Jess and I are so excited to be kicking off the Dottie Angel Frock-along. Two weeks of hints and hacks to help you make a fabulous Dottie Angel Frock that you will love to wear!
If you don’t know what we are talking about, the pattern is Simplicity 1080, which is now available in Australia with a little luck and some hunting. It’s been hugely popular, and it’s especially good for those sewists who are more comfortable making quilts or cushions than clothes. No fiddly buttons or zips, and the fit is very forgiving too.
The granny chic style that is the signature of Tiff, Dottie Angel is very versatile and fun. You can really mix up your prints and make each dress unique, and we are here to help you with ideas too!
Please help us! If you have any questions, if we don’t cover something, if you are stuck, then shout it out. Leave us a comment on our blogs or on Instagram and we will do our best to help you out. We will schedule in a FAQ post if needed, which means you need to ask the questions!
Yesterday Jess started the ball rolling talking about choosing your size, including measuring your pattern and yourself. She also covered adjusting the pleats, transferring markings and touched on fabric choice.
I’m here with some exciting news – to introduce you to our sponsors!
YES! We have prizes!!
Thankyou to the fabulous small businesses that have joined in to help us make this a fun and rewarding journey for you! In order to win one of these, all you have to do is link up a finished or in progress Dottie Angel frock that you have made during this sew along. The link-up will go live on the final day, and we will leave the link open for a week to let you get them finished. There will be four winners randomly drawn from all our wonderful frock-along participants!
One of our goals for hosting this frock-along was to encourage quilters and other crafters to expand their skills into dressmaking. This is exactly the same goal of the lovely Lindsey Rae of Sew To Grow.
Sew To Grow patterns are designed to figure flatter and accentuate your unique shape. Each pattern has been thoroughly tested on a variety of shapes, sizes, and ages to ensure proper fit and clarity of instructions. The patterns will work fantastic in quilting weight cottons, stretch fabrics and light weight rayons and voiles. Sizes range from XS to XXL and many of Sew to Grow’s patterns have supporting You Tube videos as well as simple and clear step-by-step instructions. (With pictures!!) My passion is to make women feel effortlessly beautiful, build confidence in sewing, and teach new skills and techniques. I hope you are truly inspired to create one of a kind pieces for your handmade wardrobe with my range clothing patterns!
Lindsey has kindly donated one of her most popular patterns as a prize. The Bondi Top is the absolute wardrobe staple and perfectly pairs with skinny jeans, a great pair of fitted harem pants, or tucked into a skirt. So versatile and a great way to show off fun prints. This top features a curved hem that is slightly longer in the back, and a contrast back yoke. Stylish Simplicity! This printed pattern, valued at $22, will be won by a lucky frock-along particpant!
There’s nothing that a crafter likes more than shopping for stash ahem, supplies – so the ever generous Deanna of Stitches Quilting has given us a $50 voucher for one lucky winner! Not only that, but if you need supplies right now to get your frock started, you couldn’t find a better time to shop with her – 50% off until the 6th of December, and FREE US SHIPPING!!!
You can follow Deanna for flash sales and quilting inspiration on FACEBOOK and connect with her on INSTAGRAM too! Meanwhile, rush off to her sale, use the code smallbusiness and support a wonderful small fabric business that is giving back to the community – while getting 50% off into the bargain!
There is nothing that I love more than a good solid. I mean, white is great, but give me COLOUR!! This is where Emily from Handmade by Emily comes in…. Her store is bursting with hot fabric trends, solids, and all the fabric that we love to stash ahem, use. Sorry, that word just keeps on slipping out! Just a quick look in her store and she has some gorgeous Linen and Voiles which would make fabulous frocks!
I’ve been sewing since I was 2.5 – embroidery, dressmaking and quilting. I was introduced to my love of stitching by my wonderful grandmother. After almost 15 years of legal, accounting and medical admin work, in January this year I gave up full time work to pursue my dream of running my own business while giving me the flexibility of caring for my young daughter. Handmade by Emily is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of stitchers. Currently I make custom clothing, bags and quilts as well as selling fabric and craft supplies. I specialise in Tula Pink, Kaffe Fassett and Kona. I run a monthly fabric club, #aussiekonaclub and in 2016 I will be announcing an exciting partnership with a leading brand, after my new studio is built. I am excited for all of the good things to come!
One of the best features of Emily’s store is that shipping is included in the price – I hate the shock of filling a cart and then seeing what the shipping will be. Emily listens to her customers and is always improving her features and her range! Speaking of stash building, her #aussiekonaclub is ideal for building up a curated collection of the best solid colours around in quality Kona cotton. Emily has partnered with expert quilting bloggers as well as especially selecting colours that will go with the current ranges – November’s bundle, Cupcake, is just perfect for matching with Tula Pink’s Eden range. Emily has generously offered a $25 voucher to one lucky frock-along linker – the hard part will be choosing what to spend it on!
Introducing our final sponsor, Raylee of Sunflower Stitcheries and also Sunflower Quilting. Raylee is a talented quilter with a busy long arming and teaching schedule, as well as her second passion of embroidery patterns and tutorials. She’s one busy lady, but always ready to help a fellow quilter out!
Raylee has generously donated a prize of thread and notions to help you get your dressmaking journey off to a flying start, including 3 spools of Rasant thread, which is my favourite thread to sew with, it stitches like a dream!
I am so excited to share this journey with you all, and very grateful to all our generous sponsors for helping to make this exciting AND rewarding!
Next on the schedule is pleats and pockets – so come back here on Friday to get some help on these key steps, and see some fun ideas for variations!
Please be aware that there may be affiliate links in this content. Your support allows me to keep creating for you!
Vagabond Quilter
Hi Cassie, I am a new blogger and have been following your frockalong. I am not sure how to link up to you. I have posted my creation with links to yours and Jess’s blogs is that what you mean? Would love any help you could give
thanks
Nicky
Cassandra
Hi Nicky, thanks so much for joining in! I hope that today’s post helped explain the link up a little better, but be on the lookout for the wrap-up post on Monday 🙂