sew much crafting: Minnie Mouse Feliz Dress

This might just be my favorite sewing project to date. I usually stray away from characters in my sewing, especially for my kiddos. We don't encourage characters at home, and certainly not in clothing...but I made an exception for this dress. My 22 month old LOVES Minnie Mouse, and I love to appease her. :)

I wanted something that screamed Minnie, but wasn't over the top, so I decided to go with a small appliqué. I used my all time favorite dress pattern, the Farbenmix Feliz (single pattern has been discontinued, but you can still get the pattern as part of the book "Sewing Clothes Kids Love" found here.) I used three different polka dot fabrics, in three different sizes--yellow being the smallest, then black, followed by the red. I added 4 rows of 3" ruffles to the back of the Feliz for that extra "wow" factor. I was able to use all three of my machines for this project--sewing matchine, serger (for seams and rolled hems on the ruffles), and my coverstitch (hems). I also used my ruffler foot for the ruffles. The Feliz is such a fun dress to sew--I've made so many now, I could probably do them in my sleep! This is the size 18/24 months with seam allowance added. Normally Cecelia wears a 3T in RTW (ready to wear) clothing, so I debated doing the 3T/4T, but I'm glad I went with the smaller size, as she has plenty of room to grow in it! My favorite part about this dress is that once they outgrow it as a dress, it fits as a tunic, and still looks great! One Feliz lasts us 2-3 seasons!

Once I finished the dress, I just couldn't stop. I made a matching dress for her American Girl Bitty Baby with my scraps, and then set after making a hair bow. My friend Kristen told me about an little tool called the Bowdabra, and let me tell you--you need one! I bought the mini-bowdabra, and it is perfect for making all sorts of bow--including hair bows! I found a yellow pair of flip flops at Old Navy, and added bows to them as well. Now, onto the pics!