marie-madeline studio

Introducing... the angelica jumper & swing top!

Hello, angelica!

We are so excited to share our new girls sewing pattern with you!!!  Meet angelica, a sweet and twirly jumper with neck ties and a big back bow.

View A is a jumper with a 6-gored skirt, complete with apron (a favorite with little girls, so we're told!) and a fun fabric flower corsage.  This style is very boutique-y, but it sews up super fast!  The elastic casing along the back of the bodice gives a neat fit.

And angelica view B is an uber-twirly 12-gored swing top that goes perfectly with leggings or tessa bloomers!  (It's also a great companion to our next up and coming pattern... full reveal soon!)

This is one of our favorites!  Eleanor gave the swing top two thumbs up.

Could she be any cuter?!

So here's the full scoop on angelica...

• Sizes 2/3 - 14/16, all in one envelope and printed on sturdy paper right here in the USA.
• Full-size pattern pieces and fully illustrated instructions.
• Jumper (A) finishes a couple inches below the knee; swing top (B) finishes mid-thigh.
• Back elastic casing.
• Instructions for flower corsage included.
• Available for pre-order now and shipping within the next two weeks! 

We're really excited about this little jumper.  It's so versatile!  In the summertime it makes a great sundress, but layers nicely over a t-shirt or peasant top.  And angelica is lots of fun to sew!

What do you think?!

xoxo

angelica jumper -- Circa by Jennifer Paganelli

angelica swing top -- Sweet Things by Lakehouse Dry Goods

Buttoned Up.

We all love sewing (surprise), and sewing for little girls is extra fun!  Thankfully, we're blessed to have some lovely little girls in our lives.  They also happen to be cousins, and their mommies also like to dress them alike.  So, we like to sew for them.

And, cooler weather is coming (saaaaddd), so the girls could use something a bit more fallish.  Enter a long sleeve amelia dress + an ana claire jumper + Sweet Things fabric.  We are always so impressed with Lakehouse's black prints... they are amazingly saturated, and wash & wear so well too.

And, don't forget happy buttons!  We recently had the pleasure of learning about Fastenation Studio.  Hannah's just as cute and sweet as her buttons.  We sent her a swatch of the outfit fabrics, and Hannah custom made the buttons to match!  Don't they look perfect??  All of Hannah's buttons are handmade with high quality polymer clay and double glazed.  They are amazing.  

Some of our favorite buttons in Hannah's shop are the bunnies, baseballs, red, white & blue, and sew swirly.  The buttons came so quickly too!

Hannah also makes these darling hair bow clips!  We just pinned them onto the front of the girls jumpers for now.  We can't wait to see them in their little wispy hair!

Kristie (Mom) really gets the credit for making these darling jumpers.  She loves to bless other people's lives, and sewing for little girls is her favorite thing to do.  We think it must be the 20+ years experience.  We can't wait to give the girls their outfits (hopefully this weekend)!

xox Kristie, Apphia, Achaia, Abigail, and Abiah

Pattern sale and save the date!

Starting today (August 30th) through September 4th you'll find all marie-madeline studio sewing patterns 25% off!!  Now is the perfect time to stock up on some favorites... I mean, are we the only ones that collect patterns???

Also, you might want to mark your calendars, save the date, and save your pennies, because our annual Birthday Bash is almost here!! (If you've never joined in before, be sure to read about it here.)  Of course, you can always keep up with it right here on the blog, or sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

Happy weekend to all of you!

xox KAAAA

Red, White, & Blue

It's kind of an iconic color combination, you know?  In spite of the fact that while we were growing up it was our mom's go-to for any color scheme, we still love it.  (And wear it faithfully every Independence Day, of course.)  When the color basics patriotic piece came in from Riley Blake several weeks ago, we couldn't resist the urge to mix them with an older Flower Sugar piece in order to make this sweet francie dress for Eleanor!

We're also loving the Prepsters collection from Michael Miller!  And if you just can't go with the red, white, and blue... there is a green, white, and blue colorway, too.

