A Monster Of A Dress

“The best way to make children good is to make them happy.”~Oscar Wilde

I’m currently fighting a cold, and coming down off of last weekend’s adventure. David filmed a short film, and helping him with the logistic and costumes wore me out! It was set in the 1970’s, so I was pulling every sew, and piece of vintage polyester that I owned! Of course, I’m thrilled to be his costume designer! This sew I managed to get done a week or two before filming! Stay tuned for updates on all of that. David will have his movie premiered at The Crest Theater in Sacramento, so red carpet outfits will be needed! Enough of that update, here’s the sew!

Little Miss Alice had a birthday coming up. She wanted a monster themed party so, of course, a monster themed dress was in order! Dana chose this pattern as her party dress. It’s a vintage pattern from 1961. I was going to sew View 3. Elizabeth bought this Monsters Inc. fabric to use, and away I sew!

All of the pieces were there, and I laid them out on the fabric.

The skirt is fairly full, so the pattern called for cutting out two long pieces that would need to be gathered.

Preparing the bodice, front and back. I like to put pins at the end of a dart horizontally to catch my eye and remind me to slow down, the end of the dart is coming!

Sewing it together.

Since the view Dana chose was sleeveless, the pattern called for sleeve facings. Getting them prepped.

Gathering the skirt. I change the stitch length to 5.0 which is the biggest stitch length my machine offers.

Sewing the gathering stitch all around the top.

The back of the dress buttons, and has a slit into the back of the skirt to make getting into it easier. I had to use bias tape to finish the raw edge.

Sewing the bodice to the skirt.

Button hole time!

The pattern called for a piece of fabric to be in the front of the bodice. I used this rick rack looking fabric that matched the monsters.

On the inside, I trimmed the edges with my pinking shears.

Stitching down the facings.

The dress was done and the party was on!

It was too hard to choose which photos of Alice in her dress I should use, so I decided to use them all!

The pattern was slightly big on her. I went with it anyways so she can have a monster dress for a bit longer and not outgrow it.

No monster dress would be complete without a monster hat!

Even with her eyes closed she’s adorable!

Making music!

The birthday girl in her custom dress, ready for presents!

I enjoyed this sew, it was fun! I really like giving old patterns a different look by using novelty or modern fabrics.

Again, sewing for the ones you love are always my favorite projects!

As for me, onto the next!