Alice in Wonderland

The story of Alice in Wonderland is turning 150 this year. Lovely Sara from Made by Sara had a brilliant idea to celebrate this event and invited a few sewing bloggers to create something - anything - inspired by this wonderful story.

I think in images. Once I am given a challenge, a series of images start flicking through my mind until a right image kind of pops out from among the rest. This challenge was no different. It felt like before I knew it I had four images of things I could make shape up in my imagination, and let me assure you choosing one was not easy!

While she was sleeping, I made an Alice in Wonderland inspired dress for my daughter.


OK, I can practically see a few eyebrows raised wondering how this dress could possibly be inspired by the story. Nevertheless it is!

The story of Alice in Wonderland has become classic, it will never lose it's appeal. It really is timeless. I chose the Tiny Mice Dress pattern by Puperita for this project because of its classic, timeless feel. I have already used this pattern to make a dress for my little niece.


The pattern has options for short or long sleeves. The instructions show how to fully line the dress. I decided to only line the bodice, so I had to change the construction method which was very easy to do.

My daughter is tall and slim so I cut size 4 with size 5 length bodice, and size 4 with size 6 length skirt. I also lengthened the sleeves a little. I absolutely love the way this dress fits her!


While the story of adventurous Alice is old, each new generation of readers falls in love with it. So old and new were my two other clues. For this dress, I combined vintage printed cotton and new denim chambray, both purchased from a fabulous local fabric shop House of Cloth.


It took me just about forever to decide if I wanted to keep the original buttons and loops closure on the back of the dress or use a zipper instead. While I had a green zipper that matched the roses on the dress perfectly I decided to look through my buttons. I am so glad I did as I came across two vintage (old, yeah?) buttons that I felt were perfect for this project.


The print and the colours of this dress were also inspired by the story. Remember how poor gardeners tried to paint white roses? Ta-da! There are roses (among other flowers) printed on this gorgeous vintage fabric. Well, yeah, I can see they are green, but they are still roses! Besides, my daughter has been practically begging me to make her a dress out of this fabric, so let's just roll with it, OK ;)


I think that many people imagine Alice wearing a blue dress, so I wanted to incorporate a little blue somehow. While the fact that R approved pink fabric for the bodice did not come as a surprise, her reaction to my offer to use dark denim chambray for the skirt was most astonishing! She loved it! Usually in R's opinion dark blue is 'boring'. You see, this fabric has the cutest selvage and R wanted it to be seen. I was not sure if cutting fabric cross grain would affect the overall look of the dress, so I offered her a compromise...


Fancy stitches to the rescue! My sewing machine has a number of flower motifs and this is what my young assistant chose. I think I should use fancy stitches more often! I absolutely love the effect they added to this dress.

So, this is R's new Alice in Wonderland inspired dress. When I showed it to her she said, "It is awesome!"

What do you think?


Please visit other participants of this wonderful series to see how the story of Alice inspired them!

Monday July 13th ||  Kid Approved  |  Call Ajaire
Tuesday July 14th ||  Sew Country Chick  |  Feathers Flights  |  StraightGrain
Wednesday July 15th ||  Sewpony  | As It Seams  |  Dotta
Thursday July 16th ||  Boy, oh Boy, oh Boy Crafts  |  Brooklyn Pattern Co.  |  Pienkel
Friday July 17th  ||  While She Was Sleeping  |  My Cozy Co. |  Girl Like The Sea
Sunday July 19th ||  Paisley Roots  |  La Inglesita  |  DoGuincho

Sara also put together a wonderful giveaway that runs 13-25 July. Two lucky winners will receive seven patterns each!

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23 comments

  1. Unknown17 July 2015 at 17:20

    I totally agree with her, it is awesome! :) I love the playful shape of the dress and your fabric mix is perfect!

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  2. Mie Brindle17 July 2015 at 21:50

    That is SUCH a beautiful dress. WOW!! The fabrics and colors are amazing and that hem detail....swoon!! And your daughter is beautiful! Way to go!

