Girls-to-toddler 4th of July dress

...I know what you're thinking; it's February. Why am I posting about a 4th of July dress? But when you look at it, you'll understand. It's totally going to be her 4th of July dress.

So, this post would have been a lot better if I would have remembered to take a "Before" picture. And I did remember, but only after I'd cut up the girls' size 16 dress I got from Salvation Army to repurpose for Annabel. So...no before picture. It's still totally worth posting, though. Behold:

See? Fireworks! Totally the 4th. Couldn't resist the cute fabric on this dress. I knew I could fit it to Annabel with some simple alterations.

First, I had to shorten the hem by about 6 inches. The dress had two tiers of ruffles at the bottom (wish I had the before picture!), so this was simple enough. I simply cut it off to just below the first tier, and it fell at just the right length. I then re-hemmed it. Easy as pie.

Then, I had to take it in on both sides. I measured from another dress of hers, and then just laid the dress flat and took off one long strip from either side, cutting through both layers at once. The most important part was the ruched top, so I was very careful with those measurements. But for the rest of the skirt, I didn't work too hard at being overly precise because I knew it would just hang loosely. Then I sewed the two smaller pieces back together, with a simple straight seam up both the sides.

Next up, I had to shorten and reposition the straps. (Aren't those beads adorable?) I just cut the straps out of the front. It was really easy to move them in closer and re-sew them. This fabric is super forgiving in terms of not showing details, so there's no way you can see the stitching. (Though, to hide the stitches, I could have just used matching thread and stitched along the ruching lines. This is what I did with her pink and white dress.)

I was originally hoping not to have to move the straps in the back. But I also needed them several inches shorter, and I didn't want to mess up the beading. My solution was to add 4 extra knots to each strap, which shortened them just enough. You can see the knots in this picture. I like the effect a lot! ...Though in the end, I had to move the straps in the back anyway, because they were too far apart and made a big pucker in between them. So in theory I could have just cut the straps shorter. But I like my knots, so I have no regrets!

And there you have it! For $2 and an hour of labor, I created a dress that's perfect for:

twirling,

dancing,

running blindly,

and lounging!

...And the 4th of July. Major score!!