DIY Butterfly Party Dress

"I love parties.  I've loved parties ever since I was a little girl."  Betty Ramsey

Here at 623 E 68th Street, the Ricardo's are gearing up for Jonah's 2nd birthday tomorrow, themed around...

...The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

For Jonah's 1st birthday we used The Poky Little Puppy theme- there is a definite correlation between these hungry critters & our "Big O' Boy":)

I did lots of Pinterest browsing for ideas and picked out a few pins to use as a springboard for creativity and then added a few ideas of my own ideas...

One such idea was that Livy should have a vintage party dress for the occasion:)



You see, my seamstress skills haven't advanced to tailored boys clothing at this point so no special suit for Jonah, yet:(



Since this project was a bit last minute (surprise, surprise), I opted to do a variation of The Party Dress (free tutorial) that I made for Livy's birthday by shortening the length...



...plz forgive the night time lighting...that's just when this Mama has time to sew:)

Gramma unearthed this butterfly pique & bright pink satin that I purchased in high school before I even knew how to sew anything!  Heaven knows what I intended to do with this fabric, but it was perfect for this occasion involving a butterfly & Livy loved it:)



This was my first time sewing on something with a silky texture and it was a bit challenging for this novice but it looks lovely & is ultra soft, sure to be appreciated by my picky Peanut:)

I also took the plunge and made my own bias tape for the first time using this tutorial...

...love it!

This dress is fully lined (another first attempt) with all seams enclosed- I'm quite proud of the inside on this dress and glad I took the extra time to make it scratch free for Peanut:)

And instead of making a fabric sash, I simplified by using some yellow grosgrain ribbon (stash raid) that matched perfectly:)

 This dress lay on my sewing stack for weeks, waiting for the final touches...

...which finally came about, in the wee hours one night this week:)

 And here is my Peanut, donning some matching patent sandals...

 ...checking out her new butterfly party dress:)

"This my new dress, Mama?"

"Yes, Baby, that's your new party dress for Olivia!"

Getting ready to test out the twirliness...

...ready...

...and twirl!

"I did it!"

In my hurry to get Livy in her new dress & sneak outside for a few seconds without Jonah (who was avidly watching Mickey Mouse & working a puzzle!) , I neglected to get the button loops on straight...oh well.

And the cherry on the top?  I didn't have to make this!  I found this butterfly headband at Gymboree last week on clearance & it matches perfectly!!!  "Matchy, matchy!"

Now Livy is patiently awaiting her debut tomorrow at Jonah's Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday party:)

Cost:
Fabric & Notions: $0 (had everything on hand)
Gymboree Headband: $2

Thanks for stopping by,
Tiffany

Olivia's Birthday Dress

Several months ago the sewing machine was stashed at Gramma's house while we de-cluttered our home for sale purposes- 2 weeks ago I informed 'Ricky' that I was bringing home the sewing machine since we had sold the house:)

I had a hankering to make a dress for Peanut, and not just any dress, a party dress:)  I saw this tutorial and began hatching a plan for my 1st dress project, including clearance fabric from Hobby Lobby, just in case I botched it! 

 

Livy liked the "Purpur" aka "purple" fabric with flowers & helped to find appropriate buttons so off I went!

Since this was my first proper dress adventure, I read through the tutorial + comments several times ( & even then, still made a few boo boos!) and worked on this once my little Ms were slumbering:)  A bit more sewing experience would have been helpful but I figured this was the perfect opportunity to acquire some!

After 2 evenings I had a lovely dress intact and was just missing the sash- I made a rather large cutting boo boo which took a chunk of time to remedy:(

I wish I could've captured when Livy first tried on her new dress- she grinned from ear to ear and quietly, in awe, strode to my full length mirror & began to twirl, admiring herself:)  Even with the dress not being perfect, she was elated!

So, finally Livy's birthday rolled around and she was able to show off her new dress at church- she'd been pining to show Gramma & Granddaddy all week:)

 

Livy commandeered one of my necklaces, insisting that she needed it for her new dress!

I made a simple coordinating yoyo hair clip- the button & fabric covered brad are from Stampin' Up! & match perfectly:)

  

There's a peek at the massive bow that tied in the back- neglected to get a proper pic of that feature...grrr...

FYI, if you choose to try out this great dress tutorial, be sure to measure your child- I made the biggest size offered (5) and it fits well with some room in the bodice to hopefully extend Livy's twirling escapades:)

Plotting more dresses to come...Livy informed me tonight, "Mama, I need new dress pees."

Thanks for looking,

Tiffany