So…we kind of have this “thing” about “flipping patterns”….but did you know that Children’s Corner Patterns make it a breeze to create a “flip” without really giving it much thought??

OOOPS! We’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s back up for a moment, shall we?? Some of you may have never heard of Children’s Corner Pattern Company {check out the company’s facebook page for creation inspiration}, while others of you don’t know a time you haven’t heard of them!

We began sewing with these patterns…..YEARS AGO. This company prides itself in paper patterns that are not nested, as well as having interchangeable collars and sleeves on many of its pattern designs.

More recently, we’ve enjoyed visiting the Children’s Corner Store in Nashville and getting to know Emily and Karen – two energetic ladies who bought the store portion {and have a facebook page of inspiration, discounts, kits, etc.} from the Children’s Corner Pattern Company founders a few years ago. This store is AMAZING!!!

As in, we love practically every fabric in there….amazing. Such a dangerous place for us to visit!! While it’s not a large fabric store, the percentage of fabric we love ranks way on up there as opposed to much larger stores.

Anyway, back to the the patterns. With the interchangeability of patterns available, that only leaves the nitty-gritty combination up to the sewist. And, that’s just what we did….

Virginia: a pattern to SWOON over….Seriously! That scalloped collar is beyond cute, isn’t it?!??! While we didn’t incorporate it into this creation {painful, we know!}, never fear!! We have already thought of another dress using that adorable collar.

We took the Children’s Corner, Virginia and used the bodice and skirt pieces in this creation. The skirt pieces were then modified to a pleated version, instead of a gathered one. And, yes, we went a bit cross-eyed over the spacing and placement of those pleats. But, we’re “pleat girls”….much more than “gathered ones.” Completely worth the look, in our opinion. The pique fabric really made for some crisp pleats!!

Then, Children’s Corner, Ruthie sleeves were added. We’ve never used this sleeve pattern before, but it is definitely a more “modern / updated sleeve” than many of the earlier Children’s Corner patterns and their sleeves. Think: less puff….and with the bonus of piping along the edge!! IN. LOVE.

Finally, who could go wrong with a classic Peter Pan collar?? Not us! We used the Children’s Corner, Carol collar to complete the garment. The Carol is one of our favorite Children’s Corner patterns {as seen here, here, and here}. Although our collar ended up a bit shy around the neck – possibly due to our self-piped collar seams – it worked.

The touch of Liberty set this creation off – from the self-piped collar, to the piped sleeves, to the Liberty covered buttons.

Children’s Corner patterns seem very “true to size” for our nieces. We sewed EA a sz 4, yet didn’t get enough material to lengthen it like we would have liked. Don’t get us wrong – the finished length is where would like it for now. But, to get that length, we opted out of a deep hem {which would have been difficult anyway with pique and pleats}.  Our gut says that she will still have growing room in the yoke when she’s outgrown the length.

Enjoy it while you can, EA. Enjoy it while you can….

** Please note: The Children’s Corner Virginia and Ruthie were given to us by the Children’s Corner Store, but as always everything written is our honest opinions. All patterns and fabrics are available at the Children’s Corner Store.

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