vintage dress for a modern girl

as my oldest gets older i’m finding it’s more and more difficult to dress her. not because she’s picky or stubborn, but because apparently mainstream clothing manufacturers assume my almost-12-year-old really wants to look like an almost-21-year-old.

nope. not this gal, thankyouverymuch.

alright, i’ll come clean—i’m all about the teeny weeny bikinis on the chubby little bodies. but once they get bigger it’s over. i’m the momma, and i’m allowed to have double standards if i want to.
so there.

anyway…it’s fortunate that i sew. many of my friends do not—and find themselves and their tween daughters in the same predicament. it’s ashame, and makes me more determined than ever that my girls learn their way behind and around a sewing machine before they’re out of my care.
in this case, guinevere needed a new dress. so we headed out to pick out a pattern, and she surprised me by picking this one:


butterick retro b5032

a vintage butterick pattern. which makes my fluffy-skirt-lovin’ heart sing! but makes my pattern-hating-heart have da sadz :(

it wasn’t so bad though. obviously i turned what’s supposed to be a sheer overlay into the actual skirt, and i also did my own thing on the zipper, the length, the belt the buttons up the back…so i guess what i’m saying is i’m OKAY with patterns, provided i almost, but not completely, ignore what they say.

but hey—can’t argue with results, right?





i bought five yards of fabric for this dress. ahem--5 yards of walmart fabric that was $3/yd. it was her pick. truth be told--it wasn't my favorite. on the bolt, or even as i started sewing.



but finished? i love it. the fabric has just the right touch of a vintage look that makes it perfect for the pattern.



also: i have chopped up pieces totalling maybe 1/2 yard left.

that’s a very, very full skirt.

after she tried it on once we decided to put horsehair in the hem. it gives just the right amount of fullness without slips. (i talk more about horsehair here)



down the back a line of covered buttons run next to the invisible zipper, bringing in a pop of yellow.



also adding a pop of yellow: the optional belt, with matching flower.


i have a hard time deciding whether i like it better with the belt, or with
out. opinions?

the final pop of yellow:



a sweet little cardigan. one that started it’s life as a thrifted pullover sweater. more details on that coming later!