{Making of a Princess Dream} DIY Belle's Costume

We watched Disney's latest debut, Beauty and the Beast, in the theater lately and both C and I were captivated by Belle's gorgeous golden gown. So light, so dazzling.

So in attempt to construct a princess dream for my little girl, I gathered my tools and started cutting.

Here's the outcome, took me 3 weeks to complete it - well, I only managed to sew 1 or 2 hours a week, plus the embezzlement really took quite some time.

She's loving the dress. Made me the proudest mom on Earth :D

This is not a complete tutorial (pardon me but that is really extremely time consuming), it shall gives you a pretty good idea what you need and how to to re-create this dress.

The bodice. I used this light cotton for inner lining, need something breathable for our hot weather.

Exploring the effect of the front pleat.

Patience is what it takes. Needle by needle, pleat by pleat.

Almost there. The bottom skirt is actually a dress that I made for C when she was little, it's just perfect to be used as the bottom for the skirt by removing the elastic. Initially I wanted to make the dress longer, but on a second thought, this length is just nice for her without fear of tripping over the long edges.

Attaching the embezzlement was the most tedious part as I am not really good with hand-sewing, but since I can't find the right sparkly ribbon I wanted, I settled with these golden color embezzlement. 

Fit for a princess dress, don't they? ;-) 

C even helped to sew some of them *note: parental guide needed when using needle & thread* 

She was eagerly looking forward to wearing this dress. What can I say? It's totally worth it to see her proud smile and spontaneous dance move right after putting on the dress. I'm pretty sure today will be remembered forever by both of us.. :)

Be happy. Be merry. My Little Bell.

Pssss.. if you enjoy reading the posting on my blog and know a friend or two who may like it too, do help to share / like / link and spread the word, will ya? ;)

Xoxo,

PH



Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

{CNY Special} Cheongsum for my bunny...

It's been a yearly tradition that I will custom made Chinese New Year cloths for my little girl. This Rooster year, has no exception too.

2014

My first attempt with Cheongsum started 3 years ago when I was learning to sew with Google tutorials (yes, Google). Being a total novice, I had only made some baby dresses & accessories, yet was daring enough to try out making Cheongsum. It was obviously amateur work, you may see the grey polkadot Cheongsum here (diy baby cheongsam) or the chuckle and scallop Cheongsum here (mad about cheongsam)

2015

Then, a year later I became bold and was attempting few vintage dresses that I came across while window shopping, or browsing online. I made a total of 3 pieces with my self-made pattern and the square neck red polkadots remain one of my favorites till today. You can see them all 

here (spring dresses for my little bunny)

2016

Came last year, I decided to go hybrid. I made one piece of Cheongsum (with a cuteness overload pink kitty fabric!) and some English dresses which I have pretty much mastered by now (or so I love to think so :)). You may view the handmades here (cny special petite spring dresses) or just as shown below..

2017

Finally, this year. Despite I was tied up with work, I managed to push my lazy bones to produce 2 Cheongsum that i am pretty satisfied with, with high collar and long zipper to easy fitting. My little bunny absolutely loved her new CNY dresses and was proudly parading around. :))

The first Cheongsum. Love the lollipop and candy prints on this fabric. Bought them from US Joanne store years ago and finally put it to good use. This modern print gives an interesting twist to an otherwise ordinary Cheongsum pattern.

I added a candy button on the back of the dress for some extra cuteness. :)

Here's the second dress, using Michael Miller designer fabric combined with silver tutu skirt as bottom. I love using 100% designer cotton as they are soft & comfy even after many washes. I decided to use contrasting grey bias tape and I thought it turns out pretty nice, doesn't it? ;-)

The Accesorries 

Notice the colorful zipper? They give some fun feeling to the dresses. I found the knot buttons for RM10 for 3 pairs at the local sewing supplies store and have successfully used up 2 pairs. Thank goodness I have hoarded lots of fabric and have few yards of reds available. I still have some beautiful Sarah Jane and Micheal Miller fabrics that I am keeping for later use. They are just so adorable that I could not lay my scissors on them. I just took them out of the box, admire, then store them back again. Silly, I know.. But I could not help it. :P

Oh, and if you like to have some handmade buttons with matching fabric, you can buy the manual button maker from daiso for just RM5.30, comes in various sizes and refills.

The Design 

The Cheongsum design was inspired by this knit Cheongsum that Big Guy bought from the store. I used it as a base to trace the pattern and added 2" extra on the sides since I'm using non-stretchable cotton fabric. It is quite easy to make, really, took me about 4 hours to complete each of the dress and each requires about 1 yard of fabric and 1 pack of bias tape.

That's all folks. If you love sewing and is an amateur like me, I encourage you to keep trying and don't feel intimidated. Just start off first with some cheaper fabric and when you have gathered enough confidence (through enough trials),only then move on to your beautiful fabric collection.

All the 9 CNY dresses I've made for the my little C, which is your favorite? :)

Keep calm and keep sewing..

Love,

PH 

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

{Made by PH} Little Lemony Dress

C has been asking me for new dresses and persistently remind me every alternate days to make sure I do not forget.

"I want 2 dresses.. No, 3!"

