Emma's Nutcracker Suite Outfit

One of my fondest childhood memories of Christmas surrounds the Nutcracker Suite story. I took ballet for several years and it was my passion. One year I tried out for a role for The Nutcracker in the Tulsa Ballet. It was an all day affair with hundreds of other little girls trying out as well and I was so devastated that I did not make a role. However, the experience did not spoil my love for the Nutcracker! This Christmas season I was inspired to make Emma a Nutcracker outfit so I started to put all the details together. My favorite sewing patterns are from Ellie Inspired because of the style, consistent fit and the designer is just the sweetest person! I was determined to use a pattern from my Ellie Inspired collection. I chose the Beautiful Dreamer pattern because of it's beautiful square neckline and it's great potential to transform it into what I was envisioning.

Picking out the fabric was next on my list. I wanted to use white, but since I wanted to use red piping I needed a fabric that was thicker than broadcloth. Ended up finding a medium weight white fabric with silver metallic 'glitter' throughout. Very beautiful and thick enough, yet not too heavy. Red Kona was used for the sash and piping which I already had on hand.

After spending many hours searching for embroidery designs online I finally found an adorable fill-in set! There wasn't enough space on the front skirt to even use all of the ones in the set. The embroidery took several hours and literally spent all day on the machine while taking care of everything else.

There were a couple of modifications to the Beautiful Dreamer pattern to shape it into the outfit I desired. I wanted a more fitted looking bodice and a shorter skirt to resemble more of the traditional ballet tutu shape than a comfy night gown. Adding a skirt lining with tulle sewn along the bottom gave it the built in petti-skirt to give it body and help show off the embroidery designs a bit better as well. Piping was made with red kona which lined the waist, neckline and the center bodice to create a rectangle center where a single "E" monogram was stitched out in a script font. I felt the elaborate top would be best paired with simple leggings. The black leggings are from the free pattern in the Ellie Inspired Facebook group.

I don't have pictures of Emma in the outfit yet. We are in the middle of a move to our new house so it has been quite hectic around here. I wanted to go ahead and share photos though. Obviously, the outfit was a labor of love, but it was completely worth it!



   
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