And we're DONE!

Way back - probably a few years ago, My older daughters & I talked. We thought it would be really cute to see the two of them compete with a tap duo (in dance) They are both AWESOME Tappers (I'm their mom I have to say that ;) ) We also talked about Mom (me) making their costumes. I mindlessly agreed - Because in my mind - I had ideas. Sometimes those ideas are just that and there they sit - forever.

However - this year became - THE YEAR. I wasn't ready - well I kinda was. But at the same time I was petrified of the thought of making them.  What if I couldn't? What if they looked AWFUL!? These were the days I was my own worst enemy.

I even went as far as to see if I could find them a costume. But everything I found was cheesy and boring. We wanted FUN and a little more "Grown-up". Therefore, it fell back on MOM to come up with something. Easier said than done.

I had ideas. I sketched (HAHA - IF only you knew how back I draw) I tossed ideas and plans out at them. Most of the time I got blank stares back. When they did respond - they were like energizer bunnies.

We decided on Plan A. Peasant tops (cropped) and booty shorts. The younger of the two requested ruffles. OK great - Ruffles it is.

I ordered fabric - Purple for one & red for the other - they are "Dueling Tappers" so we wanted a "Coordinating Difference"

While I waited - I changed my mind on the top. If you scroll down - I already blogged about it. SO we'll just keep it to the pants here. ...

When the fabric came - I figured NO SWEAT! I have made dance shorts before - they fit great and are easy! And that's when it all started to fall apart. :(

Option 1: FAIL: When ordering the fabric I picked out a different one than I initially got a sample for. OOPS - It was thinner. I did pair one and they were too small. Scrapped that and made a bigger pair. Well - These pulled in oh not so nice ways. That was the end of that. MY daughters started being worried that they would have nothing or it would look awful.  That's when we went to option #2

Option #2 - FAIL! We decided to buy some jean shorts (Found a matching pair on clearance for $5 each - I thought WHAT A DEAL! ) Ordered and within the week they were here. YAY!
Or NOT. Tried them on and they were HUGE! I know the girls are tiny (well not really but these days it sure felt like it) Well seeing how I had ordered the smallest size initially for the youngest and they fit the oldest - there was no choice but to return them.

OPTION #3 - Buy denim and make them myself. Seeing how my girls are not "normal" sized for anything - this was my last option. I feared for how many times I'd have to remake them to get them "just right"
I chose to use the "AVA JEANS" from Pattern Emporium. I've had this pattern for awhile and honestly I have a bunch of "pant" patterns- but for some reason - this one called to me. The designer had recently put together a blog post about how to make them shorts -so I was well on my way.

Normally I would just pick a size and go - but seeing as I had enough fabric to make 3 pair (the two I needed and room for 1 boo boo) I decided to measure my girls first -and i am SO GLAD I did! The sizing was way off from what I would have guessed - but with the measurement charts in the front of the pattern I was bale to correctly choose a size! While I read through the instructions to make them shorts - I decided to wait til I tried them on my girls before cutting them to "short" length. I made them "knee length" and we went from there (I took off 3-4 inches on each)  and wal la! Option #3 was a success!

UP next is the girls DANCING in them - we need to watch for any kind of flaw so we can address it before we get to competition.

SO here is a fun preview of them - we have some "accessorizing" to work on yet (and we have "ideas" there) but I am super excited for them this year!

The girls being goofy - I have no luck these days getting serious pictures. But that's what makes life fun! 

and just to show off the shorts and the fabric accents we used!