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My Red Vintage Vogue Valentine's Day Dress

This was supposed to be my Christmas 2021 dress. However, I had to toss it in the naughty projects pile for a bit. I wasted a lot of time fitting it to myself and I got annoyed with it after a while. Maybe there was a reason I chose red fabric instead of green. A red dress works just as well for Valentine’s as it does for Christmas. I don’t see a reason to force myself to continue when there was no real need. The need to push myself to finish my projects and the need to be kind to myself is difficult to balance, but not impossible. My pile of unfinished projects is diminishing over time. And I love that for me. 


This pattern, Vogue 2903, is at a medium difficulty level. There are a couple spots I couldn’t quite get right. The princess seams going into the armscye were especially fiddly to get smooth. But I think I was mostly successful. This dress has a nice, full skirt. I did a lot of preparatory work which I normally don’t. I serged around each pattern piece separately. I hand drew the lines for the pleats. I basted these lines together and ironed the pleats permanently with some water mixed with vinegar. Hopefully, these pleats will stay in place and look nice for some time. 



This pattern does have some lovely design details. I love how the princess seams in the bodice flow down into pleats in the skirt. And it has an interesting separate yoke at the neckline. Essentially, the neckline has an extra piece attached. And at the elbows, there’s a bit of gathering to create some ease for mobility. I hemmed the skirt using a technique that is new to me. I machine-basted a line to mark the hem 2 inches from the bottom. Then I basted another line only a half inch from the bottom. I folded it up on the bottom line and brought it up to the upper line. I had to account for the flare of the skirt as I pinned the hem. Gathering the stitches a little bit kept the hem straight.



This fabric is the polyester dupioni from Fabric Wholesale Direct, in Red - 12. It’s a bright and beautiful red. This fabric is a little thin, but I can’t really complain for the price. And it’s available in SO MANY COLORS! Like over 40 colors. It does wrinkle, but it does iron nicely. 


https://www.fabricwholesaledirect.com/products/polyester-dupioni-fabric


You can never go wrong with a vintage red dress and matching red lipstick. It’s a classic, just like a strand of pearls and a little black dress. Underneath,  I’m wearing a petticoat that I made in 2017. And for my accessories, I naturally chose some Splendette jewelry. This is from their Valentine’s Day line from last year. I haven’t had a chance to really wear it yet, so I’m excited to show it off.



Yours in hard work, creativity, and a dash of Pixie Dust


Sarah




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