Sew Like Me

When I asked her what she wanted to be for Halloween, she surprised me and said Ariel. I wasn’t expecting that because she lost interest in her several years ago. So it was a pleasant surprise for me. I started imagining making Ariel’s pink ball gown with layers and layers of skirts. I had all these grand ideas in my head. But she said “no” just the mermaid version. Oh…

I spent a good bit of time sifting through patterns online and searching Pinterest but I wasn’t really inspired by anything. But that’s probably because I knew I already had the perfect pattern, I just needed to use a little imagination to achieve my vision. The Faryn’s Formal Gown from CKC Patterns ( https://ckcpatterns.com/faryns-girls.html ) had all the elements I needed. The extremely low skirt for the tail and a lovely bodice line to represent the seashells while still being a modest one piece dress.

I made a few modifications to the bodice of the dress. To create Ariel’s seashells, I created a colorblock to both the front and back bodices. The pieces are cut on the fold and I drew my cut lines slightly at an angle, creating a v shape when opened up. I added seam allowance to both the top and bottom pieces. Then I sewed them together. The subtleness of the v was easy to navigate when stitching, so no worries there.

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After the dress was finished, I wanted to draw the center of the purple together more. I added a very thin strip of elastic vertically in the center on the inside of the bodice, making sure that it was only on the purple part. Using matching thread, I stretched the elastic tight and stitched it down.

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At this point I still felt like it was missing something. After digging through my drawers, I found a bag full of pearl beads left over from last year’s genie costume. I strung the beads on a string long enough to go along the front, top edge. Then I hand stitched the bead string to the bodice by slip stitching the thread between each bead to the dress. Since it didn’t have any stretch to it after sewing it on, I only added the beads to the front that way she could still get into it.

To finish the costume, I bought a red wig and tiara (because she says that even the mermaid version of Ariel needs a crown) on Amazon and… One happy girl… I mean mermaid!!

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When I first saw this Dots For Days – Back to School Capsule bundle I knew my daughter needed it! Ok, I wanted her to need it.

The first thing that came to mind was Minnie Mouse. While I wasn’t planning on making a back to school capsule, the idea of a Minnie Mouse theme capsule really struck me.

I searched on Pinterest for Minnie Mouse dresses and I kept seeing different versions of a pink polka dot suspender dress and I knew I had just the right patterns to make this myself.

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First for dress, I used the Be Smart Jumper pattern from Ellie and Mac. And that was a “smart” move. The skirt is a full circle skirt so it has all the twirl power this girl needs! The more twirl the better. But she forgot to put shorts on underneath in our hurry to take the photo shoot so I don’t have any full twirl pictures for you. Oops.

This is the first time I have used liverpool for a skirt and it wont be the last. This is the most perfect fabric for it! It has just enough structure and it drapes perfectly.

There are two options for the waist on this dress, high or low. I chose the low waist just because I only had one yard of fabric and the circle skirt is bigger on the high waist version. I think I would have preferred the high waist because the low waist keeps riding up on her. Next time, though…

https://www.ellieandmac.com/products/girls-be-smart-jumper-pattern?_pos=1&_sid=e0f0072b7&_ss=r&aff=1267 (affiliate)

Next, the shirt. I was very indecisive about what style shirt to pair with this skirt. But I kept seeing this shirt and skirt combo in the listing photos for both these patterns and I finally settled on the Sitting Pretty Collar Top Pattern (also Ellie and Mac). But still I wasn’t too sure.

But, wow!! I love the way it turned out, especially the contrast with the black fabric. I thought about doing white instead of black but I’m glad I didn’t. The nice part of this is that she can wear the shirt without the skirt and still have that little extra flair. The black fabric is a double brushed poly so it is soft and comfortable underneath the skirt.

https://www.ellieandmac.com/products/sitting-pretty-collar-top-pattern?_pos=1&_sid=a10a224cf&_ss=r&aff=1267 (affiliate)

No Minnie Mouse outfit is complete without a bow, right? Well, how about this for a bow? I love that she is still young enough to want to wear stuff like this. I think this is the best bow ever! The pattern called for interfacing to help this huge bow keep it’s shape but I didn’t use any because the liverpool seems to keep it’s structure just fine.

https://www.ellieandmac.com/products/be-posh-bow-headband-pattern?_pos=1&_sid=66d7fc1ca&_ss=r&aff=1267 (affiliate)

But, the capsule is far from complete. So I’m thinking about a black and white dress possibly with a pink sash or bow of some sort for the next piece. And, of course, there will be some leggings, too.

Now to pry this outfit away from her so I can wash it. She has been wearing it for three days straight! (I think she likes it!)