Cinderella and Belle Princess Dress - Costume Pattern and Tutorial

Continue to the Belle Dress Tutorial

Continue to the Cinderella Dress Tutorial

It's real. You'll notice a few new changes here at Homemade Toast. (1) I am officially a domain owner. Horray! (2) I attempted to re-design. Not what I anticipated, and still working out the kinks - but I am learning and having fun along the way. (3) I'm going CRAFT!

Yup. It's time.

One of the things that I have loved about Homemade Toast is how it has pushed me to try new things, new recipes, new ingredients, new hobbies. Cooking is something that I love to do, and also something that I love to share. (If only I could share the pounds too, can that be a thing?)

I am so excited to take Homemade Toast to the next level, and start sharing even more of what I love. I will still continue to post recipes, but you will also start seeing tutorials for DIY projects and crafts here at the blog (now sans .blogspot!). I hope that this new change will continue to push me to try and make new things, serve as a creative outlet, and hopefully - inspire others to create as well!

So, to kick things off - I thought I would post a tutorial for these cute little Cinderella and Belle dresses.

Meet my loves: Kyah (Cinderella) and Hannah (Belle).

They are sisters, best friends.... and princesses.

Like most little girls they are in love with anything princess. Particularly, princess dresses.

We have such an obsession with princess dresses in our home that Daddy finally instituted "Princess Hour." The girls have one hour to wear whatever princess dress they want, their crowns, their magic wands, their plastic high-heels. Sometimes they even get to wear lipstick and blush.

When the hour is through, the idea is that they will change back into their play clothes and put their princess clothes away. We are trying to get through this phase without tears, but it has yet to be perfected. We're working on it.

So, it came to no surprise that Kyah insisted on being Cinderella for Halloween.

Hannah just wanted to be a princess like her big sister, and I just love her dark skin in yellow - so I subtly convinced her to be Belle. Didn't take much.

I first went to the fabric store - looking for a pattern that I could adjust to what I had in mind. I didn't really find anything I loved, and I wasn't excited about spending $8 on a pattern I didn't like.

So, I decided to make my own.

My number one priority was for the dresses to be comfortable. My little sillies like to dance and sing and wiggle and run. Their dresses needed to be able to do those things, too.

 

 

I thought about using a stretchy knit at first - but I loved the idea of using shirring pieces to add flexibility to the dresses. Knit fabric just doesn't have the same princess appeal as shiny and sparkly fabric does.

Needless to say, the girls LOVE their princess dresses. Although, I think the best reward came when I showed Kyah her dress for the first time. Her eyes lit up. But, before she ran to her new dress - she ran to me, gave me a hug and said "I love it so much Mommy!" Can't beat that.

Halloween is less than 2 weeks away! But there is still time. Promise, your little princess will go nuts over their handmade dress. And, who says they even need it for Halloween? Princess are princess anytime of the year - at our house, most of the year!

Both the Cinderella dress and Belle dress are so different and unique - but they both have one thing in common - the shirred bodice. The shirred bodice is what makes the dresses so comfortable - so my little princess can dance and play just like princesses should.

I love the way the Cinderella dress flows, and how the little hip poofs (yes.) are actually poofy. It adds so much dimension to the dress, and is a distinguishing characteristic of the classic Cinderella dress.

And then there is the Belle dress. I was a little hesitant at first, using so much fabric - but it is surprisingly light weight and so comfy and soft, not to mention those ruffles are to die for on pretty little girl!

These are my first ever tutorials - I am learning and apologize in advance for any mistakes that you may find. If you have any questions about a tutorial or pattern - please comment or contact me directly through the link at the top of the page and I will answer as soon as possible.

Also, please excuse my well-loved cutting mat. If you have a princess in your life, I'm sure you understand. :)

Continue to the Belle Dress Tutorial

Continue to the Cinderella Dress Tutorial