Belle DIY Costume

For last Halloween, my daughter wanted to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She was 2 1/2 at the time, but I made it to size for a 3 year old so that we would have it for some time.

I used Burda pattern 2480 for this dress. I needed to change the sleeves to have the off the shoulder look like in the movie. I also wanted to take up the first layer to look more ruffled like the original. This was my first princess dress so it ended up being a little overwhelming. But it was definitely some good practice!

I love satin, it's soft and feels good inside, so I choose a beautiful yellow satin for the dress. I used the same color for both layers but the lower skirt had sparkles in the satin. I got the flowers off of a hand-me-down dress and she loved the pink touch. I followed the pattern except for the overlay piece and the overskirt.

For the off the shoulder sleeve, cut a piece that will fit all the way around the dress with a little slack. For my 3 year old, the fabric was cut 31" long by 7" wide. Fold it in half lengthways with right sides together and stitch it. Then turn it inside out and flatten it. It should be about 3" wide once completed. Gather the center and attach to the dress with the flower covering the gathered stitches. Then attach it to the back on either side of the zipper.

For the skirt to have the ruffled look, on the overskirt, sew a gathering stitch down the center of the skirt, on both sides where the back meets the front and on the back, under the zipper. Gather the fabric at each point and curl in under. Hand stitch through the gathered fabric to have hold it's position. Then add the flowers at the top of the gathering.

Here is the completed dress: