it was a sewing mama’s dream come true. Em’s dance teacher announced that the holiday recital costume wouldn’t be provided, but instead would be “a festive party dress” of our choice. JACKPOT!
i made the bodice of the oliver + s bubble dress in a 2T, which i also used for her easter dress. instead of the bubble, i attached a circle skirt for maximum twirl (tutorial here by Dana).
i cut it up the back to be able to follow the bubble dress skirt-attach directions as written and to give her room to get into it, and lined the whole dress with cream batiste. i wasn’t sure if she’d have the coordination to really be able to twirl it, but i must have been kidding myself. this girl is a dancer. look at her go!
i actually had to bribe her with mini marshmallows to HOLD STILL so i could try to get a couple detail photos. seems counterintuitive, but it worked for a second.
the red satin made me dizzy to sew, but once it had turned into a dress, it was worth it. i added a pre-made cream satin piping between the bodice and skirt, and cream buttons.
it also doubles as a blanket. isn’t it fun? 🙂
as for the recital, she was mad that they had to dance tap instead of ballet, and got a bit of stage fright (i bet she would have been more into it if it was ballet and she got to twirl and dance on her tiptoes the whole time). she made it on stage with no problems, but she just stood there for most of the song. still adorable to see all the little 3 year olds up there, though. it was held at the grant high school auditorium, of mr. holland’s opus fame! she’s so tiny, my little gal…
i’ve got much more to blog about (O’s first birthday party! the fabled superhero cape tutorial!) so let’s everybody just agree that a few hours need to be added to each day so there’s time for everything we want to get done. i did get my first PR&P project finished too, which is a huge relief! glad to get something made and out of my head.
i’ll try to be back posting more here soon!
skirt as top 
that is one beautiful, twirly dress!
Ooh,cant wait to see what you do….
She is so darling!!! I love some sweet little dancers! And the dress is so pretty, too!
she is the master twirler! that dress is seriously dreamy. nice job on that satin, too – i’m always impressed with your hard-to-sew fabric use!
So lovely! And I love your “initial” stockings!
thank you! we got the stockings from crate and barrel a few years back, but i added the felt initials. 🙂
Eek! That dress is gorgeous! I love the alterations that you made to the pattern to make it perfect for the event…and it does look perfect!
I would be thrilled, too to be able to make something for a recital ~ how fun !
the red dress turned out perfect ~ very twirly !
This is wonderful.. I am absolutely entranced looking at her twirl and just can’t wait to see ballet dancing girls in my house too. I love the idea of adding a circle skirt to this bodice for maximum twirl factor. Wonderful job.
Oh this dress is so, so cute. I adore the piping and white button detail. Your girl is a natural born dancer; I am so impressed with her grace and technique, already at such an early age. Grant is such a fun location! And really seems to be the film makers high school of choice in the Portland area.
Beautiful dress! So sweet and simple, I love it. And what a graceful little dancer!
Perfect little dress for a dancing queen. Love the lining. Where do you find the time?!
Darling dress! And it looks so cute on stage….in other news, I can’t believe you have your first project done. You are one sewing woman!
This is so cute. All of your stuff is soo cute actually. I just found your blog and am a bit obsessed! ha, your sewing skills are amazing!
Don’t know how I missed this! SO ADORABLE!!!