Mini-skirt? Say WHAT? Or Double Trouble Polka Dots

Right after school started, Grace asked for what I thought was a "mini skirt"...  to which my reaction was "over my dead and lifeless body!"  She's four.  She should look four, not twenty-four!  Two days later, I realized that what she'd been asking for was a "Minnie Skirt"  as in, Minnie Mouse.  Fine.  But because we're Georgia Tech fans, red is in short supply in her closet, so she had absolutely nothing to wear with it, so I decided she needed a shirt to go with it, preferably long sleeved because winter was on the way.

Simplicity 1785 was my choice, primarily because it came in the sizes I needed and had the double sleeve that both Joanna and Grace love.  The skirt needed no pattern--it's a simple, gathered skirt with a tulle ruffle on the bottom.

I dug around etsy and found a Minnie Mouse patch, ordered the skirt fabric, and then started looking for polka dot knit.  By the time I found it, Christmas sewing was upon me, so it got put off.... until now.  All things being equal, if I make something for one child, I have to make something for the other, so I found a different Minnie patch with Nikki's name on it.  I realized that Gracie's Minnie outfit was perfect for this week's challenge and doable considering my technical difficulties.  Knits and I are still on a learning curve, and the white that was in my stash was kinda shifty, so I used some knit stay tape to stabilize the seams, including the back.

 I'd admired some "boutique" shirts on etsy with ribbon appliqued on them, but the asking prices were ridiculous.  Since red ribbon with white polka dots is easy enough to come by, I decided that I'd duplicate one on this project! If you're wondering about the "E", well, the world is a scary place, and after a friend of my brother's baby (he was literally, about four months old!) got his identity stolen, I got a tad paranoid and I try not to use the girls real names on the internet.  I've erased the name from the Minnie patch on Nikki's shirt, too, for my paranoia's sake.  The original plan didn't call for the plain, felt Minnie head on the skirt, but it just needed something on the skirt, and what's a Minnie Mouse skirt without Minnie?

And, of course, since they don't have any everyday bows that would go with this outfit, I had to make those, too.  The Minnie head is plain old craft felt and the bows are scraps of 1/8" ribbon.  I finished the whole thing at about 6:45 this morning, and Joanna was running late, so I don't have pictures of Gracie wearing hers yet...  But I've got pictures of Nikki, sans bows.

Despite her usual enthusiasm for hair bows (she doesn't keep them in, but wants to wear 'em!) she refused this morning with all the stubbornness a toddler in the terrible twos can muster. (And Heaven help us, she won't be two for months!)

She threw a bit of a fit when I wanted to take it off so she could take it home not covered in her breakfast yogurt and cheerios.

I like the different mix of textures and dot sizes on this, and hopefully, I'll be able to post pictures of Grace in her big girl version tonight!