Today, we launch our Maggie Dress garment pattern—available in PDF format through our website. Part of our Build a Wardrobe programming and available for individual purchase at $18, the PDF download includes the nested pattern and comes in sizes XS to XXL along with instructions for fabric selection, cutting, and garment construction. Our PDF patterns (more styles coming each quarter in 2016) are designed for printing on wide-format printers or desktop printers, as both full-scale and tiled versions are included in the download.
The Build a Wardrobe project is comprised of four new DIY Garments that will be used as the basis for creating a hand-sewn wardrobe over the course of the coming year. Launching with our beloved Maggie Dress pattern, makers can work together to create wardrobe staples or follow along globally on social media with the hashtags #buildawardrobe2016 and #theschoolofmaking.
As we move through 2016, we will combine techniques, colorways, and stencils from our two previous Swatch of the Month bundles with our Build a Wardrobe garments. Look for embellished variations of the Maggie Dress in the coming months.
The format of Build a Wardrobe is similar to that of Swatch of the Month. Participants will subscribe for a year’s worth of content that will be executed with guidelines presented in our Alabama Studio Book Series and specifically Alabama Studio Sewing Patterns. Each quarter, subscribers will receive an exclusive new printed pattern, instructions, and enough fabric to make basic garments in the colors of your choice (thread, notions, and digital pattern versions also included).
In addition, each quarter, subscribers will also have exclusive access to order custom DIY kits for that pattern at a discounted rate. For example, when we launch the Maggie Dress pattern, subscribers receive the printed Maggie Dress pattern, the Maggie Dress PDF pattern, a bundle of fabric yardage in the color(s) of their choice, a 15mm snap, and thread to complete the garment in an unembellished version. Subscribers also have the option to order custom DIY Maggie Dress kits for an additional cost—an exclusive offer that is available through 2016. These custom DIY kits are only available to Build a Wardrobe subscribers.
Each of our Studio Books provides a variety of stencil artwork—which means you have permission to reproduce them for home use and on your projects. We now offer these stencil designs—along with many of our all-time favorites—for purchase as downloadable PDFs in our newly formatted stencil design format which includes: a tiled version to print on letter- or A4-sized paper that you can piece together more easily at home, a full-scale PDF file that you can email or take to the local copy shop to print full-scale on a wide format printer, instructions for creating a stencil, and stencil transfer instructions. Find more information on how to print a garment or textile pattern here.
P.S.: We ask that you respect our policies and use our patterns for personal projects, as they are designed for individual use and not intended for commercial ventures or reproducing and distributing.
Follow along on social media and on our Journal with the hashtags:
#theschoolofmaking
#swatchofthemonth
#buildawardrobe2016
Yes! This is my favorite looking dress that wasn’t in any of the books. So excited to have this one now.
Thanks for all you do,
Barb
Hi,
I’m SO happy to see this pattern offered after searching for a similar one on line since I first viewed the ‘beloved’ Maggie Dress. I have one question though. In your ‘drawn’ depiction of the dress there is a seam running down the front of the dress. In the photos of the actual dress there is no seam. Can you explain? Thanks!
Hi Marianna,
The photos of the Maggie Dress and Top shown here are some of our favorites from past collections.
The original pattern was cut on the fold, meaning the dress was made of two large panels. In preparing the Maggie Dress pattern for our DIY customers, we decided to add a center front and center back seam. This change was to make each panel smaller, thus making it much easier to stencil at home. Don’t forget to subtract 1/4″ seam allowance from the center front and center back seams if you choose to cut on the fold.
Let us know if you have any more questions.
I’m very excited to see Maggie is available!! I was wondering about the front seam as well…will this front seam make the neckline more open?
Looking forward to making this up with some AC fabric that’s just been waiting…!
Hi Marjie,
The front seam will not change the fit of the neckline or the rest of the garment in any way. It is a design detail that was added to make stenciling the garment easier.
Let us know if we can help with anything else.
Love the dress and all the options.
I was wondering what the fabric color is in the last picture. I love it and would love to make a dress in that same faded denim like color fabric.
Thanks
cindy
Hi Cindy,
We’re glad to hear you love the dress and options—it’s one of our favorites.
The color shown in the last image is Natural Dyed Blue Grey, and it was exclusive to that past collection. We are not currently offering any natural dyed fabrics on our website, but we have a wonderful range of blues available here: http://alabamachanin.com/alabama-blue-organic-fabric
Happy sewing!
