Mermaid Costume for JJ

JJ wanted to be a mermaid this year and picked this pattern at the store.  The mermaid fever had long passed by this time and there were only two patterns to choose from.  By looking at the picture on the envelope , I was not thrilled.  I mean, the crown and the top make the whole costume look cheesy.  And let's not forget a mom's dismay when I pictured JJ shivering on an October night with this short sleeve dress.

I picked up this blueish green long sleeve top at Target as replacement for the top.  It was bell shaped and needed a little touch of "sea life".

I cut a piece of rectangle, hemmed the long edges and gathered the center line.  Pinned in place.  Turned the top inside out and sewed the two sides of the shirt in 2" (a few inches below armholes) to make the top fitted.

Turned the top right side out, hand stitched the "bras" in place.  Added a piece of sequence at the center.

Worked on the skirt using the pattern.  Instead of attaching the skirt to the top, I added a waist band to the skirt and had the skirt as one piece (thus, no need to sew in a zipper as the pattern instructed.  sweet!)  I did not want to make a dress just JJ's size and only have her wear it for a day.  Thinking like a frugal mom, I sewed the skirt one size bigger.  Of course, my thrifty spirit was challenged when I fitted JJ into the skirt.   JJ's petite and the skirt was dragging on the floor.  She would be tripping over her skirt before she could walk out the front door.  I folded the "fins" of the skirt under and hand stitched to shorten it.  Looked just as great with the doubled up fins.

Right before heading out, I felt something was still missing from this outfit and quickly sewed a scallop with the remanant and attached it to a hair pin.  

Happy mermaid , relieved mom.

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