The Josephine (Christmas) Dress

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Well, I know that Christmas is over and the New Year is here, but I wanted to share with you today the Christmas Dress I made for my daughter this year.

When we found out we were having a girl almost 3 years ago, I was a little freaked out. I was always a tom-boy and wasn’t sure how I’d handle relating to a girl when I had always been one of the boys, so to say. Well, it has truly been a blessing to have our little miss Elise. And I’m here to tell you, while she loves the color pink, she is definitely a girl I can relate to and admire.

You see, she refused to have her picture taken until there was a sword in her hand. WARRIOR PRINCESS! YESSSsssssss! Ok, on to the dress. This is yet another FooFooThreads dress. (Click here to see the fancy FooFooThreads dress I made for her Halloween Costume.) You know I’m a former tom-boy when I say, if I could, I would dress her in a FooFooThreads dress every day. I can’t get over the cuteness. But my very favorite part is that while it is beautiful, it is equally practical.

The front looks well fitted, but the back is completely elasticized. This is awesome for several reasons: 1) No closure (zipper, buttons/buttonholes) to sew. 2) Elastic means comfort. What woman doesn’t want to look amazing and be comfortable at the same time ?! 3) She can wear it much longer since there is so much give. In fact, since Halloween, she’s requested to wear her Pretty Pretty Pink Princess dress several times in dress up and it still fits even though it is a size down in the bodice from this dress. 4) It’s SOoooo easy – all you do is hand wind a bobbin with elastic thread and sew rows back and forth at an equal distance. The closer together your rows, the more it gathers and if you need a little more, a shot with a steam iron pulls it up even more. Seriously. Elastic thread in the bobbin, sew, and it magically gathers just.like.that. EASY! As I did for the Halloween dress, I made her size in the bodice, but a size 5 in the length. I wanted it to be ankle length and it’s perfect – she can run around with ease, but it has the formality of the length. Since it’s made from cotton, it’s easy to wash & wear.

(Are you done yet? )  Anyway, here are all the details:

Pattern: Josephine Dress from FooFooThreads

Main Fabric: Christmas Peace by Windham Fabrics

Sash, Red & Gold Ruffle Fabrics: From F&M Fabrics locally

Elastic Thread: Wawak Sewing