Emerald Love: Tester Pics + Your Makes!

With the Emerald pattern so very close to being ready to launch (Update: Emerald is now available HERE!), I wanted to share some of our tester photos with you along with a bunch of my favorite versions from those of you who have made and posted your Emerald dresses online (Making magazine, which included the dress version of this pattern in a limited size range, was released in May 2019). One of the best parts of launching a new pattern, hands down, is seeing the awesome versions coming in from our testers, and with a pattern like Emerald, and it’s been additionally inspiring to see the ones you’ve sewn from the magazine get posted online. All photos we share here are posted with permission!

I know many of you appreciate seeing a pattern on someone other than me (I am almost always the person wearing the sample in all of my shop photos, though Melissa and Cassie - my former studio assistants - have stepped in in the past) and I think it's always helpful to see how a pattern looks in a variety of sizes, not to mention styled and worn in various ways.

Our tester Maggie (@maggiejosews, above) made a couple of versions. She posted her top here and dress here. I love her blue floral top paired with those gold shorts, and that dreamy pale sage dress will be absolutely divine for summer.

Tester Michelle’s Merchant & Mills grey linen dress is absolutely stunning (above and below).

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Jessica (@jessicawaldegar) posted her ikat dress here and here. She also made a stunning floral one:

Deb’s (@knitastitch) lovely Olive linen dress is here:

Zori’s (@fibrefiend) dresses are here and here:

Nat (@brassandlace) put lots of great details in her IG post here.

Mel (@crossgrainfabrics) posted her gorgeous dress here and here (photo credit: @sheshellsphotography).

Hinke (@hinkemakes) lovely dress can be found here. She omitted the pockets in this version:

Pam @catpants08 used a beautiful burgundy linen rayon blend for hers.

Maria (@sewsewmaria) had fun with the stripe pattern and bias cut design with her dress here. She included some shots of the impressively tidy innards in this post.

Heidi’s stripe-matching is a wonder to behold! (Heidi is a seasoned knitwear designer too — check out her IG feed @heidikdesigns.)

Julie @nursebeansews has already made SO many lovely Emeralds. We love this striped one! Her pink one worn under a sweater (below) shows off how awesome Emerald is for layering when the weather cools! And Julie wrote a love letter to Emerald on her blog, where she documented all SEVEN of her Emeralds — isn’t that cool? Thanks, Julie, for all of the Emerald Love!!

Jess (@jessmakes) has made a few versions with various modifications. For her white rayon-linen blend top (below, left), she cut her fabric on-grain and omitted the curved hem. Her dot chambray version (below) is cut on the fold and on-grain, and Jess modified the hem a bit. You can find details on her Brussels Washer Linen dress here (below, right).

Just a note: I included some info on how to cut Emerald on-grain in the pattern itself, but I also plan to post more about cutting Emerald on-grain here on the website for those of you who are interested in this modification.

Kten @jinxandgunner was one of our testers; we love the belt styling!

Megan @megler is also a tester; she made a top and a dress — both gorgeous — from Merchant and Mills linen and Brussels Washer, respectively:

Emily @mycraftylittleself (private account) sewed a floral top version and paired it with Luna Pants!

Joan @joan.in.stitches (private account) tested for us too; her print and color combos always make me smile!

And of course, I’d be remiss if we didn’t include some of MBR manager Jess’s (@yarnslice) awesome versions as well! Her purple dress is made of Brussels Washer linen and she modified by cutting it on grain and omitting the pockets.

Her top (posted on IG here) is paired with Rose shorts for a great summer outfit. Add a scarf and jeans for cooler seasons (knitting pattern is Ashburn by Melanie Berg).

I know many of you are excited for this pattern to launch! Keep an eye here on the blog, or sign up for my newsletter to be the first to know when it arrives.

You can share your makes and find even more inspiration for Emerald on Instagram under the #MBRemerald tag. I love to see what you’re making with the pattern!