The M4M Stephanie Romper and Dress | Sewing Pattern Review

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Summer is coming and you’ll want to sew up this cute romper and dress pattern. Here is my sewing pattern review of the M4M Stephanie Romper and Dress.

I am so fortunate to be able to help test patterns for Made for Mermaids. The patterns are easy to follow and well written. I also just love their style. I have sewn up many of their patterns – not only as a tester, but as a consumer as well.

I’m always on the lookout for cute summer dresses. When Made for Mermaids was looking for testers for the M4M Stephanie Romper and Dress, I knew I had to jump at the chance.

The M4M Stephanie Romper and Dress

The M4M Stephanie features a really cute cross-over bodice with straps. You also have the option of making it a romper or a dress. I always love a good pattern with lots of options. This pattern is no exception.

I am definitely a dress person and so my preference is typically the dress version. I really like the 1/4 circle skirt with this pattern. It provides just the right amount of flow and swish without using up too much fabric. I find it very flattering.

Fabric Suggestions for the M4M Stephanie

The M4M Stephanie is drafted for lightweight to medium-weight knit fabrics. You don’t want something too heavy as you want to have some nice drape to the garment. You also want a knit fabric with good recovery so that it does not stretch out over time.

M4M Stephanie Sewing Pattern Review

I love a good summer dress and Made for Mermaids is typically my go-to when it comes to sewing patterns.

The M4M Stephanie is no exception. The lined bodice is the most complicated part in the construction of this dress. The ends of the bodice each have a small section of gathering, making it very flattering.

Since the bodice is lined, the front will have 4 layers (2 for each half). If you are adding a waistband, it is also lined and so that is an additional 2 layers. So the front of the M4M Stephanie, if you are adding the waistband, is a total of 6 layers. Depending on the fabric you are using, this can be quite bulky. In order to reduce some of the bulkiness, I chose to do the option of no waistband. This does, however, change the look of the design as it is an empire waistline.

The slit in the skirt is full length and so it does swing wide open when sitting and going up and down the stairs. You may wish to be careful on a windy day as well.

Other than the layers of the front of the bodice, the M4M Stephanie dress was a relatively easy sew for someone with a bit of sewing experience.

For this pattern, I used my sewing machine, serger, and cover stitch to make the dress. As mentioned, I used the sewing machine for the gathering. The serger was used for the construction of the dress, including attaching the elastic to the back of the bodice. The cover stitch was used for the hamming of the back of the bodice, as well as the bottom hem.

This is the dress-length version made out of some lovely cupro fabric. While I love the feel of cupro, I find that it doesn’t breathe well and can also show sweat stains easily. I thought that a sleeveless dress such as this would be a good way to counter that, as I really like cupro fabric.

Sewing Tips for the M4M Stephanie

While I typically like to use my serger to gather, I found that it added additional bulk to an already bulky area (the front of the bodice). So, I just used the regular gathering method of sewing 2 rows of long stitches using my sewing machine.

Be sure to size yourself correctly for the bodice. The cross-over needs to fit properly so as to not have any wardrobe malfunctions or any gaping. One alternative would be to make the bodice a single layer and sew in elastic on the edge. What you need to remember, is depending on your fabric, a single layer may not necessarily have enough thickness to provide adequate coverage.

If you are concerned about recovery in the straps and don’t want them to stretch out, consider adding elastic to them as you sew them together.

The M4M Stephanie is simply one of many M4M patterns that I love. Be sure to check out my other M4M sewing pattern reviews.

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