The Pinkie Pie Dress

How do you know when your love for My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is a bit out of the norm? Probably about the time you start developing pony-themed fabrics and sewing dresses out of them.

As I've written about before, I have a great fondness for the character Pinkie Pie: her sense of humor, her life philosophy, her pet alligator Gummy, her fashion sense. You may also know that every pony has what's called a "cutie mark" (not as lame as it sounds, I swear) on her flank: a symbol of their special talent. Pinkie's cutie mark is a cluster of blue and yellow balloons, symbolizing her awesome party-throwing skills and her ability to make anyone smile.

I've been learning more about Photoshop and Spoonflower, so I decided to put my skills to the test with a Pinkie Pie-themed fabric. I had it printed on Spoonflower's new cotton and silk blend, which is absolutely scrumptious. I pre-washed it, and it came out with the most fabulous hand and sheen. It's very soft, with a nice drape. Update: I just made this fabric for sale on Spoonflower; you can order it here!

The top half of the dress is my Wiggle Dress pattern from my book (here's where I first showed it off). I shortened it to the waist so I could add a full skirt, and also changed the sleeve. The original has gussets under the arm for a close fit, but I wanted more of a kimono/dolman look with this dress so I made some pattern changes. (I'm planning a tutorial on this, so hopefully you're interested!)

The skirt is a rectangle that I added 3 side pleats to, lining them up with the seams and darts on the bodice. Of course, it needed pockets as well. 

Construction notes! I lined the bodice with white cotton batiste, sewing the facings to the lining (here's a link to this method). I like a cotton lining on a bodice, it just feels comfortable to me.

The skirt is underlined in white silk crepe de chine, which helps support the pleats and the drape of the skirt. Here's the hem, finished with seam binding and stitched by hand to the underlining.

I'm glad I got that out of my system: it (hopefully) negates the need for any more MLP-themed garments!

P.S. My hair is currently a color I'm calling "Atomic Magenta." It's Joico Magenta and Special Effects Atomic Pink, done in two separate processes. I think Pinkie Pie would approve.