A bear is an animal, right?

To say I had a hard time with this dress would be putting it mildly. This was an absolute bear to sew. As I was finishing it up today I looked at my choice of fabrics and started cracking up. "Of course! It's hexed!!!"

I have sewn Shwin and Shwin's Maggie Mae at least a dozen times. I even added an exposed zip to the last one. Honestly, how hard can it be to add a hood and long sleeves?

 Let me tell ya'...
The first thing I did was drop the neckline to accommodate the hood addition. I decided to draft my own hood and to make it extra snazzy I added a racing stripe down the back.

Simple enough until I realised I had made the hood absolutely GINORMOUS. I trimmed it down and assembled it and set it aside to work on the bodice.


I decided not to do the interior lining since the hood would finish the neckline. I extended the arms and flared them slightly out to make it long sleeved. The I added a facing to the cuff to give a nice clean look.

You will notice there is another racing stripe running underneath the sleeve. I meant to do that.  If by "I meant to do that." you mean I had Wub try the dress on and thought I should probably add some extra fabric so she didn't lose feeling in her hands. Also being able to move your arms is a nice bonus.

Bodice assembled I moved on to attaching the hood.
Notice the super cute grey zipper guard that totally ties in the racing stripe on hood?

Yeah, apparently I was drunk when I measured the hood because after initially making it HUGE I decide to cut it just a little too short.

You know what they say measure twice unless you're Kristi then measure sixteen times and then let Karl measure because you're gonna get it wrong.

Hood modified, attached and zipper inserted...

(Oh yeah I couldn't find any of the THREE zipper feet I have so I had to fudge that a little. Plus it's a zipper, not traditionally my friend, so that took a little bit out of me.)

I decided to (intentionally this time) add a little bit of the print to the side seam pockets for even more visual interest. Initially I sewed them on wrong. After unpicking it all and getting them in the right place I went on to assembling the skirt.

Traditionally a Maggie Mae is pleated but as this was an exercise in punishing myself I decided to gather the skirt.
I don't generally enjoy gathering. It's so fiddly and something always ends up slightly wonky. I went ahead gathered, pinned and sewed. Oh my! so beautiful! Perfectly even, no puckering or ripples and the seam was perfectly straight. The only thing that could have made it better was if I hadn't sewed it front to back.

When I was younger I always wanted my very own Inspector Gadget gadget. It's changed over the years as to what it would be (although I have to admit that Sharpie makes the list quite frequently) However, for the past seven or so years that I've been sewing it's definitely been Go Go Gadget Seam Ripper!

 I frogged the skirt resewed it and it turned out almost as nice. I got all the side seams sewn (which is how I discovered the sleeves were a wee bit strangle-ish and also slightly too short.) I ripped the bottom sleeve seams added a strip of fabric Narrowing it to a point as it reached the armpit seam. What was originally intended to be a neat facing on the sleeve hems was turned into a cute little cuff detail instead.. Because really this dress has already taken up three weeks of my sewing time so why not add more stuff?

The hem was originally intended as a peekaboo facing but I decided to drop it down and let it show.

For all the ripping, picking, poor planning and general frustration I am 94% pleased with it. Which is pretty high for me.

 I'm pretty sure that Wub is 100% pleased though.

 Yeah, 100%.

 The end.

The birthday dress...

This has been in my head for literally years. Ever since I made the green and orange version I've wanted to use Pink Blossom Festival with navy blue to make a maxi length Maggie May Dress.

 I used about a third of a full size fitted Cannon Monticello Blossom Festival bed sheet (If you are old enough you might remember them from the 1970's. They originally came from Kmart but I picked this one up at GW for like $2.00 ) for the main fabric and just a bit of a twin size, navy sheet set we bought on clearance at Target.

  I love this pattern and I cannot recall all the things I've made for Wub using it. Several dresses and top a few nightgowns and the top to her Christmas pyjamas a couple of years ago.

 I forgot to measure Wub before she left for school this morning so I was positive I'd made it ridiculously long. Truth of the matter, she is taller than I give her credit for because the length is spot on.

and like all the best dresses this one is extra great because pockets.

This is almost done. just needs buttons and buttonholes. We made a special trip out to Let's Sew (or as I like to call it The Magical Palace of Button Wonderfulness Also Fabric) so Wub could pick out her own buttons. She picked out some lovelies and I'll share as soon as i get them sewn. on.

The Maggie May Dress from Shwin & Shwin

 I have to be honest I wasn't 100% sure  I liked the Maggie May Tunic/Dress when I bought the pattern. I was very on the fence. Mostly because I wasn't sure I could come up with a fabric combo I would really love.

 But there was something about the pleats that whispered to me. I know, I know but I HATE gathering stuff. It's so fiddly. Frustrates me. And ever since I made myself a pleat flipper from a Jenga block, two bamboo skewers and some scotch tape I've chosen to pleat over gather whenever practical.

 There are only three pattern pieces to the Maggie May. Two multipurpose back and front pieces and a pocket. The rest is measured rectangles. So there wasn't a lot of tape this to that and line up this with that. Considering the last pattern I cut out and put together was the W Pants by Blank Slate Patterns (a fantastic pattern by the way) this was a welcome relief.

 The directions are wee bit sparse but a confident beginner could definitely figure them out. I mostly followed the directions except I put the pleats in the skirt before I sewed the skirt pieces together. One other thing I would change the next time I sew it. (And I will definitely sew it again because it looks a-mazing on Wub.) would be to attach the contrast band to the bottom before I sewed the skirt sides together.

  Because Wub is in a size that doesn't actually exist commercially I'm pretty careful to measure her before I sew something. I sewed the size six and it was spot on for sizing.

 I managed to get this sewed over three evenings. If that sounds like a long time, take into account we get home from work between 5:30 and 6:00. We cook and eat dinner, get Wub's lunch ready, do any homework she has, bathe and sometimes we pretend we care about housework. Also if I stay up past 10:00pm that's like 4:00 am in twenty year old time. So all told maybe three and a half hours. At least a half hour of that time was me picking out the same button hole four times because I kept bleeping it up.

  As for the fabric combo? I kinda feel like I knocked that one out of the park.

The linen is a fabric remnant I got at JoAnn's for maybe a dollar fifty. The floral is from a brand new (circa 1971) Canon Blossom Festival  full size sheet that I bought on Ebay. I think I paid $14 for it. I still have several yards of it left.

The back doesn't quite line up but I'm 98% sure this was a "user" error and not the pattern itself. 

 I let Wub pick out the buttons. She had the choice of deep clear green, pale yellow or these orange ones. Even though it meant a lot of buttonholes and button sewing. I think they are the perfect choice. 

You can't see it when it's all buttoned up but the second from the top buttonhole is the one I had to pick out four times. It's actually still slightly wonky but I was afraid I was going to damage te fabric if I picked out any more stitches.

And the pockets? Love them. They are perfectly sized and perfectly placed. If pockets hadn't been included I probably would have added them in a future version.

For all the wonderful and special details the Maggie May is a pretty easy sew. I will definitely be making a couple of few more.

I have quite a bit of the Blossom Festival in the pink colorway. I think it would be GORGEOUS and on trend with a navy blue top and bottom. Maybe in maxi length.

I also picture white, red piping, black maybe more red piping and black again.

I have to say I'm a weensie bit jealous of Wub. If my pattern making skills were a little stronger I'd attempt a grown up version. Oh well maybe they'll come up with a plus size version. I'd definitely buy that.

Did I mention the pleats?

And the pockets?

Yup, we love it and would absolutely recommend it.