Hawaiian Dress

We have a Hawaiian themed party next weekend where we've been asked to dress accordingly. Hilo Hattie that used to be at the Block in Orange is no longer there. It is very difficult to find any island themed dresses this time of the year. The Piggie has a dress but it's way too small...it was a gift from a friend in Kauai when she was born...maybe size 6mos. It seemed a little silly to pay $30+ to order something online and risk it not fitting properly. I figured I could make something instead. I picked up See & Sew pattern #3889 at Joann's for $2.99 last night. I'm new to sewing by a pattern, since I'm self taught and haven't learned how to read them properly. This one was actually fairly easy to read. I bought this pretty blue island print fabric at M&L in Anaheim for $3.89/yd...I picked up 1.5 yds before I found this pattern. I worked on the dress this morning and I think it took me about 2-3 hours. The end result is pretty darn good. Looks better than some of the dresses I've seen even in high end retail stores. The sizing runs a little big. I went with the 2, but I think it's more true to a 3. It's too big for the Piggie now. This afternoon, I used the left over materials and made a second dress reducing the bodice width by 20% and the skirt length by about 30%. It's a much better fit. I'd guess it's probably 18mos - 24 mos. I've very pleased with how it turned out and am starting to feel more confident tackling other patterns.