Many little girls dream of being a princess with a beautiful pink satin, pearl-encrusted dress. Create a princess dress for your little girl's dress-up playtime box or as a Halloween costume she will adore. The assembly of this dress is similar to that of a pillowcase dress and it's easy to sew. The abundance of "pearls" are created with pearl-colored dimensional fabric paint, so there is no need to sew on pearls that might get pulled off during play.
Instructions
1. Measure your little princess from her shoulders to her ankles. Add 4 inches to this total for the length of your dress. Measure around the hips and add 6 inches. Divide this measurement in half for the width of your princess dress. These measurements will allow for growth and for regular clothes to be worn underneath, if desired. Cut two pieces of pink satin fabric using the width and length measurements. For best results, use pinking shears to prevent the fabric from fraying. Cut one piece of satin 3 inches wide by 36 inches long for the belt.
2. Place the two large princess dress pieces together with the right sides facing each other. Determine which short end will be the top of the dress. Pin both long sides together, starting 10 inches from the top edge. Sew a 1/2 inch seam allowance along each pinned long side. Do not sew the top 10 inches on each side; these are the arm openings. Iron the seams open. Iron the raw 10 inches to the wrong side of the fabric a 1/4 inch. Fold again another 1/4 inch and pin. Sew the 10 inch pinned edges separately to hem.
3. Fold the edges at the top of the dress to the wrong side a 1/2 inch and iron. Fold again an inch, iron and pin. Top stitch both these casings close to the pinned edge. Fold the bottom edge of the princess dress to the wrong side 1 inch and press. Fold again 2 inches, iron and pin. Top stitch the hem close to the pinned edge.
4. Fold the long satin belt piece in half lengthwise with the right sides together and pin. Sew the short ends and long pinned edge using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Leave a 3 inch opening on the long side for turning. Clip the corners and turn right side out. Press the belt flat. Hand stitch the opening closed.
5. Lay the princess dress flat on a work table and insert sheets of wax paper between the front and the back. Apply small dots of pearl-colored dimensional paint, randomly, all over one side of the dress. Squeeze a small dot and lift. The dots will resemble miniature chocolate chips and will give the illusion of pearls. Let the paint dry well for several hours or overnight. Turn the princess dress over and repeat for the opposite side of the dress.
6. Cut two pieces of off-white cording 20 inches long. Attach a safety pin to the end of one cord and thread it through one of the casings at the top of the dress. Repeat for the remaining cord and the other casing. Pull an even amount of cord from each side of the casings and place the princess dress on the child. Gather the neckline on the cording. Adjust the neckline and tie the front and back cording ends together on each shoulder. Tie the belt around the waist of the princess dress.
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