Leslie Wyatt won first place in the 1st quarter 2001 sewing contest with this creative entry.

She made this attractive sage green linen/blend dress from NC#307 and used stencils and fabric paints to paint a school of fish swimming across the front. This is a really creative technique and the dress looks great! Read Leslie's story about how to do it on the right.

"I love your nursing patterns, and especially NC#307! It's one of those rare designs that fits and flatters me every time. My entry shows my latest version.

Using a sage green cotton/linen blend, I made the overlay in one piece, incorporating it into the neck edge in a slightly square neckline. I gave this overlay a 1 ½ inch hem (top-stitched it) then used a stencil and fabric paints in southwestern colors to stencil a school of fish across the front. By tapering out from the dot where the overlay ends, to a width of 32 inches at the lower edge, (this includes side seams), I lengthened the shirt to almost ankle length, allowing for a two-inch hem. By clean finishing the first 16 or so inches, I made side slits to almost knee level to give freedom for walking.

Another change I made was to shorten the sleeves to 5 ½ inches from the top of the shoulder to finished edge, (overall cutting length 7 1/4 inches to allow for armhole seam and a one-inch hem.) To pull the back of the dress into a trimmer outline, I sewed a one-inch by ten inch casing on the wrong side of the back panel at the same level as the bottom edge of the front overlay. I left the ends open, then threaded an 8-inch piece of 3/4-inch elastic through this casing and sewed it securely at both ends.

If a person didn't want to do this, they could make an elastic clip belt or purchase one in a coordinating color.

I am a mom of six, ages 15 ½ to one year. It wasn't until my fourth baby that I discovered how wonderful nursing clothes are. I used to get so tired of tucking and untucking to stay covered up. I love the ease your clothes give a nursing mom. Nursing is such a special, swiftly passing season. I want to encourage other moms to appreciate this unique time with their little ones. Nursing clothes make it so much easier to relax and enjoy the journey.

Your patterns are great-the instructions are clear and your service is fast, friendly and much appreciated. Keep up the good work."

In the middle of our gloomy Midwestern winter I found myself wearing the same huge nursing shirts. It was obvious I'd lost some weight and they didn't fit any more. To cheer myself up I decided to make myself something that fit - something that really fit. I'dbeen shopping and seen pictures of the Tiny Tee and Micro T's everywhere but didn't like the thought of showing my tummy. Then I thought why not make a nursing bodysuit!

To get the look I wanted, I combined several Elizabeth Lee patterns with some great Slinky fabric I'd been saving for something special -- this was going to be something special! For the body-suit I used the ELD#201, for the bodice front and back, ELD# 205 for the sleeves, and I added my own collar. I modified the front and back bodice pieces of the swimsuit pattern to allow for crotch snaps. I wanted the nursing openings to be almost invisible so I changed the overlay a bit. Each nursing opening begins about 5" down from the shoulder - at the lower part of the arm - and extends straight down into the side seam (the triangle shape of the underlay is shown in the picture).

I was so pleased with the bodysuit that I decided I needed a dress out of Slinky fabric too. I wanted something transitional to take me into spring. Something long and slimming, but I wanted it hug my curves a bit - just a bit - like the casual dresses I see in all the stores. Our springs are cool so I opted for long sleeves and a high neckline. My dress is super simple and only has five pattern pieces: dress front, underlay, dress back, mock neck, and sleeve.

To achieve this sleek look, I got out my ELD #204 pattern and laid out all of the pieces. To make the front and back dress pieces I laid out the 204 bodice and skirt pieces out on my cutting table - tapped them gently together with a slight overlay in a few places - and traced a single pattern piece from the combined 4 pieces. This eliminated the seams and kept the general shape of the ELD# 204 style. I did the same thing with the back. I also raised the neckline to allow for a mock neck (from ELD# 207). The long sleeves are from my favorite Elizabeth Lee pattern, ELD #205.

The nursing openings are the same as on the bodysuit described above. The weight of the long flowing slinky skirt keeps the nursing openings pulled taught. I love this dress. It is perfect for a casual spring day or romantic night out!"

Karen wrote:

"I love your designs and have made quite a few tops using your patterns with fabrics I've purchased from the clearance table! I decided to make this jacket because I love to walk with my son and our two dogs in ALL types of weather.

I selected the blue/white/and pink plaid with bears polar fleece because I liked the color combination. My hair is strawberry blonde and my son has blue eyes, so I thought it would be attractive for both of us. I purchased it at Jo-Anne fabrics for$6.99/yd. I thought this was a great price!

Using a carrier and the zip-front baby panel assures me that Austin is safe and warm, and I am able to use my free hands to hold the dog leashes. The large pockets are great for holding the pooper-scooper bags too! I've also used this jacket to quickly navigate us through flea markets and outlet shopping centers where we get lots of attention for "wearing the baby inside the jacket."

The nursing openings are extremely helpful (and discreet) because flea markets are held outdoors. I'm often asked where I got the jacket, so of course my reply is always......"I made it, using an Elizabeth Lee Nursing Design!"

"I love your patterns; I have been using them for 7 years now! My oldest boy is 8, the middle boy is 6 and my youngest boy is 1 year old. I think I have almost all of your patterns; in fact the pattern that I used I had bought twice because my basement flooded and I had left it on the floor.

I used Nursing Classics #110 to make my red and white floral shirt. The body of the shirt is a red on white floral Poly/cotton blend, with the white panels a soft white gabardine type fabric. On the upper left front panel I used my computer sewing machine to embroider a red floral design. The nursing openings are red buttons the same size as the front closure. I love this shirt and have received many comments when I wore it to church last Sunday. I can wear it anyplace!! With jeans for a casual look or with a skirt or pants for a dressier look

. The nursing openings are easy to use and cover well, in fact I was walking through Wal-Mart and my husband finally had noticed that I didn't button back up! He only noticed because I was trying on a sweater over my blouse, otherwise it was not even noticeable.

I love this pattern because it lends itself to my creative side and with the variations in the pattern, and my ideas it works great. Even a bigger plus is that when I am done nursing it doesn't look like a nursing shirt so I can wear it for a long time. Thanks for your great patterns and web-site. It truly is great to be able to make nursing garments for a fraction of the cost it is to buy them."