A Minnie Mouse Dress

On Monday of this week my baby turned THREE!  I guess that means she isn't really a baby anymore, can I still call her a toddler? Or is she officially a preschooler?  It seems crazy that she has turned three already.  Before I became a mom, I remember hearing parents talk about how fast kids grow up...they would say "you blink and they are grown". And now living it I realize how true that is!  I seems like I was just bringing that tiny, dark haired baby home, and now she is a KID!...who has blonde hair, ha!  But at the same time, it feels like she has always been a part of the family.

This Minnie Mouse inspired dress was one of her birthday presents.  This girl is a serious Minnie fan!  Making her a Minnie dress has been on my mind for a while now...ever since she picked out those yellow shoes sometime last year.  And I am so glad I finally did it because she LOVES this dress (and she will probably outgrow those shoes any day now!)

For the dress I used the Alyss dress pattern from issue 7 of One Thimble with just one little modification.  I think it turned out perfectly, it is exactly what I had envisioned in my head!

The dress pattern has some pretty, flared sleeves, but they didn't fit my Minnie vision.  So I gathered the bottom of the sleeve too and added a bias trim to the hem.  Now they are a perfect match to her Minnie doll!  (there is a really great article on adding bias trim in issue 7 of One Thimble too!)

I sized up and made the dress in a size 3 so my petite girl has plenty of growing room, I anticipate lots of Minnie dress up in our house!  There are 2 options in the dress pattern, one has working buttons on the front and a side zip, the other has decorative buttons and a back zip.  I chose the back zip.

The dress sews up great!  But with the zipper, lined bodice, and sleeves, I would say it is best for intermediate seamstresses.

I made a huge bow and hot glued it to a head band so Em and Minnie can match from head to toe!

I think you can tell from the photos how much she loves the dress!  She told me "this is my favorite thing I never had before!"  I think I will call that a win!  Happy birthday, sweet girl!!