Bumblebee Dress Pattern + Giveaway

My good friend, RaeAnna from Sewing Mama RaeAnna, is hosting a pattern tour to promote her new Bumblebee Dress Pattern (which is on sale for $5), and I could not miss the chance to be a part of it!

When I say good friend, I really mean my real life get together for play dates with the kids kind of friend! We met through blogging and try to meet every week (although it doesn't always happen) to let our little ones play while we chat about sewing and blogging.  I'm so blessed to know her and her family!

RaeAnna originally made her Bumblebee Dress for her daughter based on a look from Smocked Auctions. I am totally unfamiliar with Smocked Auctions, but just a few months before RaeAnna made her dress, I made a similar one for a friend based on a look from Kelly's Kids.  

It's a very popular dress, and like RaeAnna, I received lots and lots of requests for a pattern.  I never took the time to develop my pattern beyond the size 8 that I originally made, so I am so glad that RaeAnna did (and I'm proud of her for figuring out how to grade the design)!  Now I get to make my daughter a size 6 of this look, and all I have to do is the sewing!

Now RaeAnna decided to go a step further and offer two dress designs all in one pattern! Don't you just love it when a pattern offers more than one option for the money?  I know I do!  I decided to stick with the original Bumblebee Version A dress from the pattern and make Ella a top to wear with pants this fall and winter.

RaeAnna has done an outstanding job of writing the instructions and providing detailed descriptions and photographs to this pattern.  She has used everything she's learned from being a pattern tester and pattern reviewer for other designers to make her Bumblebee Dress Pattern topnotch!

I love that when she set up the pattern pieces for printing, she made the pages overlap and have match lines that are super easy to see.  I've had trouble in the past with other pdf patterns not always printing out properly, but no problems with RaeAnna's pattern!

I know you've seen this design all over the internet, and it is so adorable with a monogram on the front.  I had originally thought I would make Ella a dress in corduroy and monogram it, but I just haven't been in the mood to use my embroidery machine in quite some time.  Instead, I used this beautiful chartreuse solid and this black with teal and green flowers on it.  I only had a yard of the print, and I wanted to make a matching pair of pants, so I had to cut wisely.  I had just the right amount to make both!

On the Bumblebee Top, I added a little teal bias trim to the hem and beside the ruffles for an added pop of color.

Also, I chose to make the back a zippered closure instead of using buttons. Using a teal zipper added a little more color and interest to the back of the top. I just sewed my first zipper into a garment a couple of weeks ago, and now I want to add them to everything! They really aren't difficult to put in at all!

The matching pants were a lot of fun to make as well.  Check back here tomorrow more details on them!

Are you now convinced that you must buy the Bumblebee Dress Pattern?  If so, then you are in luck. The Bumblebee Dress Pattern is on sale for just $5 during the tour on November 4-18th!

RaeAnna has also put together a pretty sweet giveaway for the pattern tour.  If you want to win some cool prizes including a copy of the Bumblebee Dress Pattern, then be sure to enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bee sure to visit all the other bloggers on the tour for more inspiring variations of the Bumblebee Dress!

Maura Jean & Co|Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts|Pattern Revolution|Daisy Chain Creations|Get Your Crap Together|Zafarani|Welcome to the Mouse House|Designs By Sessa|Sew Like My Mom|Once Upon a Sewing Machine|Shaffer Sisters|Francess Suzanne|sewVery|Climbing the Willow|Blogs Like a Mother|House of Estrela|Rae Gun Ramblings|While She Was Sleeping|181ReUp|Feathered Ruffles

Thanks for stopping by today everyone, and thanks to my good friend, RaeAnna, for inviting me to sew along.  Ella's gonna love her new outfit this winter, and I look forward to making more Bumblebee variations for the spring and summer!

See you soon, and have fun sewing!