Yes, that’s right!! Dana {of MADE} has released her latest pattern: The First Day Dress and Top. It ranges in sizes 2 – 10, and is a perfect “staple pattern” for an A-line Dress, a Peplum Top, or a Swing Dress!! Many avid sewists have “go to patterns” for these garment styles, but if you don’t….this pattern gives them all to you – in one purchase…

To say we’ve had our eyes on this pattern for a year, would NOT be an exaggeration! It was love at first sight, and we have continued to love each and every one of the styles since that point….

This pattern comes with multiple options:

A-line Dress, A-line Top, Swing Dress, Peplum Top

*And all variations come with the option of with or without sleeves….

*Not to mention, Dana included various linings – based on your preference!!

We ambitiously decided to sew two garments for EA. This sleeveless A-line dress…..and an A-line top with sleeves {to be shown next week}.

Come to find out, it wasn’t “ambitious” at all!! SERIOUSLY!! The A-line dress had one pattern piece…ONE, PEOPLE! So, the assembling of the pattern was quick, painless, and easy – ohhhh, and the pattern pieces lined up like a dream…

We sewed the 3T size {for our almost 4 year old niece} and chose to fully line this dress – the clean, finished look of the garment was too much to resist…

Numerous times, we mentioned the ease of the sewing! It would be a perfect pattern to utilize during KCW {it is a very quick sew….and if you know us, that is saying A LOT!}, or if you were teaching a beginner to sew {adding sleeves to the top was the trickiest part….not hard, just awkward at times}.

Then, Dana included several “tricks of the trade” that were very helpful to us! Some of our favorites were how to keep the elastic thread loop in place while you sew and how to trim off 1″ excess from the swing skirt’s lining.

One of the most exciting parts to sewing the A-line version of the dress is that Dana actually encourages you to use Home Decor fabric! We absolutely LOVE looking through the Home Decor fabric at Joanns, but have never known what would be “appropriate” to sew using it. PERMISSION GRANTED!!

To set off the outfit {and as an added enticement to our niece}, we purchased a set of 3 neon belts from Target – ALL that matched the dress, and could be worn interchangeably.

SCORE! She loved the dress without a belt, but especially with the addition of the belt!! This gave her some independence in accessorizing the outfit to her liking.

It did get a little crazy when she decided to add multi-layers of belts.

We went with it, but reiterated she only needed one when she “really wore the outfit!”

There might, or might not have been some drama when it was time to change into her First Day Top {for pattern testing and blog photos}. And, the rest of the evening didn’t go as anticipated {that’s what happens when your model is three years old}. It ended with us “taking the dress home” {technically, it was stored away in the back of “Sister Momma’s” closet on the sly}.

Funny thing, though, a phone call request from EA was placed two days later  – asking us to come back and see her….and to bring that blue dress when we come!!!

So…..do you want one too?? You can purchase The First Day Dress and Top HERE, or you can try your luck at winning a copy of it in the rafflecopter below!! Dana has graciously gifted a pattern to two lucky participants!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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