Yes, I know Halloween was almost 6 months ago, but I can’t not write about this particular project. And I’ve been a little busy since then, what with having a baby and all.
Like pretty much every child (and many adults) I’ve encountered in the last year, Allie is obsessed with Frozen. So when I saw the pattern for Anna and Elsa’s dresses in Joann’s late last summer, I couldn’t not buy it.
You may remember that the WHOLE reason I bought my sewing machine was because I wanted to sew my children’s Halloween costumes. Now that it was Allie’s 3rd Halloween, and I’d become fairly confident with my sewing abilities, I figured it was Time. Still, this was my first experience with garment sewing, and I was pretty nervous about how it would turn out. Needless to say, this project was a learning experience.
Naturally I waited until under 2 weeks before Halloween to get started. I selected a light blue sateen fabric for the main dress, and a lovely shimmery mesh to layer over it for the bodice. For the overdress I went with an ice blue organza. I loved the colors and the way the fabrics went with each other, but in hindsight I wish I’d chosen something with a little more drape for the overdress, and something a little easier to work with for the bodice.
I traced the pattern for the smallest toddler size, which was 3. The bodice seemed short to me, so I added an extra inch to each piece when I traced them. I’m glad I did; if anything I think I could have made them a little longer. I also decided to add a little more of a train to the overdress than what was drawn.
I constructed the bodice in 2 layers: the sateen and the shimmery mesh. On my first attempt, I cut each fabric to the pattern then started basting them together. This caused the fabric to warp more than I wanted. So after some trial and error I found it was easiest to cut the under-fabric to the pattern, and just lay squares of mesh over it until it was all sewn together.
And when I finally got the bodice together, it was enormous. The pattern said it should measure 22 inches around. For a 3 year old. I didn’t really think about it until I tried it on her, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t hit a 22 inch waist line until I was in high school.
The top was also wide at the top and narrow at the waist. To accommodate a bust, I guess?? I don’t know about you, but every toddler I know is basically the opposite of that shape. So I took in each seam at least an inch, and then I took a couple of them in even more before I ended up with something that sorta-kinda fit my kid.
The skirt was much easier, and even the cape was pretty simple to put together. I’d decided to use this project as an opportunity to get over my fear of my serger, which was much easier to use than I’d expected it to be.
This turned out to be a very good thing, because the lining was a complete fail. It was already October 28th by the time I was ready to start working on the lining, so I was already short on time. And since I’d taken the top in so much I really couldn’t rely on the pattern to cut the lining pieces. I finally constructed a close enough approximation to the top of the dress after several hours of work. Then I had to attach both the yoke and the lining to the bodice, and discovered that sweetheart necklines are no joke. After about 4 attempts I still could not get it even, the fabric was starting to fray, and I was dangerously close to giving up entirely. I finally ended up cutting the thing flat (and still not lining it) to get it to work.
My next (and final) challenge was the sleeves. Since I’d taken the bodice in so much, the arm holes weren’t anything like the pattern. It took lots of pinning and trimming, and forcing Allie to try the dress on about 6 times in one evening, before I got it all together.
But against all odds, I finished this thing at 10pm on October 30th, and Allie looked adorable if I do say so myself.
She barely stood still in it long enough for me to get a picture. She loved running and letting the train fly behind her.
It was a learning experience, and definitely worth the trouble to see how happy she was with it. She still asks to wear it daily.