Burda 9648 dress

I mentioned that I was planning to make a Princess Merida dress for Myra for Christmas. Myra told me that she wants the blue dress that Merida wears in the scene in which she is presented to her suitors.

Since there isn't a commercial Merida costume pattern yet available, and the likelihood is that the more popular green dress will be the one featured anyway, I was on my own there. I also want Myra to be comfortable in her gown - Merida is heavily corseted - so her dress will be made of panne velvet with accent pieces of gold mesh knit. Of course, first I needed a pattern, so I hunted through the stash for a simple, flared dress that I could alter to suit this look. I came up with Burda 9648, which has the shape I wanted.

I made it up in a polka dot jersey for Myra to try out. Since the final dress will be a gift, she doesn't know it is eventually going to be a Merida dress, so I didn't lengthen it, but I did alter the neckline and lengthen the sleeves to try those out.

For the neckline, I just squared it off in front and finished it with a mitered band. I made the band quite narrow, but I think I may widen it just a teeny bit in the final dress.

I'm very pleased with my alterations so far and with the overall fit of the dress. Myra often requires a petite alteration above the bust (like mother, like daughter), but this fit her quite well as drafted.

Despite the fact that this is a Minnie Mouse dress, my little Merida is still shooting arrows at every opportunity. Looks like her reach is comfortable.

It twirls well, too. Next I need to decide how I'm going to do the gold accents. The mesh I'm using is fairly sheer, so I'm thinking that I will applique the belt components onto the skirt, rather than piece them. A separate belt would be more authentic, but she'd just lose it. The neckline will be banded in the gold mesh, and I'll finish the hem with a deep gold band, just like Merida's. Her's is heavily decorated with braid and beading, but I don't think that will be practical for a 4 year old, so Myra's will be plain gold.