Feature Friday: Holiday Bluezettes + How to turn the add-on into a topper

Ah, the holidays…that lovely time of year when we all make pretty dresses and then wear them twice before relegating them back to the dart recesses of the closet.

Admittedly, I don’t usually make holiday dresses for my daughter and myself each year for exactly that reason.  But when I had the opportunity to feature the Love Notions Bluezette dress (affiliate link), I decided to break my non-sewing December tradition!

The lovely thing about the Bluezette dress (affiliate link) is that it’s simple enough and comfy enough that once the holidays are over, they can go straight into the closet rotation.  Particularly for N, who is certain to have grown out of this dress by the time December rolls around again next year, that is always a prime consideration when I’m choosing a pattern.

N’s dress is the basic sleeved bodice.  I wanted a skater dress look for her to mirror my own dress.  So rather than using the included gathered skirt, I swapped it out for the Skater Skirt (affiliate link).  That modification was easy peasy and the dress went together really nicely.

I chose a forest green velvet for her dress. I knew it would be both festive and look amazing with her hair.  I’ve never worked with velvet before, so I did a bit of googling to figure out how to finish and hem it.  As I learned, velvet requires a hand-stitched finish.  So I spent an evening sitting in the front of the TV hand stitching the hems on her dress.  Luckily it turned out really well and she loves how soft it is!

My dress is the Ladies Bluezette in the sleeveless, banded view with a circle skirt.  I cut the slimmer bodice since I don’t care for a blousy fit.  In this view, the Bluezette is a basic skater dress. Like most skater dresses, it went together in nothing flat!  And I made it even easier on myself by skipping the lining and using the facing pieces as bands.  The finished look is a little more casual, but I don’t mind that at all.

The fabric on this dress was a real b&#$% to work with!  It’s a stretch suede and it brought static cling to a whole new level. I managed to tame it to the point that the dress is wearable through a combination of safety pins on the hem, keeping it on a metal hanger, and liberally applying lotion all over my legs and underwear where the dress was sticking.

But ultimately I like it quite a bit.  The fabric is interesting, the color is good, and I really like the fit and drape of the skirt.  Which I left unhemmed, by the way.  Because I just couldn’t be bothered 🙂

How to make the add-on into a topper:

I also took the free add-on bodice pieces and used them to make myself a coordinating topper!  This hack was so ridiculously easy that it almost feels wrong to call it a “hack.”  To make this topper, I simply extended the center front of the front bodice piece by about 1 inch and cut two front pieces.

I attached the front pieces to the back and then attached the sleeves per the pattern instructions.  To finish the edges, I simply turned them all under and topstitched them down.  I’m not a fast sewist, but I doubt it took me more than an hour from start to finish on this one.

N and I will get to wear our new holiday dresses on at least three occasions this year — to two versions of the Nutcracker ballet, and to Christmas Eve Mass.  I think she’s pretty happy with our “mommy-and-me” dresses too.

And of course little brother just couldn’t be left out of the pictures.  But I can’t object to such a cute little photo bomber!

The Bluezette is on sale today only, so be sure to pick up your copy here (girls) or here (ladies)!

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