Disney Outfits

For our trip to Disney, I made the kids a couple of things to wear.  Dorothy had been asking for princess dresses (not costumes, but clothing with characters on them) for a while, and this was my compromise.  I'm not a fan of most character clothing you can buy in stores, but I thought I could find some fabric to make her a dress to make her happy and be more in my taste preference.

I purposely picked styles that I thought would be comfortable to wear all day in the Florida heat.  I was surprised at how many little girls we saw in the park wearing those cheap, polyester princess dresses.  I can't imagine anything less comfortable or more miserable to wear at Disney.  Dorothy seemed happy in her cotton dresses and knit shirt and skirt combo and I thought she looked just as cute (or even cuter), and way more comfortable, than those in full princess regalia.  

 For our first, partial day when we drove over and just went to Downtown Disney and checked into the hotel, I made this cute little toile dress for Dorothy.  When I was shopping for fabric there were two that I really liked, but knew I only needed one.  My personal preference was for the toile, but I knew that she would like the other, brighter one, better.  I went ahead and bought both, even though she really only "needed" one. 
 
 I made this one last, and I was literally trimming the threads in the car on the drive down.

 The pictures I took at Downtown Disney didn't show off the dress very well, so I took some pictures after swim class this week.  It got a bit wrinkled in the swim bag, but you can get the idea.  The top and the bottom ruffle are a pale green with white polka dots.  The three ribbons on the bodice and along the top of the ruffle are Minnie Mouse heads.  The toile fabric is princess themed, but the Minnie ribbon matched perfectly, so I combined the two.  The effect was still pretty subtle and I don't think most people who see the dress even realize it is Disney themed unless they take a closer look.

 The back.  It has a shirred back and the ruffle straps come to a V.  The pattern said to have them attach with a button, but I sewed them on since she had no trouble getting in and out of the dress with them attached.  The dress is just a touch big and I'm hoping that maybe she will be able to wear it next year too.  The straps are really long, but I didn't cut them.  I just tuck them in and then I can let them out next year if needed.

Instead of a narrow hem on the sleeves and the bottom ruffle, I opted for a rolled hem and I really liked how much easier that was to do.  It still looks polished, but was so much less hassle.

 Closer view of the Minnie Mouse ribbon.

 Closer view of the toile.  It has Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, and (not in the picture) Sleeping Beauty.

 For our first day int he park, I made each kid a Mickey/Minnie shirt.  I was going to just do Mickey for Dorothy too, but she specifically requested Minnie.  When I found the fabric for the bow that matched her skirt (purchased) so closely, I knew she was right and Minnie was the better choice.

 I found Malcolm's shorts and shirt at Kohl's.  I like that even with the Mickey shirt, he still looks age appropriate and not like a toddler.  I wish the shorts came one size smaller, but I bought the smallest they made.  He wears a size smaller on the bottom than on the top, but I bought both in the "big boys" section and an 8 is as small as they go.  I have the adjustable waist elastic pulled really tight and I wish they were a touch shorter.

I outlined his Mickey in a dark grey to match the shorts a bit and to make it stand out a bit more.  I like his name in the bright yellow and it really pops on the red shirt.  I wanted to do her name in yellow too, but it just didn't look as nice.  I decide to make the coordinated instead of completely matching. 

 Kevin picked up Dorothy's outfit at Hanna Andersson on his way home from work after I called and had them hold it for them.  Thanks, hon!  I really wanted the red shirt that was supposed to match the skirt, but they just were not close at all, so I had to go with the white instead. 

I really wanted to put her hair in pigtails with the Mickey ribbon I had bought, but she refused.  We compromised on a pony tail.  She wanted her hair down, but it was much too hot for that.

Not something I made, but check out her yellow sandals.  I thought they were a cute touch on her Minnie Mouse inspired outfit.

It can't be seen in the pictures, but the Mickey and Minnie heads are this black treble clef fabric.  I like the texture and depth it gives the shirts, and it gives it a bit more personalization than just a solid black.  And I already had it, so it was free to use.

 For our last day in the park, I made Dorothy an apron dress with the other Disney fabric I liked.  The black/grey, aqua, and purple are just simple patterns like tonal dots, medallions, and a printed on eyelet pattern . 

 The pink fabric has a purple silhouette of Sleeping Beauty's castle.  Sleeping Beauty, and some roses are in black.

 The ribbon trim on the apron has silhouettes of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle, with Cinderella's castle.  I liked that it kept the silhouette theme going, the purple matched, and the other colors add a little contrast to the other fabrics.  Dorothy likes it because it means more princesses!

 I didn't get any decent pictures of the back of the dress at Disney, so here's another after swimming photo.  Today, it was raining, so I couldn't even take the picture outside.  Oh, well.  You can still see it here. 

It's a tiny bit big around even though I added a wide elastic across the back.  It's not terrible, but it should fit her better next year.  It was nice and cool at the park though.

