Monday, May 23, 2016

• 1950s Lemon Print Birthday Dress •


Since I missed posting for two(!) weeks in a row, I thought an early post was in order for this week. Between cleaning, having a grand old time and sewing like crazy with my dear friend Sarah, and taking a 1200 mile road trip, it has been a busy couple of weeks!! :) 

Starting next week, I'll be posting about our Civil War dresses in several installments, but since yesterday was my birthday, I thought I'd share my birthday dress with you first. I originally planned on making a polka-dot birthday dress, but for various reasons decided not to, and picked this lemony fabric for this purpose instead. I wanted it to be a different style than any of my other dresses, so I chose to replicate this 1950s pattern: 


I fell in love with the collar design, so decided to give it a whirl. I used Vogue V9000 as a base for the bodice, Butterick 6055 for the skirt, and self-drafted the collar and cuff patterns.


The collar is made of nothing more than angled-edged bias pieces, so it wasn't hard to make at all, once I got the right measurements. It was a definite miracle and answer to prayer that it came out right, however, since I didn't make a mockup. :) Yay!!!


The neckline is cut slightly narrower at the shoulders, flaring out to be a little bit wider at the bottom of the front neckline. The collar lays very well in the front and sides, and curves around the shoulder to the back just as it was supposed to. Phew! I love the style so much, I'm planning a more formal dress in this same design as my next sewing project! Maybe it's because I've been watching the Burns and Allen show recently that I love this dress so much, but in any case, it reminds me very much of something Gracie would have worn!


The green buckle is borrowed from my peppermint dot dress. The yellow dotty ribbon from my navy polka dot dress makes a nice belt as well, if I want a different look. 



One of the gifts my parents got me is this gorgeous vintage yellow beret. I absolutely love it, and it matches so many of my garments! Since I didn't have a hat to wear with this dress, I got to open this particular present early. ;) Berets seemed to be a popular style all the way from the 1930s-50s, so it is very much the ideal hat, and fills a very large color gap in my hat wardrobe.


My mom has a lighter blue version of this fabric that she is planning on sewing up soon! It is going to be so gorgeous, I just can't wait to see it sewn together! The style, though also from the 1950s, is totally different than this dress, and perfectly suited for the fabric.


Perhaps we need to do another photo shoot with this dress, with a glass of lemonade as a prop. ;)


I officially *almost* have my vegetable gardens all in! All that remains to be done is planting green beans, a few pinto beans, and a few green onions. Potatoes, tomatoes, peppers (bell and hot), black beans, onions, carrots and peas are all officially planted. :) 
Lord willing, we'll have a bountiful harvest this year!



Since my Etsy shop just turned a year old on May 16th, and I just celebrated my birthday, there is a sale going on in the shop! Save 20% off with the coupon code BIRTHDAYSALE, through May 31st. 

Thanks for stopping by! :)

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24 comments:

  1. This fabric looks so wonderful on you!!! Your skin is just glowing. I've been trying to get a lemonade type dress for myself for several summers now, and nothing seems to work out. I really love that fabric--it is just so lovely. The pattern is great too--good on you for figuring out the collar and cuffs!! Drafting is fun but hard sometimes. :)

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    1. Juliana, thank you so much!!! You are so sweet!
      I hope you find a suitable fabric and pattern for your lemon dress! They are great fun to wear, I can assure you. ;)
      Thank you again!!

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  2. Super cute dress! And happy birthday to you as well! My birthday is coming up very soon and I'm celebrating with an etsy sale and giveaway. I've posted the details on my blog. :)
    -Emily

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    1. Emily, thank you so much! I was so busy, I didn't know which way was up, but I meant to wish you a happy birthday at the time. Belated birthday wishes to you!! :)
      Thanks for commenting, as always!

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  3. This is such a beautiful dress, Esther! I love the print and the design details. Happy birthday!

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    1. Thank you so much, tanyamaile!! :) I always love the cute '50s dresses you make!! Especially your lemon birthday dress, just lovely.

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  4. Oh Esther!! I am swooning with happiness over this dress! OH and Happy Birthday to you lovely lady! I hope your day was a truly blessed one! And I haven't forgotten to send you those childrens' patterns...I just need to do it! Anyhoo, back to your dress. Whenever you get tired of it, you can send it to me! It makes me so crazy happy! The color, the design (LOVE that collar!) and the fact that you want to do another photo shoot with it holding a glass of lemonade! Swooning here! And yay for getting your garden in! I can't wait to move to a place that will allow me a large garden once again. I miss my big garden...
    Blessings and Happy Birthday once again!
    g

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    1. Gina!!!!!! Thank you SO much on all counts!! It was a very blessed day, and I had much fun wearing my new dress. Um, when I'll be getting tired of it, I can't say, but I'll send it to you someday if that does happen. ;)
      No rush at all on those patterns - if you send them sometime, I'll be thrilled! It's so kind of you to offer!! :)
      Thanks again, Gina! Blessings to you as well.

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  5. Lemon prints are one of my favourites. So fresh, clean and uplifting. If you know what I mean. A real classic! Fantastic silhouette and I can't believe you managed without a mock up. Well done!

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    1. Thank you so much, Christina!! You are too kind! :)

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  6. The dress turned out great! Love the print. Hooray on managing the collar and cuffs! Happy Birthday!

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  7. Absolutely adorable. Perfect for Summer! Your sewing skills are impeccable. I envy those sharp corners.

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    1. Ahh, thank you, Lauren!! You are way too sweet; YOU are the amazing seamstress!!!
      But thank you so much for your kind compliments. I truly appreciate it!

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  8. Happy, Happy birthday to you!!!!! This dress is one of the cutest ever, and that is saying a lot since so many of yours are darling! :) And my mother finally found your blog last night, she had SO much fun reading through a lot of your posts and seeing pictures of you and your mom. :) :) :) She said to tell you that she LOVES this dress and that you simply MUST do another photo shoot with that glass of lemonade. She also really, really liked the post about your mom's first vintage dress and said, "Well now, I could wear a dress like *this* one!" See, you all are having a fine influence on us from so many miles away. That's what dear Christian friends do, don't you know?!?!?!

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    1. Thank you so much, Sarah A.!! That was kind of your mom to say! I will definitely do the lemonade photo shoot, perhaps when Mom gets her lemon dress done?
      Hmm, methinks you should whip up a dress from that Butterick pattern for your mom, hmm? :) I think Mom has the collar pattern she used for hers, I could copy it for you if you wanted.
      :)

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  9. This dress is absolutely gorgeous, and I love the hat! You've inspired me to try some drafting of my own. And a very happy birthday to you. Hope you had a wonderful day xxx

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    1. Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Kaitlyn!! I can't wait to see what you sew next!
      :)

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  10. Joyful birthday wishes, sweet dear! I'm officially head-over-heels in love with this cheerful lemon print dress and confess to wishing that it was a repro offering to that I could add one to my closet as well.

    I hope that you had a splendid celebration and wish you endlessly cheerful, fun filled year ahead!

    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Aww, thank you very much, Jessica!! Perhaps someday I'll offer something similar in my shop, we'll see. :)

      Thank you for all your well wishes and sweet words!!

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  11. Hope you had a great birthday! The dress is lovely, as always :-)

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    1. Thank you very much, Draped in Cloudlets!! You are so kind. :)

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  12. Happy Birthday Esther! You look positively lovely and spring appropriate in your beautiful new dress. You did a fabulous job with it my dear.

    Blessings,
    Brigid

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