Saturday, January 8, 2011

What's red and pink and spins really fast?

My last project for 2010 was an appropriately celebratory full-skirted dress.  I used Butterick 6149, circa 1952, because I really liked that pointed collar.  Apparently I am ready for Valentine's Day, because I for darn sure made a Valentine's Day dress.   I like the holiday fine, but I have never dressed for it!   I wanted to make a fun, whimsical dress, because I'm realizing that is what I love to sew.   Which seems more important to me at the moment than whatever it is I love to wear.  
I used my 1950s sundress pattern as a sort of sloper to make bodice alterations on this dress, since the fit should be about the same.   It worked!   No muslin needed, and I'm really happy with how it came out.   There are minor adjustments that could be made, but I'm not sure I'd even bother.    The main fabric is quilting fabric by Heather Bailey that grabbed me when I was at High Fashion Fabric a few weeks ago.  I squeezed this dress out of three yards of fabric (instead of the four-and-something the pattern called for) by taking several inches off the hem when I traced off the pattern.  It ended up being the perfect length, which was pure luck.  I would have had enough to make the collar out of the same material, but I wanted to bring out the flame red, so I looked for a solid fabric to use for the collar in that color.  No luck -- all the solid reds were too blue-toned.   I did however find this tiny dot fabric that was close enough, so I went with it, and I love the way the patterns work together, much more than my other pattern-mixing attempt, even those fabrics were designed to coordinate.  To bring everything together, I added  a tie belt (maybe some day I'll try a belt with a buckle, but it's already been established that I love bows) and made one-inch bias tape to finish the hem in the dotted fabric. ( Making that bias tape really brought home just how full a hem this dress has, too.  My first guesstimate of how much I would need got me about 60 percent of the way around!)

I did a full lining in cotton batiste as per usual, but also used the included facing pieces to reinforce the area where the buttons and buttonholes would be in lieu of adding interfacing, which I kind of hate (I did use it in the collar, though).   I attached it to the lining like this:


I'm probably jinxing my next project by saying this, but this one came together like it was meant to be.  Wouldn't it be nice if they were all like that?   I don't have the perfect shoes for it, but I think I'm most likely to wear it in the house without shoes, so it doesn't really matter.


And as the title implies, this dress inspired some spinning.  Days later, my husband (who is my photographer for my finished items) mentioned that while I was twirling around out in the street, he could see London and France and probably destinations even further north.  So that exercise will not be repeated.  :)   Fortunately the worst of it was not captured on film.  It kept the dog entertained too, as you can see:



21 comments:

  1. It's gorgeous! that collar is adorable! I love the pattern mixing too! :)
    Ashley x

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  2. Absolutely wonderful, I do hope you will take it out of the house sometimes. How about some cute red or white sandals. Or you could be bold with a yellow handbag and shoes.

    Christiana
    sewamusing.blogspot.com

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  3. I LOVE it; the fabric choice is great and the collar on the dress is amazing!!!

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  4. What a cute & flirty dress! The fit is also perfect, I love it! You have made me jealous of your warm weather though, I'm so bored of our cold here!

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  5. That certainly is a twirl worthy dress! Lovely.

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  6. You MUST wear that dress out of the house!!! It looks fabulous on you and who doesn't love a twirly dress?

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  7. Oh, man--that dress is awesome!

    I mean, for one, it's just plain awesome for its own sake, but it's also the kind of thing that makes me so glad people sew these: It's so cool to see them "live" instead of just as pattern illustrations.

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  8. Everything about this dress is perfect, from the collar to the pattern mixing. I love this dress and you look fabulous wearing it!

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  9. Thanks for the kind comments, y'all! Actually having no place to wear such a dress is not such a bad thing in my book, as I love staying at home. Social events make me nervous and exhausted.

    Christiana -- I do remember now that I have some cream leather ballet flats, that could work with this! They got buried in the back of my closet at the end of summer. I have very, very few shoes that aren't black or brown ... I have been trying to find good ones in other colors lately, though!

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  10. Love it! I wanted to make a striking red dress for Christmas and was mulling over Vogue 1161 (the dress with a knot at the back neck) when I decided to play up the fact that the knot exposes your lining fabric just a smidge:

    I paired up the deep red outer dress fabric with a hot pink lining!

    Who said that pink and red don't go together? Rules are meant for breaking!

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  11. It's absolutely stunning, one of the nicest dresses I've seen for ages. Love the fabrics too. x

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  12. That collar is lovely, especially like it on view B of the pattern, and your fabric is so very, very pretty. I'd be twirling round the house all day if it's too cold to be worn out yet!

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  13. Please come out! It's a gorgeous dress!

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  14. I just love this dress. The fabric mix is a perfect touch. I do hope you take it out for a twirl occaisionally

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  15. Your dress is completely adorable and I am simply SMITTEN by the collar! I'm hoping to get confident enough in my sewing this year to attempt some dresses. Right now I just stare at my vintage dress patterns longingly, hoping somehow my machine will get together with my fabric in the middle of the night and make magic together... so far no luck. ;)

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  16. Great job on this one! As for London and France, I suggest you take the leap and add a fluffer to your wardrobe. It makes the spinning even more fun, the dress won't bunch up between your legs, and when you spin it's the fluffer that will be noticed. I know it seems like a big leap, but it's so worth it. Make your own or check eBay and Etsy.

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  17. Again, thanks, ya'll! This was a fun dress to make.

    Tasha -- I wonder if you'd actually have an easier time with your vintage patterns. I've had more difficulty with modern ones, that can have crazy amounts of ease. When I first started sewing, I feared dresses too, so I know what you mean! It really hasn't been all that long since I made my first dress!

    Jenny -- I have been wanting a fluffer, but am not sure where to get a good one. I kind of want to buy one locally so that I could try it on (I HATE too-tight elastic waistbands) but that's probably not realistic. Having never seen one in real life, I hesitate to try and make one! I guess I need to just do some research and take the plunge!

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  18. This is such a beauty, and the collar is just amazing! Pointy and crisp, and yet the dress is so feminine! The colour combo is also great - where did you get the fabric?

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  19. I bought both fabrics locally, but the main fabric is available online. It's Heather Bailey's "Lindy Leaf", and if you Google for it, you'll find it for sale lots of places. The red fabric with tiny dots came from Jo Ann's and I'm not sure what it's called ... wish I did, as I would like some more of it too! I'm using the last scraps I had in my current project.

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