Well, I finally finished it.
DD wanted a MP costume, but I'm not very competent at sewing. I did my best.
The dress:
I bought an old wedding gown and refashioned it. I took off all the appliques , and sewed some sheer fabric onto the skirt. The sleeves were also removed and used as a pattern on the sheer fabric for the sleeves. The neckline was too low, and I really struggled with getting it to look right. I finally glued some tule onto the tule neckline to raise it, but when I added the stand up collar it still didn't look right. Eventually I realized that I could take the collar in and cover the stitches with the white lace and red ribbon. I added some extra thin lace to cover it up more. The red ribbon bow on the collar hid more stitches. I removed the train and used the extra fabric to make a big U and a smaller u shaped fabric for the jabot. I trimmed it with the thin lace and basted it up the middle, pulling the basting to form the ruffle. A friend who knows how to sew, fashioned the belt/ cumberband. Once it was finished, I could see how tight to ruffle the jabots. The jabot was fashioned onto the dress to hide the tulling that I had to glue. 8 or 9 red ribbons were added to the skirt. It looks pretty good, if you don't look too close.
The parasol.
I looked high and low but couldn't find a white umbrella. So I bought a clear plastic umbrella with a white handle at the dollar store. I got some old sheer drapes, and poked a hole in the center. I stuck the spike of the umbrella through the hole, and cut the circle of the umbrella, sewing the white sheer fabric to the plastic. Next, I got some light weight red lining, poked a hole through it and layered it on top. I cut out every other segment of the umbrella, leaving it still attatched at the spike, so the red fabric is still one piece. I sewed the red fabric to the plastic too. I cut white duct tape into thin strips to fasten down the edges, joining the red to the white sections. It looked like piping. Then, I got some white tule fabric, cut a hole in the center of it and poked and sewed it so in essence it is a clear plastic umbrella with 3 layers of sheer fabric on top. I sewed lace around the edge, and put a circle of lace around the spike. If I could, I would have fashioned a white parrot for the handle.
It is light and airy, looks quite good.
The hat.:
I couldn't find a stiff brimmed hat in white, so I bought a beige one and spray painted it white. I had another soft brimmed hat that I glued on top. I circled it with tule glued in place, and glued on red flowers and a few leaves. The tuling reaches down to go under DD's chin, and a tule bow at back finishes it off. The hat was quite simple to make.
The spats:
Finding the right material was a challenge. I tried left over fabric from the train, white plastic table cloth, and other fabric, but settled on a piece of old curtain with white thermal lining. The lining is now on the outside. I held it up to Dd's leg with duct tape to hold it in place when she had her white shoes on to figure out how to do this. The seam in the curtain became the seam down the center, and I folded the fabric around the leg joining it on the inseam with velcro with an adhesive backing. The adhesive didn't do a good job of sticking so I had to sew it by hand, because the backing would gum up the needle after 2 or 3 stitches. So, I used a bottle of goo gone cleaning the needle every few stitches. When I had what I wanted, I reversed it for the other foot. I bought 18 small red buttons, and tucked and stitched 9 buttons onto each spat. They are quite cute.
So, there you have it.
We will be in WDW in January and the first week of Feb. If you see us, you can admire how she looks, but don't look too closely at my handiwork.
DD wanted a MP costume, but I'm not very competent at sewing. I did my best.
The dress:
I bought an old wedding gown and refashioned it. I took off all the appliques , and sewed some sheer fabric onto the skirt. The sleeves were also removed and used as a pattern on the sheer fabric for the sleeves. The neckline was too low, and I really struggled with getting it to look right. I finally glued some tule onto the tule neckline to raise it, but when I added the stand up collar it still didn't look right. Eventually I realized that I could take the collar in and cover the stitches with the white lace and red ribbon. I added some extra thin lace to cover it up more. The red ribbon bow on the collar hid more stitches. I removed the train and used the extra fabric to make a big U and a smaller u shaped fabric for the jabot. I trimmed it with the thin lace and basted it up the middle, pulling the basting to form the ruffle. A friend who knows how to sew, fashioned the belt/ cumberband. Once it was finished, I could see how tight to ruffle the jabots. The jabot was fashioned onto the dress to hide the tulling that I had to glue. 8 or 9 red ribbons were added to the skirt. It looks pretty good, if you don't look too close.
The parasol.
I looked high and low but couldn't find a white umbrella. So I bought a clear plastic umbrella with a white handle at the dollar store. I got some old sheer drapes, and poked a hole in the center. I stuck the spike of the umbrella through the hole, and cut the circle of the umbrella, sewing the white sheer fabric to the plastic. Next, I got some light weight red lining, poked a hole through it and layered it on top. I cut out every other segment of the umbrella, leaving it still attatched at the spike, so the red fabric is still one piece. I sewed the red fabric to the plastic too. I cut white duct tape into thin strips to fasten down the edges, joining the red to the white sections. It looked like piping. Then, I got some white tule fabric, cut a hole in the center of it and poked and sewed it so in essence it is a clear plastic umbrella with 3 layers of sheer fabric on top. I sewed lace around the edge, and put a circle of lace around the spike. If I could, I would have fashioned a white parrot for the handle.
It is light and airy, looks quite good.The hat.:
I couldn't find a stiff brimmed hat in white, so I bought a beige one and spray painted it white. I had another soft brimmed hat that I glued on top. I circled it with tule glued in place, and glued on red flowers and a few leaves. The tuling reaches down to go under DD's chin, and a tule bow at back finishes it off. The hat was quite simple to make.
The spats:
Finding the right material was a challenge. I tried left over fabric from the train, white plastic table cloth, and other fabric, but settled on a piece of old curtain with white thermal lining. The lining is now on the outside. I held it up to Dd's leg with duct tape to hold it in place when she had her white shoes on to figure out how to do this. The seam in the curtain became the seam down the center, and I folded the fabric around the leg joining it on the inseam with velcro with an adhesive backing. The adhesive didn't do a good job of sticking so I had to sew it by hand, because the backing would gum up the needle after 2 or 3 stitches. So, I used a bottle of goo gone cleaning the needle every few stitches. When I had what I wanted, I reversed it for the other foot. I bought 18 small red buttons, and tucked and stitched 9 buttons onto each spat. They are quite cute.
So, there you have it.
We will be in WDW in January and the first week of Feb. If you see us, you can admire how she looks, but don't look too closely at my handiwork.
I'll have to get someone to show me how.