The wait is over!! I’m looking forward to adding this timeless beauty to my wardrobe. Possibly creating one in every imaginable color! Thank you Alabama Chanin! #buildawardrobe2016 #theschoolofmaking ❤️
Hi,
I love you work and patterns. I am so excited to see more patterns come out and this one is lovely. Hope another book is in the works.
Will the $18 include a paper pattern or only digital?
Hi Roberta,
The $18 only includes the digital file, like the rest of our Resource Downloads. The paper pattern is available through the Build a Wardrobe subscription. (http://alabamachanin.com/2016-build-a-wardrobe) And yes – more are in the works. Look for the next one in April.
Hi!
I just purchased this pattern and can’t wait to get started. I just have a couple of questions about fabric: I LOVE the color and stencil in the photo of the girl with blond hair and boots- it looks like a navy with green? Would you be able to tell me which colors to choose and which stencil so I could replicate the dress in the photo? Also, to do this dress double-layered with stenciling, would I purchase 3 yards of each color for a total of 6? Thank you!!
Hi Marlaina,
The dress you’re referring to is Forest on Black—keep in mind though that this is from a past collection, so our dye lots could vary from what is shown here. To see samples of our colors for this or any future projects, we suggest ordering our Organic Cotton Color Cards for a more accurate representation of our current colors and dye lots: http://alabamachanin.com/organic-cotton-color-cards
The stencil shown on this dress is one of our long-time favorites, Anna’s Garden, available here: http://alabamachanin.com/annas-garden-stencil
And you are correct—this dress is sewn in a double layer with part of the top layer cut away due to the Negative Reverse Appliqué treatment. You would need three yards of your top layer color, and three yards of your backing layer color.
Let us know if you have any other questions, and please share your finished project with us. We’d love to see it!
Thank you so very much for replying! I appreciate it. I’ll be ordering and starting this one soon- just waiting for some of those backordered colors to come back! 🙂
I am wondering if you can possibly tell me the color of the blue fabric used for the blue top with white trim, and the color of the stencil paint used on the coordinating skirt. Thank you.
Hi Margaret,
The top you’re referring to is made in Midnight. The skirt shown is made in White with whipstitch appliqué in Midnight using our Abbie’s Flower stencil design. We usually use Cream paint on white fabric, and the recipe for that is available here: https://journal.alabamachanin.com/2014/08/diy-recipes-textile-paint/
However, when using whipstitch appliqué, the paint is covered by the appliqué fabric allowing you to use a higher-contrast color if you like.
Your article mentions that Maggie is available as an individual pattern. Can you provide the store link? I couldn’t find it.
Awesome! I’ve always loved the look of the Maggie dress and am excited to sew a few up!
Booth,
You can find the pattern here: http://alabamachanin.com/resources/maggie-dress-pattern
Happy sewing!
Howdy!
I recently received the Alabama Studio Sewing Patterns book as a gift and was very excited as I toddled off to the local print shop this afternoon to have a wide-format print made of the top and dress pattern I had chosen as my projects. However, I was all too soon dismayed as I was told that they could not, and would not, make a copy of my patterns of choice (or any of them for that matter) due to the copyright printed on each pattern! What to do???
I know I had read s o m e w h e r e on this blog/website (or perhaps in the book?) that it was A-OK to have a copy of the patterns made at a print shop, and was in fact, the preferred method (as opposed to the “printing out a gazillion sheets of paper and taping them together” method). But how can this be done when each pattern is ‘copyrighted’?
Waiting patiently for further instructions…. Much thanks, Julia
Hi Julia,
We apologize for the issues you are having. You are 100% correct—you have permission to have the pattern copied, as long as you are using for personal projects, as they are designed for individual use and not intended for commercial ventures or reproducing and distributing.
A few others have had the same issue their local with copy shop, and we’ve created a release form that you can take to the shop. We will email that directly to you…look for it in your inbox this morning. Thank you.
So inspired by all of your work! I have been hand sewing since I was a small child, but it has taken a backseat to knitting over the last 15 years. I love how excited I am by your patterns and techniques – thank you for sharing/teaching/creating. What an incredibly special enterprise you have created!
Can’t wait to get started on one of every cut of this pattern – so many ways to go!