Teal Petal Dress

Last month I saw this darling dress and tutorial on icandy:

Its one of those dresses that as soon as I saw it, I knew I just had to make it. I see a lot of cute dress ideas and think "I should make that", but this one was different. I was so excited by this one and knew how much daughter would love it. Ideas immediately started coming to me as I planned it in my head.

I started with a twin size sheet that I found at wal-mart for $5. I knew that if I let my daughter pick the color, she would choose pink, but I wanted something bolder so I went with this teal blue. I thought it would be such a pretty color on her, and it really is. She has gray-blue eyes and this color really brings out the blue.

I followed the tutorial on icandy almost exactly, except making the bodice a little narrower for my skinny girl (I probably could have made it even narrower) and I made puff sleeves.

 

I also chose to sew the petals to the skirt before sewing it to the bodice while it was still one big rectangle. I layed them out and rearranged them a few times before I was happy with it. I also cheated and used the finished edge of a side of the sheet as the bottom hem so I would not have to hem it.

I left one petal off the back center and added it after it was all sewed together because it was right on the middle of the seam. It hid the seam well and gave the petals a more continuous look in the back.

I had a sash for the waist cut out of the teal fabric, but I thought it needed some contrast. I found some wide black grosgrain ribbon in my stash and it was perfect. The black and teal look great together and the stiffness of the ribbon makes for a big bow when tied in the back. I tacked it down in a few places in the front and sides to keep it in place.

I took the fabric I had already cut for the stash, cut it into long strips and made these folded fabric roses. They were originally going to be for a headband, but I loved how they looked on the waistband. I think they really complete the whole look. I made one more for a matching hair clip too.

My daughter's 4th birthday is coming up next week and I was going to save it until then and give it to her for a birthday present, but I just couldn't wait to have her try it on. I finished it in time for church yesterday and decided it will just be an early birthday present.

The best part is that she loves it, even though it is not pink!

Linked up with:
Made by You Monday on Skip to My Lou 







This dress in my official entry for sew-vivor! Wish me luck, the competition is fierce!