A Christmas Princess!

Emboldened by my sewing experiments in Pastels, I decided to make a Christmas frock for my four year old niece. Sensibly, just after Thanksgiving, as a surprise presented on December 12 for Santa Lucia Day – while wearing my Mother Christmas, of course. No pressure!

Previously in making that Mother Christmas Costume, I had cut off the fake fur from two red Halloween costume capes found at Goodwill. Now I again used the Butterick B4319 tunic pattern traced and cut from the bottom half of one cape. This left the upper portion as a new short cape, so I stitched a drawstring channel at the top and added the original fur scraps back around the collar using cumbersome but worthwhile invisible thread. The red tunic was also slightly more time consuming than the inspiring purple mock-ups thanks to using the invisible thread on the golden waist tie – ribbon left over from my Drab to Glam Lampshades with no inch to spare. This material is velvet costume cheap, too, unlined with unfinished seams. However I wanted any seen exterior thread to look somewhat nicer than the devil may care stitches on the play pretend purple frocks. Unfortunately I don't have many gold or yellow materials and notions. Lining the cape with a contrasting golden satin would have been so regal but I didn't have any!

Yellow is currently my niece's favorite color – as well as gold because as she says, “It's yellow, but better.” – and the embellished collar piece was actually a fabric Halloween crown I found clearance at Target for $1.50. Again the invisible thread was critical but by hand delicate to make sure it was secure. The back of the neckline has several pleats like the original purple mock-up adjusted for her size, but the short sleeves were gathered to be puffy for a vaguely historical silhouette. I thought of making a long sleeve with contrasting, epic medieval flair, but that can be an upgrade next year – maybe when I find some gold fabric! For me the piece de resistance was actually the impromptu head roll made with a found foam piece from my cardboard stash, leftover gold scraps from when I made a red and gold dress for my niece's mother twenty years ago, and the last of the reclaimed white fur. Dollar Store gold tubing and sparkle branches from previous projects and some random poinsettia florals with bells made for a festive hot glue finish.

When Mother Christmas finally visited this year (in my costume that is now so big the waist cincher barely held it in place but did I fix it knowing it had gotten too big last year? No.) my niece said she couldn't wear this Christmas dress because it wasn't Christmas yet. I convinced her to try it on in case I needed to fix it and then she was happy to give everyone magical holiday hugs before reading her Christmas storybook. On one hand, the costume is a little big even with the waist tie tightened in the back, which means she has room to grow into it by next Christmas when she might be interested in helping do further adjustments or more accessories and those sleeve embellishments. However, I was surprised that the dress was actually several inches short, with my niece already having grown in the few months between the earlier pretend dresses. Again, rather than cutting into the second red cape for lengthening ruffles now, I will save that until next year when I'll really need it! For a week's worth of work of holiday makes, my niece initially wore the merry ensemble for perhaps ten minutes. It also took me longer to get into my costume than for the time I actually wore it, but her hugs and smiles were worth it.

Having a holiday deadline on projects for others helped me creatively focus, but like the rest of my writing work in the past few months, these subsequent DIY articles have been slow coming. Who wants to read of silly sewing escapades in the 2025 we're facing? Come Christmas at my house, however, my niece was skipping around in her dress and cape, refusing to let go of the banana in her hand to take off the costume and go home. Maybe a basic tunic is tough to some, but anyone can make a wintry cape or holiday head roll. Such whimsy borne of the cheapest, leftover, found materials! I hope maybe we inspire you to find your own little enchanting, imaginative solstice – and to eat more bananas! You need your potassium.

Visit Kbatz Krafts on Instagram and Facebook for more project photos, crafts, and sewing adventures including:

Black and Orange Polka Dots 2.0

Holiday Handprints

Pumpkin Car Makeover

Reversible Red Skirt

“But Debbie...Pastels?”

 

Last year upon donning my Mother Christmas Costume for the second time, I asked my four year old niece if she wanted a holiday costume, too. However, this year when I mentioned it in August (to give me time to make something fancy), she didn't remember the request! Fortunately, she stayed with me a few times this fall, and amid playing dress up with her dolls, she became curious about the sewing machine. So naturally I pulled out a thrifted Butterick B4319 costume tunic pattern along with the purple cotton bolt seen in my Thrift Disappointments video and quickly drafted a mock-up gown.

I told her this would be practice pretend and not perfect, and heehaw, from now on I am referring to all mock-ups as “pretend.” She agreed that just a ye olde nightgown was fine and chose additional blue lace from another thrift grab bag which I used to hide the ugly seams and faded color creases in the fabric. She also spotted some shiny scraps from my older niece's costumes in my ribbon drawer and carried them around until I was ready to sew that sparkle around the collar. After basting she tried on the tunic and I was able to make sleeve adjustments and pleat the neckline to make the opening smaller. This meant there was still a generous amount of room to the tunic but she liked it that way. Next my niece chose a pink scrap that also came from a thrift grab bag (I wouldn't have cutesy materials if they didn't come in grab bags!) and now knowing her waist measurement, it was easy to run the top and bottom through the machine for a quick hem and an elastic channel. She also chose some sort of teal lace for this skirt, and I was able to use other goofy found thread colors I wouldn't normally use because she wanted everything rainbow instead of matching. Out of the mouth of babes!