We made the little flowers on Ellie's dress using this old faithful tutorial.  This is view A of the francie dress, but without sleeves.

 

Right now we're busy packing up for an upcoming vacation, but we'll try to pop in again before too long!  Keep an eye on us via Instagram...  xoxo

Sew Summer Dresses.

 

I don't know about all of you, but there's something about summer that spells dresses to me.  All year 'round I love a good dress, but warm weather seems to make me want one extra bad.  So this spring/summer I've been working at "collecting" some great cool summer dresses.  Here's a round-up of some of our favorite dress patterns this year....

1. Vintage Vogue Gathered Bodice Dress.  I recently made this one out of polka dot knit.  I love it!  Because I'm a bit zipper-shy and was using knit I just skipped the side zipper completely... and it worked!  I'm waiting for some navy/white star knit fabric to arrive in the mail so I can make another one for Independence Day (can't wait to see how it turns out!).

2. Retro Butterick Side Swoosh Dress.  I'm sewing this one up right now in a stretcy bright yellow denim.  Apphia has already made hers up in a nice aqua suiting fabric.  The 'swooshy' side makes it a bit more dressy, so it would be perfect to wear to worship or a wedding.  I'm hoping the denim fabric I'm using will casualize it a bit, but either way it's too cute to pass up.  (Oh, and it reminds Apphia and I of a dress worn in Monkey Business... darling!) 

3. Socialite Dress.  I made this one last year and it's so fun.  It has pockets too and can easily can be lengthened.  I've also seen a lady add some little sleeves to it.... too cute. 

4. Knit Wrap Dress.  Apphia just made this one in a watercolor floral knit, and it's darling!  She plans to wear a little camisole with it.  Too, too adorable.

5. Retro Butterick Wrap Dress.  Great dress!  If you'll remember, we've used this pattern before -- right here.  I also used it for the bodice of my ever-favorite Gina dress.  I'm thinking of making another Gina dress actually.  In my humble opinion, it's practically the ultimate go-to summer dress.

6. Amelia Dress.  This is such a cute little thing!  Abigail made one in bright turquoise and pink floral cotton, and it was darling.  I hope to make one sometime.... it's on the to-sew list....

7. Jiffy 1960s Shift Dress.  Confession: I've never made this one, and none of the other girls have either.  But, it's on my favorite-cutest-thing-ever-love-it-must-have-my-own-copy pattern list.  Get a load of that darling collar one, or the bow front one!  Eep!  

8. Evening Empire Dress.  I made this one a few years ago and it remains something I love.  I have a feeling that it will always be something that I love, and appreciate the fact that I spent all that time piecing the fun zigzag skirt.  I think it would be very cute in just one voile print too in the mid-calf length version!

Does anyone have a favorite dress pattern that I missed (I know there is)?  Please do tell!

xoxo Achaia

PS.  Abiah and I also have this neat-o Navajo-style knit fabric that's waiting to be made into some casual dresses.  If they work out like we hope they will we'll have to share them!  xx

Introducing... the darison tiered skirts pattern!

      hello, darison!



We are SO over-the-top excited to show you our new pattern!!!  The darison tiered skirts pattern is at the printer now and should be shipping out in the next two weeks.  But as usual, we will be offering a pre-order option (and we'll give you free shipping on the pattern when it gets here!).

Here is our sweet little friend Darison modeling view B of the darison skirt (named in her honor, of course!).  The third tier of this view was made using patched pieces of fabric from Jennifer Paganelli's Happy Land collection!

And here is our Eleanor modeling view A of the new pattern!  Special thanks to our dear friends, the Pearlstein family, for these lovely photos!

View A is knee length, with two tiers and a baby ruffle accent.  It's perfect for everyday -- just add some leggings for a fun play skirt!

(Could she be any cuter?!)

We love how the darison skirts pair so perfectly with the amelia peasant top.

Here is view C -- the maxi length version!  This skirt packs a LOT of twirl power.

Darison (love her to pieces) couldn't decide which view was her favorite.  And we thought that was a really good thing!

