Homemade Princess Belle Costume

Be sure to head over to The Train to Crazy and enter for a chance to WIN a copy of my Halloween Treat Bag pattern!

Saturday was my baby girl's birthday. She is 4 and acts so grown up. We had fun celebrating her and I, of course, had to make her something special for her birthday. The first time I made a birthday outfit for her was 2 years ago...and it was really the first thing I had sewn. Ever. (other than a pair of shorts in home ec in high school which was too long ago to count)

But a special occasion deserves a very special dress. And even though she's never seen the movie Beauty and the Beast, Isa loves Belle right now because of her cameo on a recent episode of Sofia the First. :)

For the most part, I followed the pattern for Look Number 10 from the Five and Ten Designs eBook Volume One. The main changes I made were to the neckline. Isa is a size 6, but I cut the neckline (both front and back) of the pattern down to the 18 month size so it was lower. I also cut the shoulder line a bit narrower and did not add cap sleeves. Instead, I left it sleeveless and then made a standalone little shawl so the dress would look more like Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

The details on this dress are just SO fun! I found a gorgeous pearl trim and added it around the entire dress bodice and skirt. Then I got some sparkly ribbon to use for the dress pick-ups. And, of course, sparkly tulle had to be part of the underskirt. (I used sparkly tulle for half of the tulle with regular yellow tulle under it.)

If I were going to make the dress again I would have cut the tulle layers shorter to begin with. I wanted tea length, but made it a little too long. I tried to trim it up a bit after it was done...but it's impossible to cut straight lines once everything has been gathered. I'd also double the amount of tulle I used to give the skirt more lift. But the pattern is pretty easy to follow and went together faster than I thought it would.

I'm really happy with how it turned out overall and Isa LOVES it! That's all I could ask for. This will be her Halloween costume too...so of course I had to make her a Halloween Treat Bag to match. (There's still time to get your pattern for only $5! Get it now!)

While we were taking pictures of Isa in her dress, she asked if I would take some with her baby too. This was her big birthday gift...a Cabbage Patch Kid baby that came with a crib, stroller, and baby carrier. My daughter loves her babies and treats them like they are real. She is in love with this new little one. And taking the pictures cracked me up. It felt just like a newborn photo shoot! Ha!

And one last picture since I couldn't resist. When we got home from running errands (yes, this crazy girl wore her Belle dress to Home Depot!) she sat on our new front porch. I just love how the back of the dress bustles and just looks so cute.

Are you making any costumes for Halloween this year? The Train to Crazy has a fun series going on all about costumes! And be sure to enter for a chance to win the Halloween Treat Bag pattern while at Andrea's fun site.