More Sewing: Pirate Dress for Sophia

EVERY year our family takes a vacation to South Carolina in September. And EVERY year I sew pirate outfits for the kids. There are so many fun pirate-themed things to do there, and the pirate outfits seem to make it that much more special for the kids. (They also make for great outfits to wear to Halloween parties and things like that.)

This is Sophia's dress for this year. This was my own self-drafted design and pattern. And this dress taught me that I should leave the pattern design for the professionals. I had so many problems with this dress it is not even funny. In life (and in sewing), there are times when things come easy. Other times, things are not so easy and it feels like an uphil battle. This dress falls into the not so easy catagory.

The first time I started sewing it, I realized that it was going to be HUGE on Sophia. I was nearly finished with the dress when I came to this conclusion. So, I came close to just finishing the dress as it was and packing it away for her to wear in a few years. But, I really wanted her to have a pirate outfit for vacation, so I had to rip it apart and cut it down smaller. Then, after I remade it again, I realized that it was going to be just a bit too small. It fit Sophia, but the poor girl wasn't comfortable in it at all. So then I had to start again making it bigger. See...I told you, it was an up hill battle.

One of the reasons I didn't want to give up was because I loved the fabric so much and didn't want to "waste" it. I love Alexander Henry fabrics because they are so cheeky. This one is no exception. It is culled "snuggle skulls" and it has skulls wearing pink hair bows with ribbons going across that say "Cutie Pie", "Pookie", and things like that. (It was too funny! And perfect for a little girls pirate dress in my oppinion!) Here is a close up of the print: