Becoming 'Belle'

A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders... the Halloween costume is finished!  I am so happy with how it turned out!  It was not the easiest time I've had, seeing as my girl is so skinny I had to do quite a bit of tailoring.  It was my first time using a McCalls pattern and it was a little more complicated than Simplicity patterns.  The only problem was the sleeve.  I couldn't figure it out, so I scrapped it and made my own.  The pattern didn't have the second row of ruffles or the shawl around the top, but I've seen a lot Belle lately (we got the movie) and I thought it made it look more like the 'real' dress.

I made Audrey try it on and be my mannequin while I did the ruffling and pinned the hem.  It was a lot for a three-year-old to do.  But the pay off came when I had been finished for about ten minutes.  She had this gleam in her eye as she studied it (ala Project Runway) and said "It just needs one more thing."  Then she proceeded to pick out necklaces and bracelets to go with it for the next 20 minutes.  It made all the hard work worth it!

Bonus:  I got to use my new serger!  It's really fast and it scares me a little.