Re: Cinderella, Prince Charming, Fairy Godmother
First thing is first... I've never created my own pattern pieces for an ENTIRE costume at least not yet. I usually start with a pattern and then change the pattern pieces or add some new pieces to get the look I want.
For the Cinderella dress I stated with this McCall's Pattern.
I'm really good at working with pictures in my head of what I want he end result to look like. If your not make sure to draw it out. You don't have to be an artist but you need a goal for your end result.
Deciding on fabric. I made a Cinderella costume for my daughter when she was two. I used stretch velvet. (velvet help hide imperfections in my design) This time I wanted something a little more challenging but can still stretch because she is 5 and doesn't treat a ball gown with the grace it would deserve. So i need to make sure the dress will move with her. I also wanted little bolder color vs powder blue. I chose Stretch Satin and Sparkle Organza for the skirt.
First I cut out all the pieces for the bodice. Then trace them onto another paper or I find interfacing works really well to create pattern pieces. This time I recently had packages delivered from amazon and the boxes were stuffed large sheets of brown paper. I iron the paper and reused it
Once you trace the pieces your draw your adjustments on the paper. In my case, I wanted more of a "V" in the front, and cap sleeves. With the cap sleeves I will also have to some sort of straps to keep the dress up because she has no bust. I've decided on a sing strap around the neck.
This is shot of the original pieces next to my altered pieces.
For the cap sleeve patterns I measured out how wide I needed to make them on my daughter. With seam allowance 8 inches. I new I wanted the width of the thickest part 2 1/2 inches. So I drew a 3 1/4 inch line down the center of the 8 inch line. Then a crescent moon shape around the bottom to connect the lines. Make sense?
I cut out two sets once is my fashion side and once is my lining. I sewed them together and this where I'm at
(ps the first bodice I made came out way to short. Had to scrap it and start over! At first you don't succeed try try again!)