a vintage dress, take 2

we’re pretty big fans of the vintage dress around here. i made one for guinevere a couple of months back, and when an internet search led us to this one:

Source: ebay.com via Shannon on Pinterest

well, that’s all she wrote.
but it’s not all i wrote, obvs.

because i made this:

0

okay, does that hurt your brain? because it hurts mine. but by golly i spent a lot of time figuring out how to do that in photoshop, so i was putting it up here.

let’s scroll down a bit so we don’t have to see it anymore.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
so where were we? ah, yes…



stationary guinevere is so much better.

gasp! shannon—don’t you iron things before photographing them for your blog? why yes, i do. and then my darling children smush them up. grrrr…

the teal polka dot is a fabric she picked out. she already knew it was destined to be a vintage dress. i only bought (i think?) 2 yards, so to bulk it up we came up with this colorblocked look.
an extra yard of white cotton, a 1/2 yard of the black. i cut and pieced them together to create colorblocked fabric, and then cut my dress pieces out.

oh look, one whole whopping photo of that:



well, i guess it doesn’t look like it. but believe me—i sewed the white to the black and the black to the polka dot. pinky swear.

the design of the dress is simple—basic bodice, full skirt—very full. don’t believe me? scroll back up to that mind-blowing gif. ha.



simple spaghetti straps link into elastic loops and tie above the scooped back and invisible zipper.




it makes for such interesting lines and a neat look.



when your daughter stands up straight, that is. ;)
the best shot of the back was here, when miss e wanted no parts of playing alone because the neighbor started mowing his lawn.



she had to keep him in her sights.



sideeye: lawnmower.

anyway, back to the dress. i lined the entire thing in a soft cotton gauze, and put a row of crinoline on the bottom for a bit of extra “floof”.



it’s a fun dress to wear (again, i refer you up to the gif). one i’d love to have hanging in my own closet certainly.
i did debate the merits of spaghetti straps for my tween. it’s odd editing pictures and having to leave one otherwise cute photo on the proverbial cutting room floor because there’s accidental cleavage.

CLEAVAGE. ON. MY. DAUGHTER.

the truth is each successive garment i make for her requires deeper and deeper darts between the bust and waist. i’m thinking my days of a rectangle starting point for the bodice are numbered. i may have to make actual garment-shaped clothing.

but when i start to get nervous i just scroll through all the other photos and see this…





sigh of relief. she’s a goober. we’re good.

linking here: