Ruffle Fabric T-shirt Dress

I originally was not planning on making my daughter's dress for the Father/Daughter Dance, but when I saw this beauty over at make it and love it  I couldn't resist...it was PERFECT!  So perfect that I wanted to make it exactly like the one she made...I love the gray/turquoise/lime color combination she chose, plus gray is my new favorite color.

That dream was crushed the minute my daughter saw me shopping online for ruffle fabric...I knew it was coming...What is that?  What are you making?  I want to pick it out!  Do they have pink?  I want THAT one.  So I ordered the pink sherbert looking fabric she wanted AND the charcoal gray that I wanted.  I even tried convincing her to let me make the gray dress and I would make her a skirt out of the pink, but she wouldn't budge.  So here it is in PINK :).

I followed the make it and love it tutorial and it was very user friendly with great step by step instructions and pictures!  I have made t-shirt/tank top dresses before, but never anything with a belt/bow or a satin flower so the tutorial was very helpful.  There are a few things that I really like about this dress...  


1.) The top is a t-shirt so it is comfy, which is important if you have a child who doesn't like itchy tags, seams, fabric, or things that are too tight, too loose, etc.  Also, the shirt top means that you don't have to sew a top for the dress...huge bonus for me!  
2.) The fabric on the bottom is ALREADY RUFFLED!!!  This is what sealed the deal for me...I could make a dress using a t-shirt top and because the fabric is all frilly and fancy, it would be formal enough to wear to a dance.  You have to check out www.rufflefabric.com... great selection of ruffle fabric!  An added bonus about the fabric is that it does not have to be hemmed along the bottom...just cut in between the ruffles and go.  
3.) The flower has a snap so it is removable and will not get ruined in the wash...GENIUS.  Even with regular cotton fabric flower embellishments, the flowers never look as pretty after they get washed, so this is a nice design detail.
4.)  The belt is sewn on across the front of the dress so it stays perfectly in place.

And here is the little lady ready to go to the dance!  Luckily, I found a little shrug sweater at Children's Place that matched perfectly, and more importantly, didn't cover up the bow (in the back) and flower.

I guess somewhere down the line I will be posting a creation made out of charcoal gray ruffle fabric...probably something for me :).