For my daughter’s recent Donut Birthday, I had planned to order her an embroidered tee shirt to wear, and to make a simple table runner out of some donut fabric I found on eBay. The adorable fabric was from Timeless Treasures, but it must be way out of print, since it was the only listing for it on either Etsy or eBay. The listing was for 2 yards, but they later messaged to say there was only 1.5 yards, and since that was enough for a table runner, I took it. (They kindly gave me a partial refund AND sent me 1/2 yard of a fun print with sprinkles on it.)
When it arrived, I quickly cut it, and made the table runner. Easy peasy. Then the embroidered shirt arrived, and was a huge disappointment. (The thread colors that worked great on the white example shirt, did not work on the pink shirt they offered, and I ordered.) So I had to pivot to find something new. Or make something new…
Since I had already made the runner, I had a piece of fabric 1.5 yards long, by 17" wide. Not enough to cut a dress, even for an incredibly skinny 4 year old. I searched Etsy for a digital dress pattern that might work. I found this cute dress pattern, and realized that I could cut part of the dress from the donut print, and use other fabrics for the remaining tiers, to make up the difference. (After working on it, I think the image for the dress is AI generated, because the tiers are a long longer than it looks like.)
I also figured that with so little time left before the party, that if I didn’t finish the last tier, it could just be a tunic/shorter dress.
I dug through my stash and found a bright turquoise solid, and a purple print with swirling hearts on it; perfect for a kid who “loves LOVE”. I used the turquoise for the facings of the dress, and was able to squeeze out the straps from the donut print. By the time I was done, the only scrap of the donut print was about 2" x 7". I even pulled out the serger to finish the insides, with bright pink thread.
I’m pretty thrilled with how it came out, for being thrown together at the last minute. Everyone loved it, and she had fun twirling in it. While I didn’t love the pattern, it was quick and easy, and I can see myself making another one later, if she found a print she really loved and wanted to feature.



