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!

Results of My Recent Sewing Frenzy- Part 2

As promised, here's part two of my recent sewing frenzy. I'd had too long of a creative dry spell- can you tell? Make sure to check out part one of my sewing frenzy here. Lots of adorable girly outfits all inspired by my beautiful nieces and of course, my daughter.

I made this dress for K as a Valentine's Day gift. She is obsessed with hearts and the heart printed knit top is adorable without a complete pink overload.

The tulle overskirt is layered above a mint linen underskirt. It gives it a romantic, floaty feel. I created the lace flower brooch by gathering two different lace trims and layering the smaller one over the larger. Then I simply glued on a piece of felt and a pin back so that it can be removed when the dress goes in the wash. 

These lilac dress/tunics are beautiful but K did not like them at all! I really wonder what she sees when she looks at them. Hmm...the mind of a 5-year old! Anyway- I thought they were great since I designed them myself but I think I made a mistake giving her the heart dress first before showing her these two beauties. 

I created these two in a size 4/5 but will now have to sell them since she refuses to wear them. Pooey! I always feel like the time and materials go to waste when the kids refuse to wear what I make but I guess I could just chalk it up to more sewing experience under my belt, right?

They'd be great layered over leggings, wouldn't they? Let me know if you'd want them. I'm going to hold onto them in case K changes her mind as she is sometimes wont to do. Seriously- girls change their minds more often than they change clothes, right? So- I may yet get to see her in one of these come spring, at least I'm hoping anyway!