I love Instagram. I love the way we use it to highlight the beautiful parts of ordinary days. I love the way that it makes me view the world differently. And most of all I love this wonderful community that I have discovered, of people who love to sew as much as I do. I think there must be few industries in the world which are so positive, supportive and caring as this one that I feel so lucky to be part of.

For me sewing is about more than just being creative. It's about slowing down, stepping away from the culture of frantic consumerism that has become the norm and practicing mindfullness. I believe that taking time to make something by hand, pouring love and effort into creating something unique is the ultimate antidote to everything that has gone wrong with our modern society.

I am so very grateful to have discovered the joy that sewing brings and to be on the road to making it a much bigger part of my life, that I want to give something back. I want to say thank you to all the people who inspire and encourage this passion in me and I want to begin my new venture with a wonderful bang!

The Gumnut dress is the first graded dress pattern that I've designed and developed. It has taken a lot of my time and effort and love and dedication to get to this point. It feels a little like my baby - I love it dearly and I'm so proud of it and I am a little afraid of letting it out into the world alone. So this has been a difficult decision for me and it's a little bit scary too, but I have noticed that the scary decisions are often the right ones don't you think?

I expect that by this point you're thinking 'Enough already! What ARE you on about?!' It's a fair question. I've decided that I'm going to give this pattern away for free. Totally free to anyone who registers their interest before the pattern release: 9pm Australian Eastern Standard time on the 6th May (7am EST if you're in the States.) In other words you have 24 hours. When the pattern is released I will send you a free copy.

This is the first pattern that I've put out there for sale so I'm hoping that you will all act as reviewers for me. I know there are a lot of Indie designers out there and I'm well aware that the quality can vary dramatically. You don't know me yet and I don't know you so I want you to know that my patterns are good. That they work. That they are easy to follow. That the end products are great. I want to earn your trust.

All I ask in return is that you don't distribute your free copy amongst your friends and family. I rely on your honesty to protect my business. Knowing what a great community we have I feel confident that the majority of you will respect this. If you love the dress and the pattern please tell people about it. Most of all I just hope that you have fun making this and that the little one you are sewing for loves it!

UPDATE: The free dress pattern giveaway is now closed. Sorry if you missed out. Why not subscribe to my newsletter anyway (link in the side bar) then you'll always be the first to know when there's a special offer.

If you'd like another chance to win a free copy then you can enter my 'Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day' promotion. See previous blog post for details.