DIY Little Lace Dress

When planning my daughter Indy's last photo shoot before starting Kindergarten, I knew I wanted two things for sure: a fresh flower crown and to make her dress myself.  For her flower crown, I simply followed Tawni's DIY Succulent Crown tutorial using real fresh flowers instead of succulents.  As for her dress, I started by buying fabric that I thought would be pretty and went from there.  I made the dress about an hour before the shoot and it was so simple I thought I should share it as a DIY.

Supplies I Used:

Ivory Thread

1 1/2 yards Ivory Cotton Fabric

2 yards Ivory Lace Fabric

Ivory Zipper

Fabric Scissors

Tape Measure  

Sewing Pins

1. I started by measuring my daughter. She is 4 1/2 years old and very petite so make sure to take your own measurements as well. 

These are her measurements:

• Total length of the dress: 25" long.  (from the top of her chest to her ankles) 
• Total for the top bodice: 4 1/2"  long.
• Total circumference for top bodice: 21" (I decided to make the dress a tube top, so I wanted the bodice very tight.) 
• Total for the lace skirt bottom: 21" long x 45" wide.

2. After taking these measurements I started cutting. I began with the cotton fabric.

For the bodice I needed to cut a piece 4 1/2 L. x 10 1/2" W. I folded the fabric in half and cut 2 pieces at a time.

The ivory fabric I bought was a bit see through so I needed to make the dress double layered. If you are using a darker color or a thicker fabric you can skip to step 4.

3. You will need to cut another 2 pieces. 2 for the front and 2 for the back to make it double layered.  Once you made your first cut in step 2, just lay that piece on the fabric and cut again.

Now you have your front and back for the bodice! 

4.  Next we can cut the fabric for the skirt portion. The skirt is also two layers. The bottom layer is the cotton fabric and the top layer is the lace. I laid the lace fabric on top of the cotton fabric so that I could cut them together.  Now I cut both fabrics together 21" L. x 45" W.

Now that we are done with cutting, We can start sewing!  

5. Let's start with the bodice, If you are doubling up the layers, we need to sew them together individually first. Take 2 of the 4 pieces we cut in the beginning, pin them together and sew along 3 of the 4 sides a 1/4" seam leaving the bottom unsewn. Now turn it right side out. Repeat with the other 2 pieces.
*If you are not doubling up your fabric, start by folding down the top of your 2 pieces of fabric 1/2" and iron. Then sew a 1/4" seam. 

To finish the bodice pin the 2 finished pieces together along the left and right sides and sew together to create a tube.

You can leave the bottom of the bodice unfinished because the lace skirt will be sew on top.  

6. Next we can attached the bodice to the lace skirt. Start by pinning the lace and cotton we cut earlier to the bodice in the back.  I pleated it 1/2" apart to make the dress flow better all the way around. The skirt will start to overlap. This will help the dress close in the back. 

7. Now start sewing the top and bottom together.   

Here you have the sewn bodice!

8. Now we have the zipper, first you need to trim your zipper to the length you want on the dress. I trimmed mine to about 11". Fold your dress inside out and unzip the zipper. (not all the way.. the zipper will come off!) lay the zipper on the dress and cut a straight line down the back of the dress about an inch from the end of the zipper. Now pin your unzipped zipper to the dress and sew.

9. For a little extra cuteness I added a little strip of lace to the front of the bodice.  I didn't want to sew to much on the lace so I sewed it along the sides and a a few stitches in the middle. 

10. Viola! We have a little lace dress. The dress was exactly what I imagined and it looked adorable on Indy!  I hope you enjoyed following along in this tutorial! Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions or need help! Check out our stylized photo shoot featuring this dress. Find me on Instagram under @kristaandleaves or  @needlesandleaves.

DIY Succulent Crown

I'm a huge fan of flower crowns, but as a succulent lover, I've been dreaming of making a succulent crown for ages!  After struggling to find a "DIY Succulent Crown" tutorial online, I decided to just do it myself.  Naturally, I asked my mom to help me figure it out since she has experience working with succulents and wires. (See My Sister's Succulent Wedding.)  I went through my garden and chose some plants that I thought would work before heading over to my mom's.  If you read my mom's Garden Tour post you know she has a wonderful variety of plants, so I ended up using some of hers as well.  After choosing the perfect plants, we gathered our supplies, made some iced coffee, and began our project.

supplies you will need: 

succulents

floral tape

thick floral wire  

thin floral wire

pliers

wire cutters 

scissors

Step 1.  

Use your thicker floral wire to create a circle that fits around your head where you want your crown to sit.  Attach the wires by twisting the ends together and then wrap the circle in floral tape. 

Step 2.  

After cutting the stems of your plants short with your scissors, insert your thin wire into the stem of each plant.

Bend the wire.

Wrap the stem with the end of the wire to strengthen it and secure it to the wire. Because succulents bruise and scar easily, you will want to be careful not to handle them too roughly during this process. 

Step 3. 

Chose a plant to start with. Place it on the wire circle where you want it and wrap its wire around the circle. You can use your pliers to squeeze the wires tightly together and to pinch down the ends. 

Continue choosing plants, placing them on the wire where you like until your circle is full of beautiful plants.  I decided to only do the front half of my crown, but you can do the full thing if you want.  Since I had exposed wires, I wrapped the back half in floral tape once more.

Note: Unlike flowers, some succulent leaves can snap off very easily, so be really careful during this process.

I couldn't be happier with the way my succulent crown turned out!  I'm guessing it will last about a month. (Maybe longer!) Once the plants start to wither or root I will take it apart and plant them back in soil so that they can continue to grow. 

I hope my directions were clear enough, but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask! You can leave a comment here or find me on Instagram under @tawwni or @needlesandleaves. 

Portrait photography by Tayia Strain. (My amazingly talented little sis!) You can find more of her photos at Strain Photography.