Last week my baby went to her very first drop-off dance at school. I've never been so proud and so emotional at the same time! Her school is very good about having extra evening activities that the kids can participate in. This was our first experience with an after-school activity. They were having a Sock Hop fundraiser for The Make a Wish Foundation in honor of one of their students who died last year. Such a fun idea for a WONDERFUL cause. When I asked Lo if she wanted to go she wasn't sure what a "50s girl looked liked," but when she saw a picture of a poodle skirt she was instantly hooked. I was a little surprised by how eager she was. She didn't even want me to see if any of her friends were going. I'm not that brave! I would have called at least 3 other people (it's always good to have back-up) AND I would have offered to drive so that we all could arrive at the same time. She didn't blink an eye when I told her it was drop-off....that was until the night before the dance...but we'll get there...
So the most important thing we needed was a poodle skirt. Lucky for us I had an adorable pink poodle applique already, complete with fluffy tail. I actually have 3 of them which is proof that I have a crafty addiction. I bought them several years ago when Wal-mart decided to get rid of all their sewing items. I think I picked up each one for a few dollars.
One of my favorite, and easiest, skirts to make is the circle skirt from MADE. It would be the perfect twirly skirt for my little 50s girl. Of course Lo wanted a pink skirt (coincidentally so did ALL the other Sock Hop attendees which make it near impossible to find her at pick-up!) I had some cheap pink fabric and black elastic on hand. It's always nice when you don't have to drag everyone to the crafty store!
It literally only takes a few minutes to make the skirt once you have your pattern drawn. If you have a serger it's even quicker! You can leave the serged hem exposed for an even quicker project, or just fold over and top stitch which is what I chose for this skirt.
The waist band is 2-inch elastic. It's a little tricky attaching it, but once you get it started it goes quickly.
Poodle's leash is sequin ribbon. Honestly I had never used it before and I wasn't sure how to attach it. I was under a time crunch so I used fabric tack and it held on really well. I love how it gives the skirt a little bling!
So after getting this cute little outfit together and gluing my fingers shut the night before the dance Lo ends up in a full-blown panic attack and decides she's not going. I think most of her anxiety was exhaustion induced. She was crying that she wouldn't have anyone to dance with and what if she had to go to the bathroom and didn't know where it was. She was a mess of tears! I reminded her that it was at school and only people who go to school could go, so she'd know LOTS of people there and the bathrooms would be right where they always were. We made a deal. We'd go to the dance and see how it was. If she didn't want to stay she didn't have to, but she had to at least check it out. We were there for exactly two seconds before she was whisked away by three of her friends. I had to actually go hunt her down to make sure it was okay for me to leave, which of course it was. She had a wonderful time! They hula-hooped, did the limbo and ate lots of treats. She and her friends didn't have enough money for all they wanted so they pooled their money together and shared their treats-so cute!
It was also a great learning experience. We talked a lot about giving things a try because you could miss out on something super fun! I was very proud of her bravery and had lots of tears on the inside when I dropped her off and saw her run off with her friends. She is growing up so fast and it just gave me a glimpse into the future where I hope she'll always let me kiss and hug her good-bye!
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