DATES

The Sew Along will be held Sun., February 21st-Mon., February 29th. I will be updating this post daily throughout the sew along and helping you perfect a few of the techniques included in the pattern.

PRIZES

Winners from each category will receive a Lil Luxe Pattern of their choice + $50 gift certificate from one of our three sponsors; Raspberry Creek Fabrics, Cali Fabrics and Michael Miller. Categories are “Fan Favorite”, “Best Special Occasion” and “Best Everyday Look”. Winners will be posted on the blog the final day of the Sew Along on Mon., February 29th.

HOW TO ENTER

Please link up your Lil Luxe Dress to the Blog Tour and Sew Along post by midnight on February 27th, 2016 to be eligibile to win. You may also post photos to inspire others on the Lil Luxe Collection FB Group page or on Instagram using #lilluxedress #lilluxemaxidress or #luxemaxidress!

WHERE TO BUY & COUPON

If you do not own a copy of the Lil Luxe Dress Pattern yet, use coupon code LLDRESSSEWALONG for 20% off February 15th-28th (expires at midnight, UTC)!

Sew Along Sponsored By:

Good morning!!! It is officially Day 1 of the Lil Luxe Dress Sew Along. After seeing all the Blog Tour inspiration this past week, I hope you are ready to start sewing up a gorgeous dress for the sweet girl in your life!!! Today I am briefly going to go over what is needed for this pattern. Also, I will be including a few tips on how to care for and sew your fabrics.

For a specialty dress we suggest special occasion woven fabrics such as Satin, Chiffon, Organza, Challis, Silk, Taffeta, Crepe/Crepe de Chine.

Other woven fabrics such as cotton, swiss dot, voile and chambray can also be used for a more casual look.

We do NOT recommend using fabric with stretch.

Before you wash/dry/iron our fabric, you will want to verify fabric content and choose the appropriate method of garment care. Example: if your fabric is hand-wash only, then that is how you will pre-treat your fabric prior to cutting. You will also want to choose the appropriate setting on your iron to prevent scorching or melting the fabric. Always test your iron setting on a piece of scrap fabric and we recommend ironing with a press cloth.

2-3 small 1/4″ buttons (or invisible or exposed zipper for maxi version)

5″x5″ interfacing

3″ STIFF, CLEAR Horsehair Braid (also referred to as Crinoline Braid)

Buttonhole Food (or zipper foot for maxi version)

Appropriate needles & thread for your fabric (see below for recommendations).

Notes on Horsehair Braid: (also referred to as Crinoline Braid). HHB is made from nylon or polyester to create a flexible netting. It comes in many colors and widths varying from 1/2”- 6”. We have found that only 2” HHB and bigger have the thread at the top used to shape around curved hems because widths 1.5” and smaller, are easier to shape to your hem. The wider your HHB the more voluminous and exagerated your skirt will be. Check with your supplier that your HHB is the “stiff” kind. This will allow your skirt to hold it’s shape better. For this dress we recommend using 3” stiff, clear HHB unless using dark fabrics in which case be sure to check with your supplier to see if the thread at the top is black or white. You will be cutting the loops and tying them off from your HHB when finished, but not removing the thread entirely.

Care: We recommend hand washing or spot cleaning HHB. Refer to your fabric care instructions for dry cleaning. 

Good morning!

Today we are going to get started on the best part…sewing!!!  You will be following along on Page 7 of the pattern tutorial. If you chose the zipper option, you will also follow on page 16 for bodice prep.

Once your sleeves are completed, you will sew your button placket and finish your bodice preparation using the directions on Page 7 of the pattern tutorial. If you are opting for the zipper back maxi style, please read page 16 of the pattern tutorial for further direction.

When you are finished today, your bodice should look like this:

Until tomorrow,

Angie

Day 3 ladies….let’s get this bodice finished! You will be following along in the pattern tutorial on page 8 & 9. If you chose the sleeveless version, you will follow the instructions on page 8 for “Completing your sleeveless bodice”.

You are now ready to finish up the bodice by adding your buttons using the directions on Page 9 of the tutorial. If you opted for installing a zipper using the Maxi Version tutorial, you will not be closing the back of the bodice this way but will wait until after you attach your skirt panels and follow the zipper instructions in the pattern tutorial.

Join me tomorrow for how to add a facing to your circle skirt and a special video on how to perfect those pleats!

Until then,

Angie

We are going to proceed today by following the pattern tutorial on pages 10-13 for assembling your skirt. If you chose the maxi dress version, you will follow along on pages 16-19.

Below is a brief picture tutorial on how to add a hem facing to conceal your Crinoline Braid. If you just love facings in general, you may wish to add this even if you aren’t using the braid! You could even do a contrasting color of facing for visual interest when your little girl twirls!!!

To help you with the pleating on page 13, Jessica has put together a really fantastic video tutorial to walk you through those steps.

Congratulations….by now, you should be all finished with a beautiful Lil Luxe Dress! We really hope you love the pattern as much as we do and smile every time your little girl twirls and twirls in it! <3

If you haven’t had time to finish your dress yet, that is okay! Life happens and tomorrow is catch up day so you still have time to finish your dress and join the link up.

See you on Day 5,

Angie

Good morning ladies! Today is the 5th day of the Lil Luxe Dress Sew Along! We originally intended for today to be a catch up day to give you time to complete your dresses and link up. However, Jessica and I decided that we wanted to extend the Sew Along Link Up to March 31st, 2016. This will give you a little extra time AND give you a chance to link up your  Women’s entries for the Lil Luxe Dress too!

What was that? You didn’t know there was a WOMEN’S version?! Well, we have been slaving away over here at LLC to create an absolutely stunning dress that you will feel amazing in along side your little one! This dress is set to release sometime early next week so get ready to see some gorgeous tester photos.

For my Luxe Dress, I decided I wanted to create the classic white summer dress! I went with a breezy linen/cotton blend which is going to be perfect when the weather starts heating up.

Like the Lil Luxe Dress mini version, this dress has a beautiful open back which has been drafted slightly higher to hide a bra strap. Hear that ladies, no buying special bra’s!

This pattern will offer the choice of a circle skirt, knee length or maxi length options. There is also a section on how to add Horsehair braid to your circle skirt, a hem facing and tulle for when you need a more formal dress. Or just for fun, of course!

We can’t even begin to tell you how in love we are with the overall fit of this dress. No gaping and it hugs the body in all the right places! Also included in the pattern is a special section on how to fit your bodice for smaller/larger bust sizes to ensure that everyone has a perfect fit!

I hope you are as anxious as we are for this new release!

Happy Sewing!

Angie