Red Party Dress

by | Jan 16, 2017 | Clothing, Girls | 4 comments

I made the girls matching party dresses to wear for Christmas this year.  My mother-in-law gave me a bunch of this red knit with glitter that I knew I wanted to use for the dresses.  Both of my girls love to feel fancy and were so excited about the glitter!  I loved the glitter because it wasn’t over-the-top-glitter.  I had an idea of what I wanted the dresses to look like and then Melissa from Bella Sunshine Designs called for pre-testers for the Alice Dress and it was almost exactly like what I had imagined!

Fitted bodice, box pleats in the skirt, sash/belt around the waist, zipper in the back, completely lined.  The Alice Dress does not have long sleeves like I had imagined.  Cute little cap sleeves are the only sleeve option in the pattern.  I also had not imagined the Peter Pan collar, but decided it would add a nice contrast to the rest of the dress and pull in the black belt.  In the pattern, the collar also has a option for an accent trim.

I passed on the pre-testing because I needed to finish sewing some gifts.  When I finished my gifts and was ready to work on the dresses, Melissa so very kindly let me join in a second round of pretesting so I could use the pattern for my dresses.

And they turned out beautifully!  I lengthened the skirt portion of the dresses because my girls and I prefer longer dresses.  Melissa’s design style has a vintage flair and so her dresses are usually drafted to hit right at the top of the knee.  I also added some tulle to the lining to make the skirts have a bit of poof.  The girls love them and feel comfortable in them because they are completely lined.  They are very high quality dresses-thank you Melissa!

The pattern just released and is now available to purchase.  It makes a great party dress with fancy fabric! We are so happy Melissa let us join in the pre-testing and make these for Christmas!

And they have pockets in the side seams!

These dresses were made with the pre-testing version and are already gorgeous.  Even though I haven’t sewn a dress from the final version of the pattern, I was like a fly on the wall in the testing group-I could read all the chatter and feedback and changes being made to make the pattern even better.  I’ll be sure to write up a full review when I get a chance to sew up the final pattern-probably closer to Easter.

That being said, I recently signed up to be a Bella Sunshine Design affiliate because I have been really impressed with my experiences testing for Melissa and all her patterns I have used.  (Remember the Gabriella Winter Coat?  Nut-Nut is wearing it a second winter and I get compliments on it All The Time.) I mean, she let me join in a pre-testing the week before Christmas when I mentioned I wanted to use her pattern and needed to start sewing.  Such a nice person!  Melissa does not rush releasing patterns-she makes sure they are done well.  I often have a slightly different aesthetic (vintage isn’t my thing-but classic is!) but her patterns are solid and allow for small adjustments (like skirt length) to make just what I am wanting.   if you click here to get to her website and then decide to purchase something, I’ll get a little cut of the pie.  😉