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A Belle 2-for-1 Halloween Special

 Today, it is my distinct pleasure to debut not one but two Belle costumes. Her blue so-called Village Dress is a project I’ve been wanting to do forever. And her casual outfit from Wreck-it Ralph 2 is pretty cute. I decided pretty early in the Halloween season that I would do both. These two projects bring my Belle costume count to 5 (3 canonical outfits from the movies and 2 alternate universe concepts.) I can’t decide whether I want to continue with Belle looks or if I should move on to Ariel costumes. For Belle outfits, I still need to do her pink dress with the long cape and the green library dress. I do want to do Ariel’s pInk dinner dress at some point. All of these projects were made from fabrics from my stash.


First, I’ll talk about the casual outfit. It’s a pretty simple look, with a sports bra, a shirt, and a pair of leggings. I bought the BFF (Beast Friends Forever) shirt on shopDisney a couple of years ago. It comes down super low in the arms. So I decided to make a sports bra with some scrap knit I found in my stash. This mustard yellow was a t-shirt from the thrift store. For the lining, I used a black scrap from my stash. Simplicity 8632 is a super cute Harley Quinn-themed workout set. This pattern is not for beginners. It’s a bit overcomplicated, but the final look is cute. I found that the size the chart recommended was too big. I suggest making a practice version before using any potentially expensive fabric.

The shiny gold leggings are borrowed from the costume closet at my job at a performing arts center. When I wear this costume again, I’ll make my own. These are a bit small. 


The village dress is made of a shirt, a dress, and an apron. First up was the shirt. I used McCall's 7184. I’m not entirely pleased with this shirt. The pattern went together easily enough. But I thought, from the pattern illustration and the photo, that the collar was more rounded like Belle’s shirt. I’ll be remaking this pattern in a nicer fabric anyway at some time, so I’ll draft a pattern more similar to the animated version.


For the blue dress, I used Simplicity 2539. I didn’t have a ton of fabric, so I had to do view B. I was a bit worried that it would be too short, but thankfully my short stature meant it was the perfect length.
It looks so much like the animation, I am so pleased. And also, I installed the most perfect invisible zipper I have ever done. It really is invisible. 



The apron is a 26”x47” rectangle. I wanted it nice and full, so I made it really wide. It is a bit big. But it will work for now. I couched down some size 5 pearl cotton thread as a decorative accent, and I love the effect. It’s so pretty and delicate.



Overall, I’m so pleased with my newest additions to my Disney costume collection.


Yours in hard work, creativity, and a dash of Pixie Dust


Sarah



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