Searching // For a good princess dress pattern. My sister-in-law sent Emma a Snow White dress a couple months ago and after being very enthusiastically subjected to almost daily wear by a rambunctious 3-year-old, it’s unfortunately starting to come apart. The tulle is shredding at the bottom of the skirt, and earlier this week the seam between the bodice and skirt ripped open. I’d like to make Emma a replacement with more durable construction and washable fabrics; it won’t look quite as authentic but hopefully she’ll look past that. This Simplicity pattern, which includes both Snow White and Cinderella, looks pretty promising. I’m crossing my fingers that it’s not too complicated, since I don’t really have much garment sewing experience. (Or perhaps I should skip the sewing myself and buy one on Etsy??)
Admiring // The quilt that my friend Jen made for Charlotte. It’s even prettier in person than it looks on her blog. (I’ve been eyeing the Carolyn Friedlander book that she used to make it for a while — it’s going on my Christmas wish list for sure.)
Wearing // New jeans. Look, here’s the thing — I’m still hanging out 15 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight and with the holidays coming up, realistically my goal is just to avoid regaining any pounds through January (at which point I’ll start counting calories, which is the weight-loss method that has worked for me in the past). I didn’t have a single pair of jeans that fit at the moment, so rather than limp through the next several winter months in maternity clothes, I decided to spend the money to buy jeans that fit me right now. And now as I sit here wearing jeans that aren’t digging into my sides or causing muffin top, I have no regrets! Even if they’re too big in a few months (best case scenario), it was worth it.
Counting // Down to my return to work. I can’t believe I only have one more week at home — and with Thanksgiving in the mdidle of it, I know it’s going to go quick.
I like the simplicity of some of those Etsy dresses – they look comfortable! And unless you get a deal on fabric, they aren’t that expensive. My mom made the Cinderella dress from that pattern and it has been a great play dress – years of fun. But she did spend a lot of time and money making it. It has some tight seams in the arms – not super easy, but not horrible. It’s constructed like an adult dress. With a bodice lining, zipper, darts, etc. I love it, but if I were making it I might look for a simpler base dress and then make it look right with the finishing details. I don’t know if it would have gotten as much love though, because the pattern makes something official looking!
I tend to agree that a simpler base dress might be the perfect solution. I saw a couple patterns on Etsy to make something like that — maybe I’ll end up using one of those!
Check out the Candy Castle Princess dress -easily adaptable to any princess style.
Oh wow, that looks fantastic! Thanks for the suggestions!