Last Minute Alice in Wonderland

Time I’ve know I needed to make this costume:  TWO MONTHS

Time I’ve had the fabric: TWO WEEKS

Days ’till Halloween:  TWO (Until the school Halloween party)

Doing it all in one night:  PRICELESS but EXHAUSTING!

Let me start out by saying I didn’t use a pattern, cut major corners by not ironing anything, and even used the manufactured edge to save hemming.  It’s a costume…short and simple.  I used 2.5 yards of blue cotton fabric, and 7/8 yards of white lining fabric as well as three yards of white ribbon I just had on hand.   Buttons too…I suggest buttons, but you’ll have to read on for that painful discovery.

To start I grabbed one of Princess’ Sunday dresses.  I grabbed this particular one due to its basic lines.

Next I laid the dress out on one layer of the blue fabric and traced an outline of the right half of the dress, allowing a good inch for seam allowance and wiggle room.  I just grabbed a piece of sidewalk chalk.  Love the stuff.

After tracing the right side of the dress, I cut along this line just to the center of the neck and hem, creating the  silhouette of half a dress.  Be sure not to cut down the middle.   Then I folded the right side over to the left to find the mirror image of the other half of the dress.  With it folded over I could then cut out the left half to be a perfect match to the right side.  Still with me?

To create the back panels I next took another piece of the blue fabric, folded it in half and laid the folded front panel on top of it.   I placed the center fold of the front one inch from the fold in the new layer of fabric.  This way I could get an exact match of the front side seams onto the back, leaving a space for a seam in the center back.  Just look at the picture.  It’s easier.

I cut along the outline of the front, but this time I also cut the fold in the back.  This creates a center back seam.  We want one in the back but not in the front.

Finally some sewing.  With right sides together, I actually pinned the front to the back on the sides and shoulder and sewed them together.

Next came the sleeves.  I lacked confidence once I reached this point so I looked online.  Isn’t the internet wonderful!  I found a great video tutorial on Whitney Sews ,and that boosted my confidence.  The sleeve shape is basically a bell curve.  I looks something like this.

Note how I used the manufactured edge along the straight side.  This way I don’t have to hem the sleeve.  Like I said at the beginning…this is all about cutting corners.  I created the sleeve in the same way I did the dress.  I just folded a piece of fabric in half, traced out half  a curve and walla, a sleeve.

I sewed along the short straight part and turned the sleeve right side out.

Next I slipped the sleeve inside the dress, putting right sides together.  I almost started pinning the sleeve in backwards but quickly caught my mistake and started pinning the curved part into the dress sleeve opening, gathering as I pinned.

I repeated this for the other sleeve and created two pleasantly puffed sleeves.

Next, the back seam.  I sewed half way up the back seam starting at the hem.  Then I turned the two open sides under slightly.

Here is where the horror begins.

It shouldn’t have been hard, but I made one painful mistake:

SNAPS….

Oohh the pain!

I thought snaps would be easy; that they’d make the project go faster.  I had about eight snaps and only needed to put in four.  But by the time I had two snaps in I’d destroyed all the others, and spent a good hour of my precious time doing it.

Maybe other people have better success with snaps, and maybe one day I’ll look up their tutorials online, but it won’t be for a while.  The pain is still too fresh right now.

To make a long story short I ended up with two snaps and two buttons along the back seam.

Don’t judge me.

It was painful enough and I’ve learned my lesson.  Next time I’ll just do the buttons in the first place.  They were quick and easy compared to the wretched snaps.

A quick hem of the neck line and bottom and the dress part was done.

Now for the apron.

I used 7/8 yard of white, shiny, lining fabric.  It was cheap and I liked the shininess of it.  Once again I just eyeballed it by laying it out ontop of the dress and tracing out half an apron shape.

Then I hemmed all four sides and sewed two pieces of white ribbon to the top.  They will tie in the back behind my Princess’ neck.  A third longer piece of ribbon will go around her waist.  I’ll probably tack it into place on either side of the apron when I have her try it on.

And there it is.  All finished.  Now I just need a black ribbon for her hair and white tights.

She is going to be so cute.

April

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