A Princess Dress & A Little Bit of Magic

When I was asked to sew a dress-up princess dress, for a 4 year old, I just couldn't refuse.

 

Interestingly, in the week that there was uproar in Ireland about pageants and beauty competitions for young children, I found myself sewing an extravagant princess dress!

 

 

 

This was the first time I had ever heard of Princess Sofia the First, and following an Internet search, found plenty of dress pictures.

 

 

 

That white circular design on the skirt was giving me palpitations, so instead I focused on the style of the dress and what type of pattern would work.

I considered a peasant dress style which would be accurate for the neckline, but decided that would make the bodice too blousy.

 

 

 

 

Sleeves were another issue, as if they are very fitted, they can end up being too tight.

 

I nearly danced a jig when this pattern, Simplicity 1922, turned up in my stash! View A (centre right) with loose sleeves, a wide neckline and bodice seams with layers of skirts, would be perfect for the princess Sofia dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pattern calls for binding and facings to finish the bodice. These can be complicated, instead I chose to line the bodice by cutting the main pattern pieces twice. I omitted the overskirt piece and used the main skirt piece to cut the both skirt and the longer underskirt and lining.

 

The side 'puffs' or peplums were cut from white organza and can be cut without a pattern. The lower edge is a deep 'u' shape and the upper edge is a shallow 'u' shape/curve, using half the waist measurement for the top edge.

With some feedback from Helen on Instagram, I was so glad that to know it was starting to look like a princess Sofia's dress at this stage.

 

 

 

 

The full lining on the inside back, with all bodice seams hidden and flat-felled skirt seams...

 

... and the inside front with no scratchy seams! The bodice lining is sewn into binding at the sleeve cuffs.

 

 

 

And the magic .....

This was the part of the dress I was dreading. I couldn't figure how the white circular design could be sewn to look as good as the picture. I considered white paint/stencil for the fabric, glueing on white fabric, and then I remembered I had some Bondaweb. It's basically adhesive with paper backing, which sticks to fabric and then allows the fabric to stick to more fabric. There are other similar products available, which may have different names, and which are used for appliqué.

 

I had some of the white shapes cut, and still wasn't sure if the Bondaweb would work. I followed the instructions, and after pressing the shapes onto the skirt with a warm iron, just stood there looking at it in awe - it worked perfectly!

I sewed around all of the shapes to ensure the design wouldn't come off in the wash.

 

 

 

It was a quite a sewing marathon, as I sewed it over 3 days. In all about 12 hours work went into it, though that was not all sewing time.

Being one of the first times that I noted the number of hours of work and the time that goes into a dress like this, it was a bit of a eye opener!

 

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