I don’t know about your house, but here at mine, my girls are all about this Disney movie called Teen Beach Movie. They know every dance, every word to every song, and can recite most of the lines in the movie.  So, what is the most logical Halloween costume for my older daughter? Why, Lela, of course. Lela is one of the lead characters, and wears two main costumes…one is her pink biker costume, and the other is her red polka-dot halter dress. After a few searches, it appeared that the red halter dress is not for sale anywhere.  Anywhere.  So, what is a mom of a 9 year old girl to do when all her daughter wants to be is this lovely Lela?  Well, make it…of course!

So, off I went to Joanne’s Fabric Store. I found a perfect pattern by McCall’s, M6736 which has several halter styles, we made #C, but without the bottom ruffle. I bought a 100% cotton polka dot fabric, the required notions, and left there with the hope that I would remember how to do this.  Let’s back up a bit…I actually do know how to sew.  My Aunt Janet is an amazing seamstress, and is currently enjoying making beautiful quilts.  Both my mom and grandmother are equally as talented with a needle and thread.  My sister’s and I all learned how to sew at a very young age; we even sewed a lot of our clothes when we were young.  Taking on this project wasn’t too scary, but knowing I didn’t have any back up was a little intimidating (both my mom and Aunt Janet were traveling out of the country for most of September/October).

I spent a few hours each week working on this with both of my daughters.  The 3 of us enjoyed cutting out all the pieces, and I loved watching them at the sewing machine, just as I had done as a young girl.  The white addition to the front was created by me (I only had to rip it out twice) and really was a bit of a trial and error before I got that right.  Last part was the hem and the hook and eye at the top of the zipper.  We were so pleased to complete this dress just hours before our school’s Halloween Carnival.

We did a little beehive/Lela hair-do, put some black eyeliner and mascara on, and she was ready to go.  She looks great, doesn’t she?

Enjoy!