You are invited to #InternationalAnnaParty

Ever wanted to party with all your beloved Instagram friends but can't afford to travel the world to meet them? 
Do you enjoy being part of our positive and creative sewing community and feel you'd love to express that happiness?  
Do you want to share the chance of getting gifted by a Birthday girl, because Prizes? Sure you do!! 

Over here at #InternationalAnnaParty HQ we are organizing just the event that does all the above things right from the comfort of your own sewing room/bedroom/garden/bath tub. No need to purchase an around the world plane ticket or sell your first born to finance it!

So you want to know how you can join in? All you have to do is post a picture of your handmade By Hand London Anna dress on your Instagram feed between Friday July 17^th 18.00 BST and Saturday July 18^th 23.59 BST 2015 using the hashtag #InternationalAnnaParty and have a public account.

There are a few rules that we are asking you to follow, so please read the Q+A below that covers everything from prizes to party plans. Over the next three weeks I will be updating @lauralovespugs
Instagram feed with everything from Anna inspiration to prize updates.

International Anna Party dress prize draw Rules.

What is an International Anna Party?

It’s a party held on Instagram! You are all invited, no matter where you live - simply post a picture of your handmade 'By Hand London Anna dress' on your Instagram feed between Friday July 17^th 18.00 BST and Saturday July 18^th 23.59 BST 2015 using the hashtag #InternationalAnnaParty 

  

I don’t use Instagram, can I still party?

I’m not one to stop anybody partying, but I’m afraid this is an Instagram kinda thing. Get on over there and join in.

How did this party come about?

It’s Elle of @Lauralovespugs Birthday and she wanted to party with her International friends Ute of @ute_ig and Pips of @magdalenesmuse but we all live far away from each other. The answer to this was to have a party on Instagram, which is how we all met. A party isn’t a party without guests so that’s where you come in. Think about it as us three being the Hosts and you our guests.  

Why the Anna dress pattern?

For many reasons equally as important as each other. Both Pips and Ute have been making inspirations Anna’s, which Elle has been lusting over for some time.

When Elle heard that By Hand London were stopping their paper patterns and turning to PDF’s she thought ‘I’d love to show my support for their changing independent business ’ and purchased the pattern.

The hosts have been gifting each other fabric and treats on and off because gifting is awesome, and Ute gifted some beautiful Berlin fabric to both Pips and Elle to make very special Annas.

We also needed a pattern that's completely international and available to all sewers who want to join in and as the Anna is available as a PDF it’s perfect!

Do I have to sew a New Anna dress?

Absolutely not. You can post a picture of any Anna you’ve already made, as long as you’ve made it. Of course we are giving you just under a months notice in case you haven’t ever made an Anna (like me) or you want to make a new one.

I don’t have the pattern, where can I get the pattern.

The pattern is now available as a PDF from By Hand London’s website. Head over there and support them.

I don’t want to sew an Anna, can I enter with another dress?

Well, that wouldn’t really be an International Anna Party so this time only By Hand London Anna’s will be eligible to enter for party prizes. But you can still party with us! We are happy for you to turn up in any dress you like for fun, and you also can repost the invitation for a chance to win a prize. There are two rules in the sewing community. "Do not use my fabric scissors on paper, and no one gets left behind!"

My account is private, can I still enter?

Here at International Anna Party HQ we understand the need for privacy. It’s your right to add and talk to only people you want and we don’t want to mess with that. Sadly if your account is private and even if you follow one, or all of the Hosts, the Independent Judge will not be able to see your entry and for that reason we are only allowing public accounts to enter that are visible between Friday July 17^th 18.00 BST and Saturday July 24^th 23.59 BST 2015.

I have 20 Anna’s. Can I enter 20 times?

To keep it fair to all party goers we are accepting only one entry per person.

You are very, very welcome to post as many pictures as you like of your Anna over the competition period (we love a good outtake) but your first picture will be the one we judge/put into the draw so keep that in mind.

My Anna is not a straight Anna. Can I still enter?

We love diversity and creativity. Not all bodies are the same and because of this you can enter Anna’s that have had modifications for size for instance or other pattern pieces added like a different skirt. But the dress/playsuit/top MUST be recognizable as an Anna and have at least the top or skirt part of the Anna clearly visible.

Do I to wear my Anna in the picture?

I know that sometimes selfies and pictures of ones face can be stressful. After MeMadeMay you are probably selfied out! No, you do not have to be modeling your Anna, but consider that the picture needs to appeal to the judge’s eye.  We here at #InternationalAnnaParty HQ would love to see some silly, themed, quirky and fun photos (as would all our guests) and we strongly encourage you to have fun with this. If you want to chop of your head in the picture (not literally please) that is fine.

I don’t follow any of the Party hosts, can I still enter?

Nobody likes being made to follow someone they don’t want to and we understand that. You do not have to be a friend of any of us on Instagram but if you like sewing (and what are you doing here if you don’t?) and find our feeds interesting we would love to make friends. Also there will be prize updates, and Anna inspiration posts on @lauralovespugs and @magdalensmuse

over the month and you don’t want to miss that do you?

 

I’ve been following the party and someone has entered my Anna!

What a very naughty person! Please send  @lauralovespugs and @magdalensmuse a direct message with a picture of your Anna or link us to where they stole the image and we will remove their entry. We are only letting public accounts party with us to stop anyone stealing pictures and posting in private.

I put my Anna picture up outside the specified time. What should I do?

Like all parties, you've got to have a start and end time. Otherwise life would just be one very long party, where we don't get any sleep. If you submit a picture before the start time, please resubmit it during the specified times otherwise you won't be entered into the contest. If you miss the deadline then I'm afraid it's to late. Remember times are in British Summer time - check a time conversion site if you want the time that translates to where you live.

I heard there would be prizes?

You heard correctly. As it’s Elle’s Birthday, why not gift other people?

There are two separate prize-giving events. The first being the International Anna party invite repost prize draw and the second being three individual winners who post Anna’s during the Anna party.   Currently all the hosts are providing a prize and the Amazing 'By Hand London' are also offering the grand prize winner one PDF of the winners choice from their online shop!!!

The prizes are being finalized and announcement will be made on Instagram before the party starts but we can confirm that one will be chosen at random so everyone who enters gets a fair chance of winning! The grand prize will be chosen by an independent judge.

If you have any questions or just want to express you excitement about joining in, please feel free to leave a comment below.  Let the party begin! 

 

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