Princess Dress

Look! A smile! Why? Maybe because it’s a “princess dress” this time instead of shorts. ROFLMAO!!! If you’re totally lost, go read my last post and you’ll understand. 😉

Anyhow, this is the 4th and final item I made for entry into Candice Alaya’s Upcycle Challenge 2018. In case you haven’t yet, you really should go look at all 78 of the entries!

This “princess dress” started life as an eyelet shower curtain (more on that in a minute) and a piece of organza fabric.

before

I purchased what I thought was a white eyelet flat sheet from the flea market a while back for $1.50. I never actually took it out of the ziplock bag it was sold in until this challenge. It was then I realized it was not a sheet (as the tag said). However I really wasn’t sure at first what it was with button holes along the top! Come to find out that it was a decorative shower curtain. Talk about a duh moment. 😉

I knew I wanted to use the eyelet shower curtain to make my little girl a dress but didn’t have a pattern in mind or an idea. However, not long after the challenge started, I went to Walmart and seen the blue organza fabric with tiny white polka dots on the clearance rack for $1 per yard so I bought what was left on the bolt – 2.5 yards. I knew I wanted to use it as a skirt overlay. With fabric in hand and a very vague idea, I started scouring the various patterns I have in my stash. I decided on a variation of the Catherine Dress by Violette Field Threads.

The pattern itself was easy to follow even with the slight alterations I made to custom fit it to my little. I adore Violette Field Threads patterns! Not only do they make typical baby and kids sizes, but they also make the elusive “tween” size patterns!!! Which is awesome since my little girl wears something between a 14-16. The problem I have with most patterns in that size is that they are designed for kids who are that age – not a 5 year old. So, typically most tween size patterns are styled too old for my little girl.

I did have a problem when stitching the bodice to the skirt. It wasn’t because of the pattern itself, but rather my design changes and fabric choices. You see, I used the full 2.5 yards of the organza, but only used the pattern amount for the underskirt. This meant I couldn’t gather them together since they were different amounts… For the bodice lining I used part of a white tee-shirt I had in my upcycle pile. So that meant I had four lengths of fabric to sew together – the gathered eyelet skirt, the gathered organza skirt overlay, the eyelet bodice, and the stretchy bodice lining… Yea…… Never again! LOL

It was a lesson for the next one I make because there will be more dresses from this pattern. (1) If making an overlay skirt, baste it to the skirt BEFORE trying to attach them to the bodice, and (2) make sure the bodice and the bodice lining fabrics (if different) have the same amount of give.