Halloween Stripe Dress a Tutorial

Hey Guys! I recently participated in Kids Clothing Week Challenge over at Elise Marley. I love this challenge because a bulk of Tabitha's clothes for the season get sewn during this time. This time I focused on dresses because that seems to be all Tabitha wants to wear these days. So I oblige and made her some fun dresses, one of which I'm sharing here today.
I Love Halloween, I love the halloween fabric more! haha. I love the bright colors and fanciful prints, Halloween fabric is probably my second favorite fabric (right behind Christmas Fabric.) I am part of a fat quarter exchange that some women in my ward do and I LOVE it! Yay new fabric to play with every month! The fabric for September was Halloween theme and I was so excited to get it. SUPER CUTE Prints! I decided I wanted to use all of them to somehow make something for both girls. I had some Super Cute Halloween fabric in my stash so I knew I could make it work.
So I started with Tabitha's dress. I give to you The Halloween Stipe Dress. This is a fairly easy dress, but feel free to ask any questions you may have and I'll do my best to answer them.

Using the Basic Top Tutorial cut your bodice piece a few inches from the arm pit depending on how long you want the bodice. For a 4t I did 1 1/2 inches. 

Cut 1 piece of thin elastic to be 3 inches long. 

Cut 2 of your bodice pieces from your main fabric and 2 from your lining. Cut one of each on the fold and one of each not on the fold. 

pin elastic to back at opening on one side in a loop with the loop facing the arm holes. 

Sew the elastic to the bodice piece. 

Lay fabric right sides together and sew shoulder seams together and press. 

Repeat for lining. 

Place lining and main fabric right sides together. Sew all the way around leaving the bottom open, making sure you get the elastic from the back sewn over. 

Press seams. 

Using your bodice pattern trace the curve of the armhole from the bottom to where it begins to curve again. Straighten your sleeve out to a point. Length of sleeve for a 4t is 5 inches. Measure your child to decide how long you want it, remember it will have a cuff on the end to make it about an inch and a half longer. 

 The cuff is 2 inches tall by however wide your sleeve pattern is. 

Cut two sleeves with the top of the sleeve pattern on the fold. 

Cut two cuffs. Fold the fabric hog style then again hamburger style. So you have two folds. one on the top and one on the side. Place your cuff pattern in the corner and cut. It will give you two cuffs doubled in length and width. 

Fold your cuff in half hot dog style and press.

Pin your cuff to the bottom of the sleeve right sides together and sew. Press the cuff flat. 

Pin the sleeve to the armhole opening right sides together and sew sleeve to bodice . 

Repeat on other side. 

Fold sleeve in half with right sides together. Starting at the bottom of the bodice sew up the bodice and down the sleeve closing the bodice side and sleeve. 

Now you have your bodice, its time for the skirt. 

I had 5 fat quarters and I cut them into strips that were 2 inches wide (roughly). 

Then sew the strips together till they form a large piece of fabric. 

Fold the skirt fabric in half long way, right sides together,  and sew the two ends together making a tube. 

Gather the skirt and fit it to the bodice. 

Place the top of the skirt upside down and right sides together with the bottom of the bodice and pin them together. 

Sew the skirt to the bodice. 

Depending on how long you want the dress fold the hem up and iron then fold it up and iorn it again and sew. I did 1 inch each fold. 

Sew on a button to the back and your done. 

Tabitha loves her Halloween dress (but is getting sick of taking pictures for me and I had to bribe her with pez.) I hope you enjoy it too! 

Happy Halloween!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN Everyone!! Hope your having an awesomely spooky day!!

Happy Halloween from Little Red Ridding hood, The woodsman and the Big bad wolf after he ate Grandma! 

One more shot of my cute little red ridding hood!

This is Halloween!

Well we didnt spend Halloween in the ER (like last year with morgen) this year so thats a plus! Although we did end up there a few days before (stupid bad back!) Tabitha had her first real Halloween this year and she had a blast! (although I had to bribe her with pasta to get this picture!)

 Tabitha had her first Halloween party with was a sucess. the kids had fun and so did the parents! There were 3 Tinkerbell's there! haha! but they were all so cute!

 tabitha showing us where here nose is.

 Tabitha dancing in the kitchen during her party

 Tabitha and her friend Phoenix giving hugs (they are so cute!)

 Tabitha and I at the ward Trunk or Treat! At first she had no clue what to think about all this, but after a while she was so excited! She loved running up to the cars and putting her bag out! She never actually managed to say "trick or treat" but about half way through she started saying "takooo!" (Thank you) and waiving.

 We tried multiple times to get a good group picture at the party but It was  just not meant to be! We got some good ones of individual kids in each picture. These two are the best of the 6 or 7 I took.

Tabitha had more important things on her mind than a picture, like eating her wing. she also ate a jewl off her shoe that night. This kid will put anything in her mouth!
On Sunday night we went to Downtown safe Trick or Treat, which of course I forgot my camera for and got no pictures! grr! it was ok, but boy was I glad Tabitha and Chad wanted to ride in their strollers! It was so crowded and there were a lot of adults in not appropriate costumes which annoyed me since this is a "family event". Then we went to go see some friends of the family to show off Tabitha which was fun. We went to see morgen's old neighbor and after a bit of being there, she put out her bucket and said "Teet!" so they put the basket of treats infront of her and she took 2 full size candy bars in one hand and another with the other hand! Thats my girl! haha! Over all I think Tabitha's first real Halloween was a sucess!