Ellie Inspired Holiday Tour: Tinsel Party Dress

Hi!  Welcome to Day Three of the Ellie Inspired Holiday Pattern Tour.  If you haven't checked out Crazy, Crafty, Haute Mama on Day One and Knot Sew Normal on Day Two, you really should... I'm in awe of the gorgeous work these ladies do.

But today is my day! And I am really excited to show off the pattern I chose for the tour.
**I did receive the pattern for free, BUT all opinions are my own**

Meet the Tinsel Party Dress.  Possibly my new favorite Ellie Inspired Pattern (which, if you could see my embarrassingly large collection of Laura's patterns, is definitely saying something).

The details:
Sizes 1 - 16
Optional overskirt and tulle skirts
Optional split bodice option
Button back closure
Instructions included for Lattice smocked sash.

First, one of huge draws to Laura's patterns in general is the great size range.  The style of her patterns is so classic, they they work for toddlers and tweens, so you'll get lots of use out of the pattern.

Second, the small details that you can change in this dress make it so easy to customize for your child.  My daughter has issues with *itchy* fabrics... for her that seems to include anything at all sheer.  So we made our dress with a Brocade Fabric from Joanns paired with Casa Collection Satin.

I begged her to pick the red and gold Brocade, so I could pair it with some green satin and make a Christmas dress, but she was insistent on the Aqua/Pink combination.

Laying a rose at the Veteran's Memorial

 The pattern construction of the dress itself results in a gorgeous professional finish inside and out, with no seams exposed to itch Inara!  And the curved overskirt is so elegant with the dress.   For Inara's dress I did the split top bodice using the brocade for the main part and the satin as the accent piece.  I then did the overskirt in the brocade as well and the "lining" in the satin.  I left the tulle off completely as there was no way she would be able to handle it.  

With the well written and professional instructions, the dress itself can be sewn in just a few hours.

She's trying to show off her missing tooth

And then I looked at my dress, smiled at how much I loved it... and swore under my breath...  Why?  Because here is the reason that I absolutely love Ellie Inspired patterns..  Laura finds a way to constantly challenge me and make me try new things and it makes me grow as a seamstress.  

For this dress the new technique for me was the lattice smocked sash.  I had never done anything like that before, and for two days I nervously stared at what was, for all intents and purposes, a complete dress.  And then I took a deep breath, decided to stop being a wuss, and sat down with the chart and my fabric and turned on Netflix.  

If you have never lattice smocked before, here is my one bit of advice as a newbie.. I found myself having a hard time keeping my columns straight once I started, so I went back and changed every other column of dots to tiny "x"s instead.  Also, as a left-hander, I find my hand getting in my own way, so I stopped at the end of each column and started fresh at the top for the next set.  So it's not *perfect,* but I am insanely happy with it, and I just LOVE how the dress looks with the sash.

She looks totally happy right?  So this is how much she loves this dress... It was gorgeously bright and sunny for pictures.  Not a cloud in the sky.  The only problem?  It was like 40 degrees out away from the water, and colder even still on the water and with the windchill.  But she stood out there and smiled and posed like a champ, even when the wind got the best of us...

We decided our first photo location was too windy and moved away from the water, so it was still barely 40, but less windy.  And without any complaints, she jumped out of the car to show off her dress.  Connor was even excited to pose with his sister who he declared to be a "boo-tiful pin-cess."

So yet again, I've learned a gorgeous new sewing technique from one of Laura's patterns, and we have a dress that is just so stunningly pretty that I keep grinning over the fact that I made it.  

If you missed out on the deal when the new holiday patterns were released, now is the best time to grab them... with the code PARTY you get 25% off in the Ellie Inspired Pattern Shop.

And make sure to swing back through the Ellie Inspired Page to see the rest of the bloggers posting this week, and stop by and join the Ellie Inspired Patterns Group.  It is one of my favorite groups on Facebook... everyone is so helpful and friendly, and there are some insanely talented ladies there!

Before I sign off, I just want to extend a huge thank you to Laura and the Ellie Inspired team for letting me be part of this tour.  I am so glad that I stepped outside my comfort zone with this one, and so is Inara!