Snow White’s dress

My godchild really wanted a dress like Snow White and I actually had a pretty quick idea what kind of dress I wanted to make.
Of course it had to be done in the colors blue and yellow, with an accent red at the waist. I also definitely wanted puff sleeves and an A-line, flowy skirt.

After some searching, I came across a pattern that actually was very close in design to what I had in mind. It’s another pattern from The Simple Life Company, this time a dress called Pearl. Not a free one this time, but I was happy to spend the money if it were the same quality as the Catalina dress.

And it certainly is!
The PDF pattern comes in 9 different sizes, from 2 years to 12 years, and also includes a full photo tutorial to help you make the dress. You will also find a sew-a-long for this dress on their YouTube channel which includes even more information and help on how to make the dress.
So a really neat and clear pattern. So in my opinion it’s definitely worth the purchase!

And then my search for fabrics started.
Unlike the backup version I wanted to use slightly firmer fabric and in colors closest to Snow White. But due to the current situation, I could not go to a fabric store and had to find my supplies online.
I regularly buy fabrics online and I have not often been disappointed. If a color doesn’t 100% match with what I thought it would be, then I usually don’t really care. But now of course I thought is was really important.
Finally, I settled on a cobalt blue twill cotton and a yellow cotton canvas from Budgetstoffen. The actual colors were exactly as they were shown on the website, so perfect!

And then the fun could begin!
With the clear explanation in the pattern, the bodice and skirt were assembled pretty quickly. I needed more time to find a way to fix the red ribbon on the seam between bodice and skirt, but I ended up just sewing it in the middle with red thread. There is probably a better or more correct way, but this also works.

Sewing the zipper was a bit touch-and-go and had to pull out my stitches a couple of times, but in the end it got sewn in pretty nice.

The sleeves used a technique that I had never used before, namely shirring elastic. At first I thought I should use the elastic for both top and bobbin threads, but luckily I watched some tutorials on YouTube that taught me it was for bobbin threads only. And in the end it really wasn’t difficult.
Inserting the sleeves was a bit more difficult, because they normally had to be gathered at the shoulder, but I preferred even pleats. So I manually pleated while pinning in the sleeve. Unfortunately I did not take a close-up photo of the sleeves, but the result was nice.

The inspiration to sew a lace edge at the bottom of the hem of the skirt was a really great idea. It mimics an underskirt, while also adding an extra romantic accent.
Speaking of romantic, in the end I was still unsure whether I would attach a bow on the red belt or not. I sewed one using red cotton and some scraps from the red ribbon and when I held it to the dress I just HAD to include it.

And tadaaa, here it is, Snow White’s dress. I am very happy with the result 🙂

Cheers,
Charlotte