Last year for Christmas I made two of my nieces princess dresses. Using one pattern you can create all the princesses. It is so simple and genius. I owe this fabulous idea to this tutorial from UCreate. I made Rapunzel and Snow White, and they looked basically the same as hers. Of course I never took any pictures, but they seriously looked almost exactly the same, except I used different fabric. I love how the patterned quilting cotton looked. I tried to find something that could mimic the embroidery of Rapunzel's dress, and this darling swirly heart pattern was just perfect. Head on over to Ucreate for the pattern and tutorial on how it's done.
In our house we haven't really ventured into the world of princesses. Ivy knows about them from friends and books, but she has only watched Cinderella and Frozen. When we decided to go to Disneyland this last February, I thought it would be fun for Ivy to have a princess dress. However, I completely forgot until it was time to leave. But it is okay, because my amazing sister took Ivy princess shopping in the first 30 seconds of seeing her. And let me tell you, there is no way I could have made anything close to the Aurora dress she picked out. It is FAN-CY!
When we got home from Disneyland, the interest in princesses and dress up really seemed to spike, so I figured we'd roll with it and whip up couple of dresses. This time I used cheap cotton broadcloth, purchased from fabric.com for $3 a yard. For Cinderella I used the same tutorial as I did for Rapunzel and Snow White.
Skirt:
1. Cut 2 strips of fabric 6-8 inches wide and 31 inches long. (I had to piece my scraps together to get a piece this long). Fold in half matching raw edges and sew a straight stitch. At this point you should have two 3-4 inch wide tubes.
2. Measure and mark lengthwise at 0.5, 10.5, 21, and 30.5 inches. Using a basting stitch, sew across at each mark. Pull threads to create four separate gathers.
3. Measure 4 inches down from the top of your skirt. Pin each end of strip of fabric to the edges of the skirt. Pin your two middle gathers at 7 inches and 14 inches on your skirt.
4. Using your normal stitch length, sew the gathered spots to your skirt. I stictched and back-stitched this several times.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 with other skirt piece and tube for the back.
6. Continue with pattern instructions to finish the skirt and attach the bodice
Note: These measurement are for a size 5, but for a general equation I simply made the tube fabric (which is 31 inches) 10 inches longer that the width of the skirt (21 inches), and then just divided each piece into thirds to find the four gather points. This creates that lovely faux pick-up look.
I especially like these dresses because:
1. They are inexpensive to make, roughly $6-10.
2. They are durable and machine washable.
3. She can easily put these off and on by herself, and with the elastic neck they have some growing room.
Things I did differently:
1. I didn't attach the ribbon sash at the waist. Realistically it would never stay tied and I didn't want to bother with it always hanging on the side of the dress.
2. This pattern hits just below the knee, which normally would be great, but I would recommend cutting your skirt pattern piece 6 or so inches longer, if you want more of a princess look.
3. Buy a half to a yard of more fabric than what the pattern calls for, so you have enough for the embellishments.
Since there wasn't a tutorial for Belle I just winged it.
Bodice:
1. Cut two 5 inch wide by 12-13 inch long strips of fabric. Fold each in half matching raw edges and sew a straight stitch to make a tube.
2. Pin one end the tube to the side of sleeve before attaching to the back of the bodice. Repeat with other side. (See image above)
3. Continue with pattern instructions to finish the bodice
4. Starting from the back of the bodice where the "tube" is attached measure 4-5 inches and pin the fabric to the top of the sleeve. Stitch and back-stitch several times to attach the tube to the top of the sleeve
5. Pull remaining tube fabric on both sides to the front, fold and attach both pieces together to the front of the bodice. (See image below)
Skirt:
1. Cut 2 strips of fabric 6-8 inches wide and 31 inches long. (I had to piece my scraps together to get a piece this long). Fold in half matching raw edges and sew a straight stitch. At this point you should have two 3-4 inch wide tubes.
2. Measure and mark lengthwise at 0.5, 10.5, 21, and 30.5 inches. Using a basting stitch, sew across at each mark. Pull threads to create four separate gathers.
3. Measure 4 inches down from the top of your skirt. Pin each end of strip of fabric to the edges of the skirt. Pin your two middle gathers at 7 inches and 14 inches on your skirt.
4. Using your normal stitch length, sew the gathered spots to your skirt. I stictched and back-stitched this several times.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 with other skirt piece and tube for the back.
6. Continue with pattern instructions to finish the skirt and attach the bodice
Note: These measurement are for a size 5, but for a general equation I simply made the tube fabric (which is 31 inches) 10 inches longer that the width of the skirt (21 inches), and then just divided each piece into thirds to find the four gather points. This creates that lovely faux pick-up look.
I especially like these dresses because:
1. They are inexpensive to make, roughly $6-10.
2. They are durable and machine washable.
3. She can easily put these off and on by herself, and with the elastic neck they have some growing room.
Things I did differently:
1. I didn't attach the ribbon sash at the waist. Realistically it would never stay tied and I didn't want to bother with it always hanging on the side of the dress.
2. This pattern hits just below the knee, which normally would be great, but I would recommend cutting your skirt pattern piece 6 or so inches longer, if you want more of a princess look.
3. Buy a half to a yard of more fabric than what the pattern calls for, so you have enough for the embellishments.
After all that, I think I'm done with princess dresses for awhile. Behold, the "Elsa dress." It is actually a hand-me-down adult dress from a friend. Ivy loves it. Sometimes I forget that little girls have imaginations and don't need fancy dresses to pretend to be princesses. She is singing "Let it Go" in this picture. Lesson learned. At least they were fun to make.
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