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    1. Jenya @ While she was sleeping17 July 2015 at 23:06

      Thank you Mie. I was rather unsure about the decorative hemline before I sewed it. Once it was finished I loved it :)

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  3. Wen from What's Mummy Up To17 July 2015 at 22:40

    My girls are always admiring the fancy stitches in my machine too. They look great in this dress ... Totally inspired me to give them a go.

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    1. Jenya @ While she was sleeping17 July 2015 at 23:05

      I only used fancy stitch once before. Seriously, I have a ton of options on my machine! I was a little worried that a flower hemline may end up looking 'cheap'. I still decided to give it a go. After all, there is always a seam ripper ;) Once I finished I was very pleased with it :)

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  4. Ajaire18 July 2015 at 00:05

    I adore that stitching along the hem of the denim. It's beautiful!

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    1. Jenya @ While she was sleeping19 July 2015 at 00:08

      Thank you very much! I will definitely be fancying more denim up in the future ;)

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  5. Annie18 July 2015 at 06:22

    That is a cute dress! I love how everyone is using inspirations but not making costumes. And this dress is so cute and very wearable. The decorative stitches is beautiful and just the perfect touch!

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    1. Jenya @ While she was sleeping19 July 2015 at 00:14

      Thank you Annie. Your Alice inspired dress for Momo was awesome! While I admire dress ups made by someone else, I stick to 'boring' everyday outfits. I am trying to sew a little ahead of time and make something my daughter can wear now as well as during spring when I might be too pre-occupied with a new little person to sew for my big girl.

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  6. Olga Becker @ Coffee+Thread18 July 2015 at 09:57

    The dress is so beautiful and your daughter is striking! I agree, fancy stitches for hemming are fun!

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    1. Jenya @ While she was sleeping19 July 2015 at 00:20

      Thank you Olga :) I was so pleased she loved the dress. I was a little worried she would reject it, with the fancy stitches and all. What if she starts liking blue again? Oh that would have been nice :)

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  7. Pam @Threading My Way18 July 2015 at 22:22

    I think the dress is awesome, too, Jenya!!! I love your machine embroidery on the denim. I've done it a few times now and am always happy with the result.

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    1. Jenya @ While she was sleeping19 July 2015 at 00:22

      Thank you Pam. I love the way the embroidery looks on denim! Definitely more fun than my original idea (just a pink straight line haha).

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  8. Renee // nearest the pin19 July 2015 at 16:02

    Such a fun interpretation Jenya. I'm sure LM will get heaps of wear out of this lovely dress :)

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    1. Jenya @ While she was sleeping19 July 2015 at 22:03

      Thank you Renee. This dress has already been washed and ready to be worn again :D

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  9. inesmelo20 July 2015 at 01:15

    Love this dress Jenya! The fabrics really look great together and your daughter is beautiful! <3 Loved your interpetation on the theme.

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    1. Jenya @ While she was sleeping26 July 2015 at 13:22

      Thank you Ines. Nothing obvious for an Alice inspired outfit here ;)

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  10. Anonymous20 July 2015 at 01:25

    Jenya! This dress is so lovely and your daughter look amazing. The mix of the denim and that floral fabric is so good! also the machine fancy stitch is great. My machine have some, I should try them some day.

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    1. Jenya @ While she was sleeping26 July 2015 at 13:24

      Thank you very much :) Oh I would sew just about anything in denim, I absolutely love denim! and vintage fabrics. I absolutely love vintage fabrics too! What a perfect excuse to use both at the same time ;)

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  11. Elizabeth23 July 2015 at 13:41

    What a sweet dress! And I especially love the final picture!

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    1. Jenya @ While she was sleeping26 July 2015 at 13:26

      Thank you very much :) That last pic has a bit of a story behind it. You see. my daughter is not the most agreeable model. That's what she did when I asked her to show me the front of the dress! In being a little rebellious model she looked so cute I just kept on clocking the camera and ended up with a few shots I would have never dreamed of staging, ever!

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  12. Unknown31 July 2015 at 03:36

    Love this dress! I've never seen this pattern company but I love the silhouette of the dress and what you did with it. Really well done!

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