Having these guidelines on my niece's size, I was able to make more play dresses and accessories even without her present, changing up the style or embellishments from the original tunic pattern. First came another purple dress, this time with a high waist elastic channel and shorter sleeves also gathered with an elastic cuff. I have plenty of elastic and bias tape to practice these techniques, and this made for a more flouncy gathered style dress that I decorated with gasp, pink lace. My niece said this would be her “Tea Party Dress” and she loves to play in these silly outfits. She says they are beautiful in only the way a four year old pronounces “beautiful.” However, I don't expect these to be as durable as real clothes, and I find them mostly...hideous. Not only am I aware of the unlined cheap material, unfinished seams, and fudging to fit hacks via disused supplies; but the pastels and pink or purple and teal with green and loud lace is certainly not my style. Isn't the entire point of sewing for me to be able to make the alternatives I want? Can I learn to practice better sewing from projects littered with mistakes unseen through the eyes of a child?

Thankfully, I'm not interested in making these purple play things to my usual perfection. My niece's size will change, and these goofy dresses can change with her. Longer flouncy sleeves can be added, the neckline gathers can be removed or the back seam opened and panels inserted. Ruffled tiers can create length and none of it has to be the best or color match and any magical patchwork will do. With these small scale frocks, I am using supplies and techniques I wouldn't normally utilize and gaining practice on a day's garment. Using the purple scraps from the bolt, I made a longer skirt with the same ruffles and elastic as well as a pinafore style apron – which I expect my niece will get the most use out of in our future crafting adventures. Something like an easy apron has room to grow and will carry the no fear paint, spills, and memories of what we make!

Is worry over poor fittings and lacking durability holding you back from making youth clothes? Fear not I say! With rapid child growth I'm not sure I want to make proper finished clothes for my niece. Why spend so much time on that when everyone can have fun with ruffles, lace, and....pastels? 🤨

Visit Kbatz Krafts on Instagram and Facebook for more project photos or read more sewing adventures:

Another Halloween Dress

Sewing on a Budget for Search Magazine

5 Skirts from 1 Pattern!

Black and Orange Polka Dots 2.0 🟠⚫🟠

 

When I saw this $6 roll of black and white fabric at Goodwill this summer, I knew it would be perfect for my ongoing quest in all things black and orange polka dot. Yes, orange!

Unlike my first problematic attempt at a black and orange polka dot skirt, there was enough yardage here to use the full pattern seen in my 5 Skirts, 1 Pattern video. This has become my go to reliable skirt shape, and I didn't have to fudge any cuttings that led to mistaken pattern pieces like last time. Obviously however, these dots are white, not orange. I ordered a box of orange Sharpies to color each dot, and yes this certainly took some time spread out over several weekends so my wrists wouldn't hurt. This also took several of the orange Sharpies to do the full skirt fabric and waistband, and I varied the areas as I went so if there was any marker differentiation, it was at least spread across the skirt. I didn't need one entire section to look entirely different like my previously botched skirt! The actual hemming, seams, and pressing all went smoothly. Once you're familiar with a pattern, a large skirt like this can actually be done in less than a week. This was a forgiving lightweight knit that does need a petticoat or underskirt. However, I choose not to line it as that would have been a lot more material better served in another project.

Although the stretchable material meant I could fudge the inside of the waistband, the entire skirt is actually surprisingly heavy and quite warm. That heaviness meant I had to add in some more thrift grab bag binding to reinforce the waistband. After losing weight due to health issues in 2023 (which also stalled much of my DIY projects), I had to reduce my standard waistband measurement plus move over the buttonhole. However, it's still a little large and with the fabric weight hangs down slightly on my hips. This isn't a major problem, but in the future I must learn to better style my blouses or belts with this skirt. This looks great with a corset in medieval fashion as the pattern originally intends! Unfortunately, I'm also aware that perhaps I shouldn't dress in all black, witchy, everyday is Halloween, stand out unusual clothing thanks to the incoming political climate. This skirt has been done for several months, yet it's taken me this long to do this little report. Since the election it's been difficult to write much of anything despite outlet deadlines, much less complete unfinished sewing projects. Hopefully now my intended holiday tasks will spur me to get things done!

Ironically, when I wore this skirt for daylight Halloween adventures, the dots didn't look that orange – meaning this is actually quite a neutral piece. Initially I was unsure of the yardage so I went against making a dress. Separates seemed to make more sense in what could have been an overwhelming pattern, and now I definitely intend to make a matching blouse with the remaining material. Of course, my husband asked what would happen to this fabric once washed, and I expect the orange may require touch ups eventually. He also asked why I didn't just buy black and orange polka dot fabric, but the only such fabric I saw was cotton squares during a brief excursion to Wal-Mart. Despite larger, vivid orange dots, it didn't feel like quality material for the price. I was not willing to short change another attempt with cheap finagling. Since I finally have a twirly black and orange polka dot skirt, now I can also revitalize that first mistaken skirt into a cheeky apron!

You can see more photos on my Kbatz Krafts Instagram and Facebook or follow more sewing adventures:

Mother Christmas Costume

Mending with Black Lace

Another Halloween Dress

How to Make Stuffed Pumpkins

Haulloween 2024! Halloween Haul Video 🎃🛒

 

Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz has a shopping cart full of costumes, accessories, craft supplies, sewing boons, kid's clothes, and more orange and black Halloween thrift finds. Enjoy this show and tell stocking up on October goodies for the whole family! 

Thank you for watching!

For more Sewing Adventures and Halloween DIY photos, follow Kbatz Krafts on Instagram and Facebook or browse our entire Kbatz Kraft Blog Archive. 

Peruse More Video Playlists and Craft Projects: 

Previous Halloween Hauls 

DVD hauls and Video Critiques

Autumn Chandelier for Search Magazine

5 Skirts, 1 Sewing Pattern 

Halloween Mystery Costume