Flower Girl Bubble Dress (es)

A few months back, one of my good friends sent me a picture of a really cute Taffeta Flower Girl Dress. My first thought was, that's so cute. Followed by, I could totally make that. Well that's exactly the reaction she was looking for. And while I was making one, why not 2, since she has twins.

Sure!! I love this kind of stuff. Plus I was really excited to work with a new style (a bubble dress).

So, I began by analyzing the inspiration dress found here. My first concern was the straps, but the mom said it didn't really matter. Since the dress was for 2 year olds and it was going to be outside, I opted to make a little bit wider strap.

I wanted to work with a pattern I have used and felt comfortable with, you may recognize it as Eliza's Christmas Dress.  

 

I began by cutting out all the pieces in a basic white cotton. This was to be the "lining". Once I had the pieces cut out, I cut the straps a bit smaller then the pattern shows, and I dropped the neckline a little. If you need directions on cutting and assembling patterns, see my previous post entitled "The Christmas Dress".

The next step was to cut the pieces out of the taffeta. For the bodice, I used my lining pieces as the pattern, since I had made changes to the initial pattern. For the skirt pieces, I used the pattern, HOWEVER, for a bubble dress, the idea is that a part of the top layer folds under and attaches to the lining. Therefore, the top layer has to be longer then the bottom. How much longer is up to you, I chose 4 inches, so that there would be roughly a two inch bubble at the bottom. I think this was a good length, given the size of the dress (2T).

Once you have everything cut out, you can assemble the top/bodice as the directions note in the pattern. Begin by sewing the shoulder seams on the lining and then on the top piece. A side note, when you make small clothes like this, it can be difficult to assemble the tiny pieces. I had issue hemming the arm holes. I found on the second one that if you sew the arm holes together first, then sew the seam under the arm (attaching the back to the front) it was easier. I sadly, did not take a picture of this, so if you have questions, please comment on the post, and I will try to explain better. 

So, with the shoulders together, lay them right sides together and sew the neck hole, and the arm holes. Remember, since we didn't sew the underarm/side, the arm "hole" is more like a half circle.

Once these are sewn, flip it wrong sides together and press. I also sewed a top stitch, since the taffeta was slippery and I wanted it to stay. Once it is flipped, now sew the side seam, under the arm. Now you are done with the bodice. Below is a picture of the bodice completed, showing the two layers together.

 

The next step is to assemble the skirt. Begin by sewing the sides seams, and the back seam. Do this for the lining and the top layer separately. Then lay the two pieces together, right sides together and align the bottom edges. I know this sounds backwards, but trust me. Align the bottom edges and sew them. After you flip the wrong sides together, it should look like this. (in the photo, the bottom edge is actually at the top).

 

Now align the top edge and you will see your bubble form.If you did it the other way, and aligned the top edge first and attached it to the bodice, there would be no clean way to sew the bottom seam. Trust me, this is much easier. Here is a picture of the bubble after you flip the skirt. 

Don't sew the top edges together. You are going to work them onto the bodice separately. 

Begin by finding the middle of the bodice and the middle of the skirt. Pin them together. Then pin the side seams of the skirt to the side seams of the bodice. It will look like this. 

 

 You will note the massive amount of fabric between your pins. This is where you will pleat. You can, if you like, gather the material by basting a line and pulling the threads to gather. However, I prefer to pleat it.

So working with one layer at t time, pleat the skirt to the bodice. I would suggest pleating the lining, then sewing that to the bodice, then pleating the top layer and sewing that. Otherwise you will be trying to sew through a lot of layers, with pins, and pleats and there is a lot of room for errors.

Below is a picture of my pleats.

 

After you sew the skirt to the bodice its zipper time! I hate zippers. They are the bane of my sewing existence. But it had to be done. The best way to learn to sew on a zipper is to read the directions that come with it. 

Once the zipper is done, so are you! Here are the two dresses side by side.

  

And the back of one, front of the other. The last thing we will do is attack some silk flowers to the bodice to match the bride's dress. The great thing about that, is it will hide any imperfections in my sewing! 

 

 Total cost was $35 for both dresses. Total time was about 6 hours, although the second one went much faster then the first. Inspiration dresses $59 each, plus tax and shipping= approximately $160. Estimated savings to my friend, $120!