It's Signature Style time over at
Project Run and Play, and I totally decided to go nuts and have fun with this one. Maybe a little too much fun...almost got myself into trouble with the amount of fun. But don't worry, I was Saved by the Bell. Smooth intro, Crystal. Smoother than Mr. Belding's Balding head.
Now, I know what you're thinking:
"This is wilder than than one of Jessie and Slater's fights"
"This is sparklier than the Zack Attack blazer."
"Holy Hot Sundae, this is bright"
But, dude, it's so me!
I am ALL over color and crazy. I'm a *bit* on the theatrical side when I sew and usually tame it a smidge for the sake of your eyeballs. But since we're doing a signature style, I just couldn't leave it alone. I let it flow, and I love it more than all of the
Buddy Bands in the world. I adore seeing kids dress in fun things because you can only do it for so long before you exit "adorable" and enter "institutional." Kids don't need to dress as serious as a caffeine pill addiction.
.
This dress looks like something Kelly Kapowski's barbie doll would wear. The fabrics I used were: An acid wash print cotton I found at Joann's a year ago, some sparkle 2 way knit of doom, and the pink stuff I'll talk more about later. The biggest Papow is all those ruffles. I normally don't "do" ruffles. They're hell to sew when you don't know how to use the ruffler foot you spent $35 on and when ruffling on the serger is something you just never got around to attempting. So yeah, I hand gathered those ruffles...all of them. Over 160" EACH ruffle (4 of them anyway), but it was sooooooo worth it. The pattern I used to get my ruffle measurements was the
Francesca's by Create Kids Couture. I really do love Create Kids Couture patterns and I love the ladies in their FB group page even more. They're just friendly. My daughter FLIPPED over this dress. She can't wait to wear it to school....which brings me to the bodice.
I needed something with enough coverage for dress code (3" strap minimum), but the Francesca's bodice just doesn't have that. I decided to make the bodice using the
Saffron Twirl Dress by Paisley Roots for the front. For the back, I used the Saffron back piece for the arm holes, but layered it over the back of the
All Spice (same designer) and added a little extra to create a button placket to close it up. Then I used the All Spice flutter sleeve to make the cap sleeve. The Saffron has deeper armholes than the All Spice, so I knew I'd need the width of the flutter instead of the actual cap sleeve...so confusing, but it totally worked as planned. The fabric is amazing. It was found at the same yard sale the
My Little Pony fabric was at and then was given to me. Most people wouldn't have been so excited to receive this fabric, but I SQUEALED. And it totally looks like it fits in with the Saved by the Bell opening credits.
So there you have it: Bayside Barbie. I believe Lisa Turtle would wear this to prom making Screech even screechier. She'll have to take a number, though, because I don't think my daughter will ever take it off.
-Crystal-
P.S. One child + Mommy's Heels = HILARITY
