Halloween 2015: Crystal Part 2

My second costume of the year is for my girl!  She's always so fun to sew for, so I couldn't wait to hear her idea.  Then she said the last princess I wanted to make: Snow White.  Now, I love Snow White...I'm just bored by her dress.  It's fine. It really is.  I just like a lot more fluff than that.  I couldn't convince her of anything else, so I decided to re-work it.  When I was finished I asked her "Do you love your princess dress?" to which she replied "Uh, No."  I could have died, but then she said "I'm a QUEEN!"  And she wouldn't take it off...so I live to sew another day. Well, here she is, my Queen Snow White.

 

Like most things I make, no one pattern really did it for me. I like to combine elements to make something my own...which takes a lot of time and I end up hating myself.  Luckily, I've been missing my machine, so even though the changes meant added time, I enjoyed myself.  No one likes a grumpy Crystal, so everyone wins this time.

 

 

The majority of the costume came from McCalls 7212-  The underdress and overdress were both made from this.  But I made the underdress sleeveless and put the sleeves on the overdress because I thought it had a better flow and would be easier to wear.  I added the faux paned sleeve to make it look like Snow White since that was who I was supposed to be making...Uh DUH. 

 

 

The lower sleeve I made using Simplicity 4944.  I purchased a whole pattern for the sleeves.  Thank goodness Halloween is my husband's favorite holiday, too; it validates my spending on this.  I used a pretty, soft stretch lace because I wanted a really nice drape. It looks great and is super comfy for my sensory sensitive girl.

 

 

 

For the collar, I used Simplicity 2817.  Yep!  I bought a pattern for the collar.  Now the original pattern had a collar, but I didn't like it :::SIGH::: I'm like a toddler at mealtime sometimes.  I LOVED the fact that the collar was removable!  So what did I do?  I attached it anyway, because I ended up liking that better.  I HAVE ISSUES.

 

 

The accessories are just as important as the costume here...wait, no they're not, BAHA!  I'm so funny.  But they really did finish off the costume.  I purchased the apple brooch on etsy and the black snood and flower tiara at the local renaissance fair.

 

 

Overall my daughter got the Disney character she was looking for and I got to have fun designing and creating.  WINNING!

 

 

 

 

 

Now all princesses Queens have to have a little fun, so here are the sillies and giggles.

 

 

 

Happy Halloween you guys!  I have been loving all of the costumes I've been seeing and reading about on people's blogs.  This is seriously my favorite time of year.  Just remember look out for poisoned apples (even the photoshopped ones because you forgot to bring the one you bought with you).

 

 

 

-Crystal-

 

 

 

Princess Rapunzel Dress

Hey folks!  I'm blogging today...no seriously.  It's been a while, but I finally sewed something and feel up to blogging.  Life has been crazy and my anxiety has been flaring up, so I've been quite anti-social lately.  I'm such a tortured artist.  Feel bad for me and send me chocolate ;)  My mother asked me months ago if I could sew a dress for my girl to wear to Disney on Ice.  Because she asked me 2 months ago I, of course, waited until I only had 5 days to make it.  I seriously finished it 25 minutes before my mom came to pick her up.  I'd say "never again", but we all know that's not true. Anyway, here she is!

Oh yes!  The frying pan and Pascal made it into the photo shoot.  What's Rapunzel without her BFF and her protection?  I mean REALLY!

The pattern I used was the Tori's Bustle Dress by Create Kids Couture.  I've really grown fond of them as of late.  The patterns are so pretty and they really have that princess feel to them.  The instructions are fantastic and there are cut charts for all of the rectangle pieces- no wasted paper!  WOOT!  I used various satins for the dress to give it a more luxurious feel (because 5 year olds are all about luxury).


*A little edit:  If you're wondering why the ribbon on the sleeves isn't sewn completely down, there's an answer.  The satin was made in the devil's factory and pulled and moved and made the world turn black every time I tried to sew it down.  I decided to tack it down in a few key spots and let it poof a little.  Not worth fighting the forces of darkness on this one*

The back is shirred.  I used to hate shirring.  I thought it was the easy way out.  What I've learned is that shirring is a great way to create the illusion of a perfectly fitting garment with room for the kid to grow into it.  It'll look fitted for much longer this way.  Also, it's just super comfy for the kiddos and I don't have to help her get dressed, LOL.  Lazy mom WIN! So, I was wrong in my initial thought about shirring.  That's my one time being wrong in 2015.  I'll be perfect the rest of the year.

 She loves her new dress and I love making princess dresses, so we both win.  I'm hoping to snap out of my creative funk soon.  I guess I'll keep pressing on and hope the slump wears off.  If not, I may have to get this little rascal to hit me with that frying pan...knock some sense into me!

 

May all your sewing be magical (even if a stupid cable line ruins your picture).

-Crystal-

The Frozen Effect

So there's this movie with a snow queen, a sister, a snowman, a funny-looking donkey, a reindeer, unnecessary trolls, and a severely neglected youngest child who turns into a treacherous and murderous throne stealing poop face.  Seen it? No?  Maybe this will help

LET IT GOOOOOOOOO! Let it go!  Can't hold it back anymore!

....and I bet you're still singing.  My child has become infected with the mother of all Disney brain freezes called "Frozen".