I did not make Malcolm's shirt, but I did special order it.  I had offered to make him something and asked him if there was any Disney movies he really liked that I should try to use as inspiration to come up with something.  He wanted a Bedknobs and Broomsticks shirt.  Well, um, yeah.  I actually found this one online, thought it was adorable, so I just bought it.  It has the substituiary locomotion spell (makes inanimate objects move) on it along with a suit of armor and the white rabbit from the movie.

Dorothy and I got several comments of the two dresses I made and it was interesting to see what people's assumptions were.  Some assumed that I had bought them and asked where I got them.  Dorothy wore her Rapunzel dress that I had made her last Halloween for a princess dinner at our hotel.  After dinner, she and I were walking around a bit and a mom was admiring her dress and asked where I found it.  I told that I made it and she was very impressed.  I heard her telling her husband as she was walking away, "Can you believe she made that?!"  That's always nice to hear.  A couple of other moms and a grandma (I'm assuming) were disappointed that couldn't buy the cotton dresses someplace in the park.

At least one lady assumed I had made the apron dress, which I never know how to take.  Does it look too home made or are they just familiar enough with children's fashion sewing to recognize popular patterns?  This one might have been a bit of both because I didn't get the fit quite right, despite trying to customize the pattern to Dorothy's measurements. It looks like it will fit beautifully next year. 

Several people didn't ask about the dresses' origins, but did compliment her and me that they really liked her dresses, which is always nice.

I had one more (non-princess) dress I had planned to make her for this summer.  We shall see if I get around to it or not.

One Pattern, Four Suits

I made a couple of bathing suits for Dorothy last year because I couldn't find any in stores that fit her at all.  She is very tiny around, with no butt and skinny little legs, so the ones that are small enough around, aren't long enough; even the two piece ones.  This year, I didn't even bother shopping for her, I just made her some bathing suits instead.  I came up with four different designs, using just a single pattern.

 This pink polka dot suit was the first one I made and I made a few mistakes with it.  I didn't have my settings quite right, so the cover stitching doesn't look as clean as I would like, but I'm probably the only one who notices.

This suit is a two piece with a skirted bottom.  I had planned for the top to just come down and meet at the waistband of the skirt, but it was too short.  I didn't take into account that when they are not stitched together, the top doesn't stay pulled down on its own.  I though it looked cute with a little tummy hanging out, but she wasn't going to wear it without the top reaching the bottom, so I added a big ruffle/skirt thing to the hem of the top.  It isn't ideal, but it isn't terrible either, and she likes it.

 I'm not sure why it's pulling up in the center back here.  It didn't do that a different time she wore it.  You can see that the ruffle on the top lines up almost exactly with the skirt.

 It does get a bit strange and bunchy when wet, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all.

See?  It isn't pulled up the the center back here.  Odd.  I'll have to check that the next time she wears it.

 Of the four suits I made, this one turned out to be my least favorite.  I started with it because I thought I was going to like it the most, and I wanted to make sure I at least got this one finished.

 I think of this one as her "sporty" suit.  It doesn't have any ruffles or frills, but is still adorable on her.  I can't decide if this one, or her other black one, is my favorite.

 This one is also a two piece, but I remembered to add a few inches to the top so that it would meet the waistband of the bottoms.  I added a touch more than I probably should have, but I also had to take a tuck in bottoms to get them tight enough.  If she just gets taller and not any bigger around, she might be able to wear this suit next year too.

 All the other suits have straps that make an X in the back, but this one seemed like a V would be better.

 The fabric was a small remnant I bought for $1.50.  It was much too small for most bathing suits, but fit just perfectly for her size.  I was extra careful with my cutting to make sure the gradual pattern would line up correctly.  You can just see here how the circles on the top and bottom line up perfectly.  I am ridiculously proud of how well I did lining the pattern up.

 The green and yellow animal print isn't something I would usually go for, but I bought the fabric on clearance, figuring it would be good to practice with.  The pattern and colors grew on me and do love the bright, cheerful colors on her.  I bought the solid yellow swim material to break up the pattern a bit and I like how it looks.

 The skirt gets a bit clingy and looks thin when it is wet, but it's still really cute.

 It kept up with her playing on a playground next to a splash pad.

 The pink flamingos on the black background gave it a sort of retro feel, so I added some details with the same pink polka dot fabric as the first suit.  The band across the middle breaks up the all black, and gives it a bit of a high-waisted look.  I like how the pink straps bring out more of the pink and soften the black a little.

 I put three rows of ruffles across the seat of the suit, and I love them so much!  They were much easier to do than I had feared, and they give the suit some texture and keep it age appropriate.  I don't know how much longer I'll be able to get her to wear butt ruffles, so I'm going to take advantage of it while I can.

Even though it is cute, the suit can handle some hard play.

Overall, I'm very happy with the results.  She has four very different swim suits that mostly fit her, and they didn't cost me much to make.