The Rarity Maxi Dress Inspired by a Reader!

Last September, my daughter had a My Little Pony birthday party and of course, I had to come up with a dress to go with the theme. Her favorite pony is the fashionista Rarity and this is where I came by the name for the dress which, by the way, came as a free pattern in size 4. 

Here are the original versions of the Rarity:

Woven                                                                           Knit

Well, just recently, a Facebook follower sent me a picture of her Rarity but as a maxi dress and I couldn't believe how freaking ADORABLE it was! So I was definitely inspired to make my own version and my daughter ended up LOVING the longer maxi dress! Who woulda known???

Doesn't it look great? I omitted the flutter sleeves and used piping and ric rac trim on the bodice instead. It's so sunny and summery~ something that just doesn't exist in my party of the hemisphere yet. But at least K will be ready if summer decides to arrive tomorrow!

Did you notice the bodice is slanted upwards on the front? And the skirt mimics that at the bottom front hem as well. The skirt is also a very sheer jersey so I'll need to sew in a lining now. I had hoped the gathers would help but they didn't!

Overall, I LOVE this maxi dress! I'm so happy Caroline shared the idea with me on Facebook! Maybe I'll offer this version as a free pattern this summer. Or you can use the one I already have and make your own adjustments to the bodice as I have. It's so fun to create new versions out of a simple pattern like the Rarity dress- and the results are very satisfying!

If you've made different variations from a dress pattern I've made, I'd love to see it! Share with me on FB so everyone can have a look-see and be inspired! Thanks a million for reading!

My 100th Blog Post Celebration: Free Spring Dress Pattern, Anyone?

This is officially my 100th post- woohoo! I can't believe I'm still going. I feel guilty sometimes about not posting consistently but seriously- this is for fun and so I can do it only when time away from three kids allows me to. So no need for guilt, right?

I've stopped posting over at Fresh Off the Bolt since I've realized it's just very odd and difficult to continue two blogs about my creative endeavors. I've decided to keep it online since I have some tutorials and patterns still floating around over there. But from now on, it'll just be this blog, Handicraftiness, that'll hold all my creations.

Anyway- back to the point of this 100th post: I'm celebrating by offering my Bella dress pattern for free!

The Bella dress pattern is available in 12-18 months to 5Y with more sizes coming soon! The bodice is fully lined and the skirt length is adjustable to however long or short you want it to be. You could make it into a peplum top or drop waist dress. You can mix and match fabrics which I love to do. You can even add pockets or appliques to make it special.

I love that it comes together in just a few hours~ I made five dresses over a 3-day period during my son's naps and after his bedtime. I am impatient so instant satisfaction is very gratifying.

I highly recommend mixing and matching fabrics for the prettiest effect! The blue/gray dress above uses woven organic cotton, lace, and chiffon and it turned out to be one of my favorites! I haven't tested this pattern with knits yet but I think it would be okay to use for the skirt. Speaking of the skirt, I extended K's skirt to 14.5" so it would hit just below the knee. She's growing tall very fast so I wanted this one to last through the summer at least!

UPDATE: I've decided to indefinitely allow free downloads of this popular dress. Download it HERE and HERE and let me know how the sewing goes!

Happy Spring Sewing and thanks so much for reading!

P.S. Share your Bella dress HERE in the Bella Flickr Group! I'd LOOOOOVE to see the myriad of combinations that can be made from this pattern! See you there! =)

A Frozen Dress~ Queen Elsa's to Be Exact!

The Oscar-winning animated movie, Frozen, is inundating my home and family life thanks to two of my kiddos who are obsessed with each of the unique characters in the movie. Wait---I bet if you have young children, especially girls, you're probably going through the same thing, right? 

Frozen is extremely popular~ and it's Queen Elsa in particular who has captured pretty much everyone's fancy. So much so that an Elsa dress costume on Amazon can be bought for anywhere between $400-$900! Crazy, isn't it?! And even in all the big box retail stores, it's difficult to even find an Elsa doll or dress because they sell out within hours of being restocked. Frozen's Queen Elsa is one hot commodity but I'm not putting down a mortgage payment's worth of dough on a costume despite that obvious fact.

Now this is where my sewing skills come in handy~ sorry for all you non-sewing enthusiasts with little girls. I decided I wasn't having any of that nonsense on Amazon and drafted my own Elsa dress for K. I completed it in time for the DVD release later this month~ check it out:

Thanks to Ebay, I was able to find the snowflake iron-on decals and the sequins were already in my craft stash. They make the dress more Elsa-y, right? I was planning to randomly sew sequins on the tulle over skirt but that would've taken me another two weeks worth of late nights and if there's anything I appreciate nowadays, it's a good night's sleep! 

I gotta go sew up three or four more of these Elsa dresses~ it seems nobody else wants to shell out $400-$900 for a costume dress either! =) Thanks for stopping by!