The $6 Feature Friday pattern from Love Notions today, 7/25/2025 is the Cadence. This breezy shift style dress deserves a place in everyone’s closet! Forget what you used to think~ you don’t need to be tall and thin to wear a shift dress!! The Cadence pattern is filled with options too! Remember to use my code 10MARYMAC for an extra 10% off. You can grab the pattern HERE. PS: Be sure to read to the end to see some photos from last week’s bike ride!
The $6 Feature Friday pattern from Love Notions today, 7/4/25 is the Frankie Polo Shirt and Dress~ the perfect updated classic! Remember to use my code 10MARYMAC for an extra 10% off.
……..Love Notions Releases the Clearwater Summer Essentials for Girls!!
Last summer, Love Notions released the Clearwater Summer Essentials for Ladies and it was a smash hit! I like so many others dove into sewing my own swimwear for the first time ever! Well~ Love Notions customers begged for a Girl’s Clearwater and it’s here!!!
BOTH the Girls Clearwater and the Ladies version are on sale for just $6 ALL WEEKEND!! Even more exciting is the release of the newClearwater Summer Essentials Sewing Course! Tami (the owner of Love Notions) puts together wonderful online sewing courses. It’s like having your own on-demand sewing teacher that holds your hand every step of the way! The course is $25~ and you can get either the Girls or Ladies Clearwater pattern for free with this purchase. (If you want both~ you can order the other for just $6) REMEMBER~ Use my code 10MARYMAC for an additional 10% off.
….A New Pattern Review of the Love Notions Chorus Top and Dress
Updated June 6, 2025
The Chorus Top and Dress pattern is the Feature Friday pattern today~ the first time ever available for just $6. You can use my code LOVEMARY10LN for an extra 10% off.
I recently sewed up my second maxi dress version of the Chorus because I was wearing my first one so often. It went on every one of my vacation last summer! My new navy floral version is sewn with a lightweight ITY fabric from Mood Fabrics. Personally I love sewing with ITY (even though some are a bit slippery to sew) because they are cool to wear, don’t wrinkle and you can roll them up into your carryon bag!!
Keep reading for all the details on my sizing and alterations for the Chorus maxi. The only difference I made for my newest version is that I added 2″ to the length of the bodice instead of just 1″.
The Tinley Skort(and skirt and shorts) is the Feature Friday pattern over at Love Notions today! (5/16/25) The pattern is just $6 ~ so If you didn’t grab it during last week’s big sale be sure to grab it today. You can use my code LOVEMARY10LN for an extra 10% off. You can get the pattern HERE.
When the warm weather comes, I pull out my Tinley Skorts. I find them to be perfect for bike riding, walks, hiking and even just lounging around. If you don’t own this pattern~ I really think you should give it a try! This blog post is just about a simple hack for the elastic back waist. If you’d like to read all the details on the Tinley, please visit this blog post that includes fitting and sewing tips. Read that blog post HERE.
The Bluegrass Shirt and Dress is HERE! Are you as excited as I am?!?!?! Well, let’s get real here. The Bluegrass was intended to be a western style shirt. A Western style shirt doesn’t call your name? Well, If you follow me, then you know that I’m not a western shirt kinda girl. BUT~ this new shirt is THE perfect princess seamed shirt and as you can clearly see~ my version is casual, coastal and classic!!
When I signed up to test this new pattern from Tami (designer of Love Notions Pattern) I honestly really wasn’t that excited about it. While I do love testing patterns, this wasn’t a typical style for me. I have never worn princess seams~ most likely because I have always been fuller busted. But I have to tell you~ having a princess seamed button-down that I can actually button-down is amazing!!! I LOVE the fit I was able to get with this pattern! This pattern is definitely worth a try~ even if it take some trial and error.
For this year’s Spring Sale, I decided to focus on the Love Notions makes that I reached for over and over again all last summer. Some of the makes I’m sharing in this blog post are ones I wore on repeat last summer while some of them were just made in anticipation of this sale and the arrival of summer. I hope I give you a bit of inspiration for your “Everyday Summer Sewing”. These are the things I am planning to wear every day all summer long…………….
DISCLAIMER: If you’re expecting to see cute swimsuits sewn up in beautiful Raspberry Creek Fabric swim fabrics- you won’t find them here. (ok~ maybe at the very end.) BUT– you will see some other ways you can use this awesome swim fabric from RCF! Hopefully my blog post today will inspire you to grab some of these awesome swim fabrics and make something other than a swimsuit! Because we all know swim fabric isn’t just for bathing suits anymore!!! The fact that Raspberry Creek Swim fabric is UPF 50+ makes it great for any day/activity out in the sun.
……..Some Simple Embellishment and Hack Ideas for the Love Notions Aria
The Aria Button Down is on sale today, Friday 4/4/2025 for just $6! If you purchase the Aria on-demand course for $25 today, you get the pattern for free. This is a great bargain as the course is regularly $30. My code LOVEMARY10LN, can be used if purchasing the course or just the pattern. This code will give you an additional 10% off. Yes, the Feature Friday patterns will now be $6 ~ I know it was a very hard decision for Tami and Tessa from Love Notions to make, but it was necessary. 🙂
I have a closet full of Aria button downs. It really is one of my favorite patterns to sew and wear. Almost all of them are long sleeved. Last summer, I realized that I wore my blue striped linen short sleeved Aria constantly. It went on EVERY vacation and getaway we went on. So~ when planning my Spring and Summer makes, I knew I needed a few more short sleeved versions.
The Aria is such a good classic shirt to have in your wardrobe, put it can also be played with to create some really custom looks! When I am out and about, I am always taking note of the classic shirts I see in all the boutiques. So many of them are simply a basic button down shirt with a little twist. Here are just a few ideas I tried.
Hello! Welcome to my blog. I'm Mary, a retired Family & Consumer Science teacher of 32 years. I now spend my time making all my own clothes because I'm fun! I have an amazing daughter who made this blog for me.
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