If there is a little girl in your life and you want to sew clothes that make her feel like a princess, then the Sewing with Whimsy instruction book series needs to be part of your sewing library. Through her books, Kari Mecca will teach you to embellish classically styled girls clothes with a sweet whimsical flare sure to please the pickiest of princesses.
Kari Mecca is the owner of Kari Me Away, a business that is geared toward those who love sewing and appreciate learning hand embroidery and new embellishment techniques. She is a frequent contributor to Sew Beautiful magazine and has authored three books and co-authored one. When Kari isn’t working on her next book or creating new ways to add frills to frocks, She teaches at Martha Pullen’s School of Art Fashion and the Smocking Arts Guild of America.
Sewing with Whimsy
Sewing with Whimsy on Amazon
Sewing with Whimsy includes three full-size patterns – a pinafore (sizes 18 to 24 months), a sundress (sizes 2 – 6), and a puff sleeve dress (sizes 2-6). With these basic patterns, you can take Kari’s embellishment techniques and create a beautiful variety of dresses.
Each dress type has its own section in the book – Sassy Sundresses, Perfectly Puffed Sleeve Dresses, and Summer Pinafores. The names of the dresses are adorable enough, but the bright cheerful fabrics and the precious embellishments make me wish I’d had this book when my girls were small.
Not only do you receive full patterns for the three dress types, but the book includes complete step-by-step instructions for making “Charming and Cheerful RickRack Blooms,” and “Ruffled Ribbons and Brilliant Beads.” Kari also teaches heirloom embroidery techniques. Of course, you can use these techniques on your favorite patterns.
What others are saying:
A delightful book – “This book is delightful. The patterns and techniques taught by Keri Mecca and contained in this book are so pretty and get your creative juices flowing. My only problem is that now I just want to sit and sew! And create beautiful blossoms with ribbon.”
Gorgeous book – “The photography in this book is gorgeous. It is easy to see the detail in the samples. The directions to make the outfits are easy to follow. I hope the author writes more books like this.”
Beautiful book – “I bought this book for the tutorial on how to make rick rack roses and got so much more. It had instructions for other fabric flowers, as well as patterns and instructions for the loveliest children’s clothing I’ve seen in a long time. Well done!!!”
More Sewing with Whimsy
More Sewing With Whimsy on Amazon
Kari Mecca outdid herself with her second sewing book. She pumps up the cute with her patterns for tops, shorts, skorts, and capris. She introduces her whimsy stick trims and whimsy stick flowers. Whimsy sticks are an additional purchase you can find at Kari Me Away.
The looks of the clothes may be intimidating, but Keri offers step-by-step instructions with detailed photography making it possible for a beginner to tackle them. I am amazed by how she takes three basic patterns and creates almost an entire wardrobe out of them. Each piece is so unique after it has been embellished that you don’t know they are made from the same pattern.
What others are saying:
Creativity at its best!! – “I LOVE this book!! I love creating one of a kind accessories and clothing for my little princess and this book is just one of my favorites. I use it all the time, even if you are not an experienced crafter or seamstress, this book will give you all the inspiration and motivation to want to learn to sew and create cute and unique accessories and clothing for the little girl in your life!”
Wonderful Whimsy! – Kari Mecca is a favorite contributor for Martha Pullen. Her delightful designs are beautiful and not too old fashioned for today’s girls. I love her embellishments. All are quite easy to make and her directions are very easy to follow. This should be on any sewing grannie’s shelf.
Highly Recommend this book!
Whether you sew for fun or profit, if you are sewing for little girls, Keri Mecca has something for you. Her designs are perfect for the little princess in your life. After making the classic pattern you can make the outfit as frilly and beribboned as you want using Keri’s easy instructions.
As I read through comments and reviews of Sewing with Whimsy and More Sewing with Whimsy I noticed a common thread. Many people mention Keri’s books inspire them to be more creative. Are you ready to be inspired?