"I want them in purple, yellow and blue... And pink too!"

"Please, Mommy, please... Where is my new dress?"

"Mommy, you said you will make the dress for me? What took you so long?"

Alright, alright.. I surrendered finally. So here it is, the new lemony dress for my little bubbly (and I know I still "owe" her a couples of dresses...) 

A happy dress for a happy girl. 

She absolutely loves it (and me too). Been dancing in it the entire morning, and the dress blends so well with the garden.. My lemon tree may be still little, but I have full ripe lemons dancing in my garden. Lol.

She loves tending to my plants... and I love watching her.

It's a really simple cutting and easy to wear on as no buttons involved. This is a pattern suitable for newbie in sewing.

I purchased this pattern, Glass Onion Top, months ago from Shwin Designs but had not find time to make it until today. The pattern is available in size 2T-8T (one of the easiest patterns ever, literally!) and I managed to complete the entire dress in 2 hour, from cutting to sewing (excluding ironing if you must know ;-). 

Now that the dress is completed and gardening chores all done, I can sit back and relax... Chilling with a cup of latte while watching the kiddos play in the garden. That's my kind of perfect weekend.

Happy weekend peeps!

Cheers,

PH

{CNY Special} Petite Spring Dresses & Cheongsum

It's Chinese New Year eve... I thought I won't have time to sew this year as I have started new job and time is always on shortage after E started formal schooling. Well, I was wrong. By spending 30 minutes aside every alternate nights, or as and whenever I can, I actually managed to make 3 new spring dresses for my girl.. I'm pretty happy with the outcome as these were all designed with heart and love..

Happy Kitty Dress in Pink

A modern Cheongsum with traditional knot button in sweet pink kitty fabric. It's a premium US designer fabric by Michael Miller that I bought 2 years ago, glad I've given it a new life and it's my little girl's favorite (she likes everything pink and kitty ;)

The Little Roses Dress

This dress is made with 2 fat quarters that was sold as a set. I've kept them in the shelve for the longest time as I could not decide what to make with it then, but when I saw it during the recent spring cleaning, inspiration just hit, hence the birth of this dress. C looks so so sweet in it and it reminds me of my rose garden.

The Little Denim Dress

This soft denim has lots of little stars, just like the clear blue skies full of starlights that we saw while driving along Nepal, New Zealand. I have enough left over if this fabric and intend to make a summer shirt for E... Well, when time allows.

It has a stretchable back that allows C to put it on and off easily. 

That's all the "Made by PH" series this CNY, genuinely designed and made by me and I just hope my little girl will appreciate all these mommy-made when she grows up one day. 

Happy Chinese New Year and happy holiday to all! 

Xoxo,

PH



Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

It's Snow White in the House

Little C has been asking for a Snow White dress ever since the teacher in the kindie introduced them to children fairy tales. 

"Mommy, can I be Snow White for the Halloween party?", she asked me one day.

I had not decided if we are participating in the party this year, but I figured I can still design her a princess dress since she was really eager for one. When she asked she had sparkles in her eyes, like those Manga comic girl. How could I say no to her?

It was my childhood dream to be a Disney princess, in fact I believe it is all girls' dream to be a princess, even just for a day? *smile* so I see no reason not to fulfill her wish.

I checked through my very neatly organized fabric shelves (that will be a new post for another day), and found few fabrics that look perfect to make a Snow White's dress. Luckily I'm a fabric hoarder. *laugh* 

After researching few princess dress patterns, I decided to design my own. Since I don't have any plain red fabric, I substituted with red ribbons instead. 

Here I present to you, Snow White, the simplified version. 
Another Made by PH.

Elastic back and shoulder straps making it easy for C to put on the dress by herself. 

She absolutely loved it...

Twirl and twirl..

Deeply in love with her new dress...

The hair clips I made for her and her little friends last week in gold and dark blue matches her dress perfectly! 

Glad you love it, my sweetie pie... ❤️

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

{Made by PH} Ballerina Princess Dress for little C

I could not quite remember when was the last time I sew, my duo's closets are pretty full with mommy's handmades and I had been really busy with many other things that my poor machine was collecting dust. I just did not had a strong desire nor reason to sew.

But I was sleepless last night, no matter how I tossed and turned I just could not fell asleep. So I decided it's time to visit my little mac. 

The outcome? My little girl has another new dress.

It took me about 2 hours, converting my way-too-skinny singlet top to the bodice, and the chiffon gold fabric into her ballerina skirt. I really love this Royal gold color. Looking stunning under the sun.

Added a small cape to make it princess-like. Little C loves everything princess-ty ever since she watched Frozen. Princess Elsa is her all time favorite.. and I guess millions of little girls' favorite too.

The golden buttons are put to good use finally. I really had no idea what to used them for previously..

Little C is having her very first ballet trial class this week and she is so looking forward to it, she insists to practice dancing with me at home through YouTube's guide (mind you, she is only 3.5yo but has a determination of a 35yo!)

I hope this is a pleasant surprise for her to show how mommy supports her. :)

What you need to replicate this project? The materials are as in pic below, plus some threads, a pair of scissors and 2 buttons to buckle on the cape. 

Finally my skinny top has found a new purpose. :)

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.