Okay!  So here are all the darison details...

-shipping mid-June, but available for pre-order now

-girls' sizes 2/3 - 14/16, all in one envelope

-printed in the USA on sturdy paper for easy tracing (printed on one side only)

-fully illustrated instructions (this skirt is easy-peasy)

-view A is knee length, with two tiers and baby ruffle accent

-view B is mid-calf length, with a funky patched tier and short ruffle

-view C is maxi length with four long tiers

-elastic waist

We hope you love this skirt as much as we do!!!

xox, the Long ladies

 

Eleanor's skirt and top - Old New 30s collection from Lecien

Darison's maxi skirt - Pam Kitty Love from Lakehouse; applique template from kitty mae M079

Coming Soon!

The Winner!

So sorry we didn't announce our winner yesterday!  We've had a pretty hectic and stressful week, so we are feeling a little bit behind on everything.  Now, onto the winner....

Congratulations, Helen!  You are now the happy owner of Nancy Zieman's Sew Knits with Confidence book + 4 awesome especially-designed-for-knit sewing patterns!  Please drop us an email with your mailing address and we'll get everything headed your way.  We're sad we can't give a copy to each and every one of you!  The book and patterns are really a wonderful addition to any lady's sewing library, and we'd heartily recommend picking up your own copy here on Nancy's website.  Your knit clothes will thank you, trust us.

Thanks so much for the enthusiasm about our rendering of the Santa Fe Dress!  It was wonderful to hear what everything thought.  Did we mention the comfort level?  As most knit items, it's a dream to wear!

Happy Thursday, all! xoxo Kristie, Apphia, Achaia, Abigail, and Abiah

Nancy Zieman's Sew With Knits Blog Tour + Giveaway!

Hello everyone!  We had so much fun last summer when we participated in Nancy's 30-minute Doll Clothes blog tour, that we were absolutely thrilled when she invited us to be a part of Sewing With Knits.  To be perfectly honest with you, knits have always scared (some of) us just a tiny bit.  It's funny that the thing we love wearing most is also the most intimidating to sew!  But Nancy has officially changed that.  Her book, Sew Knits With Confidence, is a must-have for every seamstress!  (Stick with us, we'll be giving away a copy in a little bit...)

So without further ado, here is our own interpretation of the Santa Fe Dress!

We opted to make dress view 1, but added 16" to the length in order to get a good maxi. 

We LOVE this pattern.  The clever neckline facing makes wearing a camisole unnecessary, and the bodice goes together in a flash.  Best of all, it really looks store-bought when finished!  We chose a novelty red pique knit from JoAnn's to make our Santa Fe dress.  And then we got the idea to draw up one side in a big rose-like knot to add a fun touch!

Now are you ready to hear about the giveaway?  One winner will receive a copy of Nancy's book, Sew Knits with Confidence, along with the four beautiful patterns we showed you earlier this week!!!  Just leave a comment on this post that includes your name and email address, and tell us how you feel about knit.  We will choose our winner on Wednesday (April 24th) and ship out your box of goodies the next day!

Have fun!

P.S. Don't forget to take a look at the rest of the tour!

April 21, 2013 Stitchin' Jenny's

April 22, 2013 Amy Lou Who Sews 

April 23, 2013 Sew News

April 24, 2013 Designs in Machine Embroidery  

April 25, 2013 Riley Blake Designs 

April 26, 2013 The Sewing Loft Blog 

April 27, 2013 Nancy Zieman the Blog 

Doing flips!

We're doing flips and spinning around in circles over here because our francie dress and happy girl apron patterns HAVE ARRIVED!!!!



If you didn't pre-order them, but want a copy you can purchase them now right here and here! 

As you might expect these kinds of things always seem to take longer than you expect them to.  Hopefully they are well worth the wait!  We spent yesterday evening stuffing patterns and packaging them up so they could go out to all of you who pre-ordered (thanks for your patience!).  We plan on sending them out tomorrow!!  Woo-hoo!

Happy Friday to all of you!

xoxox K,A,A,A, & A