Skip to main content

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




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bow-Tie Necklet

Are you, dear reader, in the mood for some winter accessories? Or, like me, are you already anxious for spring to arrive? The only good thing about winter is the cute accessories, I always say. I have a big canvas basket full of scarves, gloves, mittens, and hats. I have a black and also a purple peacoat. Plus my dramatic leopard print fleece cape, which I have previously discussed. Simply put, I don't like to be boring with my accessorizing. It is my only source of cheer and happiness when preparing for a cold winter's day. Ok, enough with the dramatics. On with the subject of today's blog. I knit this up several years ago. This is what the pattern calls a “Bow-Tie Necklet”. It is a scarf, but not in a traditional long rectangle shape. One end is pulled through a loop on the opposite side, forming a sort of bow tie. I have seen several examples in mid century photos of similar knit scarves that seem to have been made the same way. Of course, I forgot to save them/...
Post a Comment
Read more

Disney's The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Blue Dress

    Anyone who has spent more than 3 minutes with me knows I'm obsessed with Disney. My three favorite movies are Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin. So for Halloween 2011, I made a version of Ariel's blue dress. She wears during "Kiss the Girl" scene and when they are riding in the carriage around Eric's kingdom. . It was fairly easy to make. I used McCall's 4090 (View A), a simple skirt with a waistband. For the bodice/over corset, I used another McCall's, 4861 (view A). I didn't want side lacing, so I just traced each of the four pieces separately, then taped them together at the sides, overlapping the seam allowance. This left me with the back lacing only. When it was assembled, I roughly "eye-balled" the sweetheart-shaped neckline and cut it out. The shirt was made with Simplicity 3677. I just added cuffs to the sleeves instead of elastic. A couple things I lea...
3 comments
Read more

Reconstructing History RH017

This is review of RH017, 14th Century Kirtle or  Cotehardie. (Link to buy this patten at the end) I ordered it to make a new dress for the 2015 Medieval Fair of Norman. I had been playing a princess for many years, but decided on changing it up this year. I wanted to be a Bard, a poet/singer/general performer. Naturally, I could not wear the Princess gowns of years past.  It came in a timely fashion. I knew it had a booklet of historical notes, I didn't know it was going to come with a textbook! Seriously, this booklet is 15 pages long (including historical notes, bibliography, actual construction, and a section on period stiches) and is in an easy to digest format. The pattern is on regular paper, not the usual tissue paper, which I appreciated. I had trouble with setting the sleeves, but it was my own fault. I made it oversized purposefully to adjust down to my exact size, and didn't quite adjust the sleeves to match correctly the first time. My own fault. I will pos...
Post a Comment
Read more