Alice in the Wonderland Inspired

My wonderful friend Sara of Made by Sara  organized a very special event on her blog - a celebration of 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland. I am among many bloggers participating.


At first I wanted to recreate one of the costumes, but the truth is, I am not a costume maker. It doesn't interest me. I settled on a special occasion dress, but also something she can where anytime. I looked through all my patterns and books and nothing was grabbing my attention, until I came across The Manhattan dress in Sewing Clothes Kids Love book. It's essentially a book full of Farbenmix patterns.  It's not really my cup of tea, the fabrics and the styling are a bit overwhelming for my taste, but I appreciate the design elements. I bought it a few years ago, because I couldn't find a t-shirt pattern anywhere. Things have changed, ha!


The pattern is all sorts of nuts! I omitted the cap sleeves and the collar and still had 31 pieces to cut. Nothing looked like anything. I carefully labeled all the pattern pieces, and  managed to  mess up a few times. Also, the fit on Ania is not the best. I cut size 8 according to her chest measurements, however size 8 is usually quite short on her. She is a very tall 6 year old. And sure enough, the shoulder pieces were way to short and I lengthened them by adding some color blocking.

 We went to a wooded area not far from where we live to take pictures. It was quite and peaceful and we were the only ones there, until a guy rode a bike past us. Hmmm, I thought, good thing he was not a serial killer. LOL. I might have watched too much SCI when it was all the rage.



A magical forest to go with the Alice of Wonderland magical feel.













There was an option of adding elastic in the back, in retrospect I should have done it to make it more fitted. The pattern is listed as "advanced' and I have to agree with that. It's not that difficult to sew and the pattern pieces have all the appropriate notches and markings. However, there are many many curves and many pieces that need to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. One thing that was lacking is there were no clear instructions of how many pattern pieces to cut. It would have been nice if it said something like, "cut 2, one mirrored image."Also the instructions were not very detailed and not every step had an illustration.


What the dress is not lacking is a major twirl factor. Ania loves it, and apparently has been dreaming of a twirly dress for a while. News to me.



To give you an idea how the front looks like. She just stopped spinning, so it bunches in front, but somehow among 300 shots that I took, this is the only close up of the front.













And the back. I have to admit I was pretty stoked when everything matched up so nicely. Yep.





And a collage for good measure. Thank you so much Sara for inviting me to participate, I had a lot of fun.

Check out Sara's blog for beautiful creations by talented bloggers. There is also a fabulous giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I would love if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram.


Monday July 13th ||  Kid Approved  |  Call Ajaire
Tuesday July 14th ||  Sew Country Chick  |  Feathers Flights  |  StraightGrain
Wednesday July 15th ||  Sewpony  | As It Seams  |  Dotta
Thursday July 16th ||  Boy, oh Boy, oh Boy Crafts  |  Brooklyn Pattern Co.  |  Pienkel
Friday July 17th  ||  While She Was Sleeping  |  My Cozy Co. |  Girl Like The Sea
Sunday July 19th ||  Paisley Roots  |  La Inglesita  |  DoGuincho

49 comments

  1. Wooow, 31 pieces! That really is a puzzle! Your pictures really look magical, love the warm light in them.

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  2. Olga~your photos are simply breathtaking! And I love your dress too.

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  3. Beautiful Olga. I am in awe of your gorgeous photos!

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  4. You are so incredible Olga. That sewing is amazing, but the photography is simply incredible! Love everything about these pics!

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  5. Amazing dress! Despite all the work, it turned ou great! And the photos are amazing! The light is so beautiful, it really looks enchanted... she was the perfect Alice!

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  6. I love everything about this creations. Stunning dress, your daughter looks so beautiful in it! also I can't get over your pictures!!! so delicate and magical. Beautiful my friend, every time you blow my mind out.

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  7. Wow Olga, these pictures are amazing!!

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  8. Amazing my dear! The dress is beautiful and super perfect (I'm still in thinking your crazy because of the 31 pieces fact). The photos are incredible, such a magical setting! <3 And Ania is an incredibly beautiful girl! Love it all!

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  9. I have been waiting to see this dress since you posted a teaser on ig and mentioned 31 pieces! You have done an amazing job! The dress sure has a twirl factor. That's how you satisfied your daughter's craving for a twirly dress without knowing she wanted one 😊 and the photos are enchanting!

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  10. Wow, how beautiful! The pictures just make you imagine the wonderland. I love the dress, especially the back with all the curves (must have been indeed quite some work)). And of course every girl wants a twirly dress, it is so much fun :))

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  11. So so incredible! Your photography is out of this world! <3

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  12. The dress is amazing! 31 pieces!? Although the dress is amazing, I must say that the photos are awesome, truly magical!

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  13. Such beautiful pictures, girl, and dress!

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  14. Beautiful! What a complex puzzle dress you challenged! It turned out amazing, and I do feel like she is in "wonderland" in those stunning photos!

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  15. The back of that dress is gorgeous Olga! So many pattern pieces, but the close up lines are lovely.

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  16. The dress is absolutely amazing -- and 31 pieces, wow!! I especially love how the back looks. <3 And your photography...just gorgeous!

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  17. WOW, Olga, the pics are gorgeous! How'd you do the water picture...or don't you give away those secrets LOL
    The dress is so pretty....I love the shoulder pieces.
    Yea, I can see where there were tons of pcs to cut!!
    Well done...it's beautiful and your dd is so pretty!

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    1. Thank you, Kerrie! The water is the wonders of Photoshop. LOL Nothing fancy. :) )

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  18. Beautiful olga. Is Ania in the water? I wasn't sure if it was real or a trick?

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  19. I'm in love even more with the pictures than with the dress. Stunning.

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  20. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!!! What a fun and beautiful dress and the photos are sooooo good! Perfection!

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  21. I think the back and side of the dress is really lovely

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  22. Amazing photos in the water!!

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  23. Wow! The dress and photos are just amazing! I absolutely love how you captured the "magical woodland" feel!

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  24. WOW for your courage (all the pieces!) and WOW for the pictures!

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