A little reconstruction

I have been sewing quite a bit of my daughter's clothes lately, trying to play catch-up and get some dressier items ready for fall/winter and the upcoming holiday season. That said I tried a little experimentation on an Ottobre 2008 pattern. I really loved the top of it, especially the poufy sleeves and wanted to make it into a twirl dress.

So I took the shirt pattern, chopped off the bottom half and added a tiered twirl skirt to it instead. I like the result. Sleeves look a little long, but I think that's because she had her hands pulled up into the sleeves. The pattern called for shirring on the bodice, I added that but omitted the rows of ruffles right next to the button band. I knew she wouldn't go for those.
This was supposed to be the test dress but my daughter doesn't love this design enough to warrant a redo in the Tina Givens fabric I had originally planned for it, so on to plan B for that one. Still, I love how it turned out and despite her opinion, I happen to think this is a really lovely dress on her. The buttons are vintage faux pearl (aka lucite) ones I snagged from my Mom's stash (thanks again Mom). The fabric is Michael Miller's peppermint damask. I added a matching headband 'cause those are fun to make, so why not.