organic velour from cottonplus & dress questions

[beanma]

hi, novice sewer here. i'm thinking of trying to make a dress for dd1 (4 and 3/4) for christmas and i know she would love something scrumptious like velour. i got to thinking about it and thought, "well, if i'm going to get velour i could get organic velour like i see those mamas on MDC talking about all the time..." i googled around a bit and found a few places. has anybody ever ordered from http://www.cottonplus.com/knits.html ? i found their stuff and one other that looked really nice, but was $16/yard. the cottonplus is $10something so that could really be some savings, though still spendy, but it is ORGANIC VELOUR!

also, i don't have a pattern and may or may not get one (i've successfully made a dress and halloween costumes w/o in the past) how much yardage would y'all recommend for a dress for an almost 5 year old? i'm vacillating between 2 and 3 yards. surely 3 would be more than enough. i suppose i could find something to do with the extra, but there's those pesky $$. we could afford the extra, but i hate to spend more than i need to.

i'm also thinking i'll dye the velour 'cause dd1 loves...you guessed it...pink, but also red. i really love the little red dress from hanna andersson and might try to do something like that, but in velour instead of corduroy. any advice you experienced seamstresses might have for me?

geez, that's a lot of questions. i edited to fix up some of my atrocious grammar. just sorta spouting off 'cause this has been rolling around in my brain for awhile and i need to get on it if i'm gonna do it. i would love some feedback if you've got any to spare .

thanks

[Kari_mom]

Cottonplus is out of velour right now, I think their site can be misleading. They don't tell you what is in stock until you add it to your cart. So sorry!

The Hanna dress is adorable! I think you need to visit your local fabric store and see what you can find in the way of fabric and patterns. JoAnn's is having another sale this weekend and the next. I don't think this dress is super hard, but it will take some time to get all those pleats right. How are you with zippers? Corderoy velvet would be pretty I think. Something with a bit of body to it or the dress will hang differently.

Good luck!

[beanma]

oh darn. thanks for the tip on cottonplus being out. that is misleading. maybe i should just get something at joann, but i was really drooling over the organic velour.

as for my sewing skills, let's just say luckily my client is only 4 and 3/4 and is mainly concerned with how sparkly, fancy, and princessey her dresses are and not how perfect my sewing is. i know i've only got a limited window of opportunity here before she starts realizing my seams are crooked and everything else isn't quite up to snuff, but for now she doesn't mind too much. i can put a zipper in. i've got an old old machine ($15 on ebay!) and buttonholes are beyond its ability, but i _could_ do one by hand if i had to. perish the thought. it's kind of fun to experiment and see what i can do even w/o a pattern. of course part of what's so nice about the hanna little red dress is the embroidered snowflakes which i don't think i would do. maybe an applique. hmmm...really liked that organic velour...

thanks for your reply!