Wednesday, December 16, 2015

• 1950s Peppermint Dot Christmas Dress •


Last week I said I hoped I would be posting “Christmas dress progress” because I never thought I’d have this dress done so soon! But I do! Yay!!! It's always nice to be able to wear a Christmas dress during the Christmas season, right? ;)

And I'm happy to say that Christmas dress #2 (a vintage 1940s dress that is, well, gorgeous!) just arrived in the mail yesterday, so that should be up on the blog next week!



I have always loved this fabric, so when it went on sale a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t resist it. Novelty prints always seem to me like they belong in 1950s dresses, so I knew I would have to make a ‘50s dress out of it. However, I only ordered 3 yards of the fabric, so having an all-peppermint dot dress was not going to happen. I had planned on pairing the peppermint fabric with some solid red fabric, but didn’t end up having enough of the solid red either! I happened to take a peek in the fabric cabinet and randomly pulled out this red polka dot fabric, never expecting that it would actually match. Wasn't I excited when I saw that it actually did!!! :)


 I had originally planned on making a pleated skirt, but after experimenting around and finding that not only a pleated skirt, but also just about every skirt I could think of would not fit on that amount of fabric! Or if something did, it wasn’t nearly as full as I wanted it to be. I finally pulled out Simplicity 1250, and it actually fit on the fabric *just barely*! I did end up narrowing it down just a tad, but it only amounted to a couple of inches less fullness. And I LOVE this skirt! It’s full enough to look lovely with a petticoat, but still looks nice without one. Bonus! :)


The bodice is based off of Simplicity 1459 (we call it the “fall dress bodice” because that’s the first dress we made with that pattern. I suppose if we wanted to get all technical, we’d call it our “bodice sloper.”). The neckline is from Simplicity 2154, and the sleeves are from the 1459 pattern. Confusing enough? I thought so. ;)

I made the collar (Simplicity 2154) 1/2" bigger on three sides; it needed to be bigger to accommodate the lack of a bow-and-knot in the middle, of course. Plus, I wanted it to be a bigger collar in general, so I made it 1/2" bigger on the outside (round) edge. And lastly, since I was making it larger in circumference, I figured it would need to be bigger on the bottom (outside) edge in order to lay right, so I cut it 1/2" bigger on the back bottom edge, tapering to no extra at the neck edge. It was somewhat of a guess about how much to add, but it ended up being the perfect amount. Hurrah! :) And I love the size of the collar; it somehow feels a little bit more '50s fabulous!


I really really wanted winged cuffs on the sleeves, but I also really really wanted to be able to wear a sweater with it since it *is* a Christmas dress, so I had to forego them. *tear*
So instead, I made band-like "cuffs" that were simply sewn on right-side-to-wrong-side and then topstiched in place. It worked quite well, and now it's not only fun but also sweater-friendly!



This fabric is just so cute. I really do love it. And my favorite part about it is, even though it's very Christmas-y, it also can pass as just a very candy-themed dress, so I can actually wear it year-round! Yesssss! :D


This green buckle from our last antique haul adds a pop of accent color.


These buttons.
I love them.
And they were actually my own idea!! :)
At some point in time while thinking about buttons, I realized that covered buttons made out of the fabric itself would be just right! They really do add even more peppermint-y fabulousness to the dress, which was pretty much the whole idea! They were quite fun to make, although a little tricky to get centered just so. If I had it to do over again I would eliminate the red-on-red buttons because they just don't show up as good as the others do. But that's a pretty small complaint for a whole dress, right? ;) 


If only there was snow to go with how cold it felt outside yesterday! I'm sure it will come as soon as we have all our Christmas dress picture-taking out of the way. ;)

Have a lovely week, and thanks for visiting!
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24 comments:

  1. *Jealous, Jealous, Jealous* My sewing skills are nowhere near good enough to attempt this dress and it is FABULOUS!!! I love it.

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    1. Thank you SO much, Southern Ladye!! I'm sure you could make this dress! It was very easy to make. You're so sweet! :)

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  2. Ohmygosh.... I am in love with this dress!! A Starlight Candy dress! What fun and so festive and well... Just Fun!!! I also love the buttons on the dress. Perfection! That small dot with the candy is perfect as well!! What fun Esther!!!
    Blessings!
    g

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  3. This dress is soooooo much fun! It is like a Gingerbread house of scrumptiouness:) Lovely design and fabric choices.
    -Madison
    www.1minniemuse.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you so much, Madison!! That's rather a good description! ;)

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  4. I saw your post on our Pinterest page, this is great!! The fabric is adorable, especially with those buttons, oh my!! What a great idea to make matching cuffs and collar. :) Happy Holidays!
    -Emily

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  5. Your dress - and indeed your whole outfit - is absolutely wonderful!

    Rebecca

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  6. Looks great! Love the contrast! I will post my vintage Christmas dress soon too! I agree about it being nice having them done in time for the season, not just for Christmas day or eve. There are so many events and things that are perfect for this sort of thing!

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    1. Thank you, OldFashionGirl! I can't wait to see your Christmas dress!!

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  7. What a darling dress, Esther! I love how you added the contrasting fabric, I think that made all the difference in the world. And it shows off your buttons perfectly! I've never attempted covered buttons before, but these are just darling. I had to smile at the list of patterns you used on this...you and I are long-lost twins or clones or something I think! Ha ha! I also have S. 1250 but have not yet sewn it; it is SUCH a gorgeous dress! Do you have plans to sew it yourself? So far I've not seen anyone else make it up. Ooh! Maybe we could do a little sewalong between ourselves. ;)

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    1. Awww, thanks Sarah! Oooh, you MUST make covered buttons! They're so fun! (especially when you don't have to try to center them like these...)
      I think your idea of a sew-along is wonderful!! Email me with more details, huh? ;)

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  8. This dress is beautiful. The contrast works perfectly and the style suits you so well

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  9. Lovely! I really like the candy fabric, so cute :-)

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  10. *Squeal!* This might just be the most adorable Christmas themed dress I've ever seen. What gleeful, awesomely pretty creation. Oooohh, and the peppermint candy buttons are the icing on this sweeter than sweet cake of stylish loveliness.

    ♥ Jessica

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  11. This dress is amazing and I actually squealed when I saw the buttons! The red polka dot fabric really makes it all the more amazing. I have this awesome popsicle print fabric and now I want to find a polka dot fabric to go with it.

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    1. Thank you so much, FlyingPurpleHippos!! Your popsicle fabric sounds so fun!
      Thanks again!! :)

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  12. Just the cutest, sweetest {haha, yes, pun intended!} Christmas dress ever! All the bright peppermints make for such a cheery outfit ~ what a lovely way to brighten your holidays! Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas Esther! *✬ ❤ ✬*

    xox,
    bonita of Lavender & Twill

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    1. :) Thank you so much, Bonita!! I agree...it is a very sweet dress. :) And it works for a surprisingly large amount of occasions as well! (birthdays, Valentine's Day....etc, etc.)
      ;)

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