It has become a tradition; every year, I sew a birthday outfit. It is an opportunity for me to sew a piece that stands out and that I want from the sewing list (the famous PAC as my students say: the Sewing Pile in reference to the PAL, the reading pile 😂).

This year is no exception and what better than a princess dress for her birthday! 
I fell for the Limurine dress by Comme une fleur in its Juliette sleeve version. When I entered all the beautiful models by Flore into our pattern library where you will find more than 1450 references, I immediately saw the potential of this model! 

Plus, there was a fabric from the shop that caught my eye and would give a slightly "dramatic" touch to this dress. 

So I took the plunge and I'm sharing this sewing adventure with you here.
Let's go! 

The model

The Limurine dress or top is a versatile knitwear piece to create an elegant skater dress, a princess dress, or a trendy and comfortable knit top! 

With carefully designed details to offer a multitude of style options, this pattern will allow you to create unique pieces suited to your personality.

This pattern was co-developed by Flore from the brand Comme une fleur with Amélie from "sew together 1 pattern 1 month". 

The main features that made me fall for Limurine are:
- a fitted bodice
- the option to choose between two round necklines with different neckline depths
- three skirt lengths allowing you to make a peplum blouse, a knee-length or ankle-length dress with a slit option
- the best for last, six different sleeves are available! This makes a very reusable model for different occasions. The sleeve choices are: ruffles, tulip, small puff, double puff, Juliette and basic

It is possible to add shoulder pads to maintain the volume depending on the chosen sleeve. 

Finally, Limurine is super quick to sew! 

Information for sewing this model

Limurine by Comme une Fleur is available in PDF format in our pattern library. The brand Comme une fleur currently only offers digital formats, the printed version is not available. 

No worries, Flore thought of everything and offers us to print with or without layers according to your wishes, in A4, A0 formats or even to use the projector file.

Additionally, seam allowances are included so it is very simple to use! 

The Limurine dress ranges from size 32 to 60; it will therefore be perfect for teenagers and for more curvy women. Moreover, Flore offers several types of adjustments in the pattern for height as well as for the bust. 

Note that Limurine is easy to sew and Flore gave it a difficulty rating of 2/5.
I would say it is suitable for intermediate sewing level or resourceful beginners who have already made woven garments and who would like to start sewing jersey. 

In the seamstress's basket

To sew Limurine, you will absolutely need stretch knit fabric: cotton jersey, viscose, bamboo... but also french terry, milano knit, knit fabric...

For the supplies: 
- Fabric: 1.8 m to 4 m (details in the table below)
- a matching thread spool
- if you choose to assemble it with an overlocker you will also need matching cones. 
- Flat elastic: 0.5 cm wide, length according to the chosen sleeve (4 times your bicep circumference for the double balloon sleeve, 2 times your bicep circumference for the small balloon and Juliette sleeves) 
- shoulder pads for the Juliette and balloon sleeve option

For the equipment: 
- Jersey or stretch needle
- for hems double stretch needle  

My supplies

I chose a jersey from the shop with a baroque-inspired embroidered flower printed. 

I must say that this jersey caught my eye when it arrived and it was obvious that I was going to reserve a piece for myself. 

I chose a navy blue 310 thread and matching cones. 

Since I chose to make the Juliette sleeves, I also took 6mm flat elastic. 

Technical points

Limurine is rated difficulty level 2/5. It is therefore accessible to many sewers.

The technical points are:
- assembling the lined bodices
- assembling the sleeves (more or less difficult depending on the chosen option)
- making the shoulder pads and assembling them (depending on the chosen option)
- attaching elastic or making the slit (depending on the chosen option)
- making hems with a twin needle or coverstitch machine. 

My sewing experience

I loved sewing Limurine which sews super fast! 

For the timing, I took 40 minutes to glue the sheets and cut my pattern.
20 minutes for cutting the pieces.
Then I took 1h30 to assemble the entire dress; including making the shoulder pads.
Finally, 30 minutes were needed to make the hems.
Total: 3h.
We agree that I sew fast; nevertheless, I think the dress can be sewn in an afternoon.

I chose to sew it in size 36, skater skirt version and Juliette sleeve, the famous princess sleeves.

I chose the classic non-plunging neckline because after all, it's winter! The fact that the bodice is lined also provides comfort and warmth. 

For my part, I assembled the entire dress on the overlocker and made my hems on the coverstitch machine (which I underuse 😅 so it had to be remedied). 

Note that I shortened the sleeves by 2cm for my short arms, apart from that I didn't make any modifications. 

I find that Limurine is really a great pattern and that the different options offered by Flore make this pattern very versatile. It's great to have a pattern in your pattern library that you can pull out to sew several models from the princess dress to the comfortable and efficient blouse. 

I also appreciated that the different sleeve options were on separate A4 PDFs, it allows you to print the desired sleeve option and also makes it very easy to find your way around! 

Find all the patterns from Comme une fleur here. 

Alright, I'm leaving you now, I have to get ready! 

My birthday is tomorrow!

See you soon and get your needles ready!