My first dress made in 2020 was a fun one. I hadn't done any garment sewing at all for over a month, so I enjoyed getting back to it in February, when I decided to make a dress to wear to a Valentine's themed dance hosted by friends.
I had first decided to wear something I already had in my closet, just so I didn't have to make anything for the dance deadline. But then I looked at my fabric stack and realized that one piece of fabric which had been on my to-do list for 3 or 4 years would actually be perfect for that event. Plus it would finally get it off my list and into my closet!
I had had this 1950s pattern paired with this vintage cotton fabric on my sewing queue all that time. If you look back at my sewing idea list from a few years ago, it's featured there! The vintage cotton was quite narrow, and I thought I wouldn't have enough to make the dress, after looking closely at the pattern, so I decided that my second choice would be to make the bodice in white, so it looked like a blouse/skirt combo.
Well, I did have enough fabric after all (just barely!), but realized that it was such a bright pink that after all, it would look better on me with my second idea. Plus, that would take less fabric, so I'd have some leftover for quilt projects! So with that revamped idea in my head, I cut it out.
I thought first I would try to match at least the center front seam, but after a lot time spent trying to figure out how, I gave up. I could not figure out how to match those pesky carnations, so matter how I flipped or rotated the skirt piece. I ended up just cutting it out, leaving them fall as they might.
This is perhaps the second time I've done pockets... I don't usually do pockets in my dresses, but this one was an integral part of the skirt, so I went with it. At first I thought I'd put it together wrong, before I figured out how the pieces were supposed to end up. It actually was a pretty nifty way of doing pockets.
I flat lined the bodice, and used cute little mini pompom trim on the collar and sleeve edge, as the closest thing I had to the novelty trim pictured. I had just been admiring one of Donna Reed's dresses on The Donna Reed Show with exactly this type of collar, and was happy to try one for myself.
However, since I didn't do a muslin first, I realized the first time I tried the dress on that the neck would be too low. At that point my only option was to make a panel to fill in some of the neckline. It's not my favorite look, but with more trim added, I don't think it looks too bad. Another time I will try to cut it higher, though it might be a challenge to figure out how to adjust the collar. It's not a typical collar piece.
By that time, I was discouraged enough that I wasn't sure I'd like the dress after all. However, I decided to finish it... I was happy to find the exact perfect vintage buttons in my stash, bought last fall at my favorite Pennsylvania thrift store while on a trip, for only 50 cents. Exactly the right amount, size, and the perfect color of pink. I'd originally thought of white buttons on the “blouse”, but changed my mind when I found these.
The belt I interfaced with my stiffest fusible interfacing, and did a lot of top stitching on it. Besides adding decoration, it also makes the belt more stable and less likely to crease with wear. I'm also happy to finally use this cute vintage buckle.
On my final try-on to figure out if I needed a self belt or a white one, I realized that the dress fit and looked surprisingly well after all, so I finished it with good cheer. I hemmed it the suggested amount, and it is the perfect length to wear over my vintage crinoline (longer and less poofy than my modern one), which added just the right amount of flare to the skirt without making me look huge.
I have never done an opening like this before, and I'm a fan! Most vintage patterns call for buttons down to the waist, then a side zipper as well. This one had a short zipper opening below the buttons, so it had no side zipper at all - so much easier to get in and out of! I'm going to do all my dresses like this now, when they have a center front seam.
It was lots of fun to wear at the dance, and was very Valentine's appropriate without being a dress I can only wear that time of year. The strand of pink and white carved beads I bought a while ago at an antique store was the perfect accessory.
It was the sort of dress that felt dressy and festive and very Donna-Reed-1950s-ish, yet comfortable enough to dance in (the party was a blast!), and to wrangle children and nurse a baby between times. It may be out of order, since it's borrowed from my spring/summer outfit queue, but I'm just happy to have it finished, and to be so pleased with it after all! Plus, that fabric has been on my shelf for so many years waiting for its day to shine.
(We snapped most of these pictures quickly at the dance, in their little photo booth corner. No time to do detail shots, so I took those later on my mannequin.)
It is definitely early spring here already. I did not get through my must-do winter sewing projects for this year, but I do plan to hopefully squeeze in a couple more from the top of the list before the weather completely turns. The floral cottons must wait for a bit longer, now that this one is done. But at least I have one already off my summer list...and it was just ideal for the Valentine's dance!
