Christmas Sparkle

I really enjoy making special occasion dresses for Cordelia. I love a good theme, so normally I'm pretty traditional. Hearts on Valentines day, shamrocks for St. Patrick's, bunnies on Easter, velvet and sparkles for Christmas. Originally I had planned on green brocade for Christmas, however Cordelia has been really into long dresses and I wanted to make her some that she could wear every day and give them to her as Christmas gifts. I figured that once she opened these she might not want to wear her "special" Christmas dress. SO I ditched the original dress idea and just made these two.

Taking these photos with Cordelia was a lot of fun. We took them on the 26th of December and we had unseasonably warm weather which made everyone really happy. Cordelia was singing at the top of her lungs and dancing the whole time. 

This dress is made of 100% cotton Batman print fabric. Batman look especially aggressive in this print so I wanted to balance that by adding a lot of girly princess like details- like the puff sleeves and the ric rack. The appliqued Batman logo is Her favorite part of the dress. I used a commercial pattern- Simplicity 2463 in a size 3 with a size 5 length. The dress has a pretty hefty sized hem in it because she grows out of the length of things sooo fast. I followed the pattern pretty close except for adding the sleeves and a side patch pocket. Over all it's a pretty nice pattern- the instructions are clear and easy, but the neck is a little low for my taste. 

I was very anxious to see which dress she would pick to wear first. She picked Batman, which is the one Brendon thought she would go for- because it's fancier. 

The second dress is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle print gown. Also made from 100% cotton- but I can't give you a link because it looks like it's out of stock. This dress is kind of the opposite from the first in the fact that I wanted it very simple. The print is pretty active and I wanted her to be able to accessorize it however she wanted, without it being way too loud and crazy. 

I used Simplicity 1508 A in a size 4 with a 5 length. I don't have nearly as much to let it down but I have more in the body so I might have to make this a short dress before it gets retired. I pretty much kept to the pattern except I didn't line it I just used bias tape to hem the neck and arms- and I added a pocket because every girl needs a pocket! 

I love the fit of this pattern- the higher neckline just seems easier to wear, and the waistline is just in the perfect place. 

I tried and tried  to cut down on photos so this post wouldn't be crazy long! But alas, I failed and so here is one more.