing journey!