Holiday Party Dress

I made this for my 11-year old daughter to wear to our holiday party. For those who have tween daughters, it can be a difficult time to find dresses that aren't too cutesie childish, but aren't too hoochie either!  This was my solution.

This started out as two adult sized tops.  One was a silvery gray angora blend sweater that I fulled (aka felted) in the washer,  and a the other was black velour pullover.   

I began by cutting a band off the bottom of the angora sweater, which I later used at the bottom of the skirt to give a slight "bubble" effect.

Because my daughter only wears a size 10-12, I needed to take in the sweater a little.  I used my serger to stitch in one inch on each side of the sweater.  I also took in the sleeves just a bit.

I cut the torso portion of the black velour top off to use as the skirt portion of the dress.  I attached it to the sweater using the serger, pulling tight to give a lettuce edge.  I left this serged seam on the outside of the dress.

I then attached the bottom band of the sweater to the skirt following the same procedure.  I used leftover pieces of the velour to make three roses that I hand stitched onto the front of the dress near the shoulder.  Voila!  Instant party dress that is totally unique.