"Take One Dress"

 I've had fun sewing along with Victoria at As it seams. Her first blog series called "Take One Dress" is based on the ideas of inspiration and sharing (at least that's how I read into it!)  You can learn about the series here.

The first inspiring dress that she posted was a cute vintage dress she purchased in NY.  Victoria made a sweet-as-pie red flannel Christmas Dress with these incredible "shark-teeth" pintucks that I have been wanting to try ever since I saw them in her Secret Squirrel project. Maybe for next months sew-a-long...

Anyhoo, for January, La gang a Nat continued the inspiration with a little dress from her youth. The key features that she posted were (in her words): solid pale pink bodice; pale pink and white houndstooth skirt, sleeves and collar;  contrasting navy blue stitching;  visible navy blue metal zipper; navy blue piping on front bodice and around collar;  box pleats on skirt; peter pan collar; short sleeves folded over.

So here is what I came up with, and I'm quite proud that I drafted the entire thing myself :)

 

I used a soft brushed cotton that I found at Bolt, a cute little shop in Portland, for the bodice, scrap fabric from the stash for the faux belt and collar and the bottom was purchased at Bolt as well.  Its a Michael Miller print called "Wing Song" I believe. 

 The dress has a teal back zipper and the skirt has twenty-eight 3/4" pleats.  When the little one twirls, the birds in the bottom fabric flare out and can be seen between the pleats - I really like that effect :)

 The sleeves have a thin elastic casing so its super comfy for the little one and keeps the fabric out of her way. 

Originally I had wanted to use a hounds-tooth fabric, but I had a really difficult time finding one that wasn't black or grey.  I struggled with the fabric choices until I visited Bolt and found this great combination, and its perfect for Valentine's Day!  I think I kept true to form though with the inspiration dress by incorporating: 1. the solid/print combination 2. the peter pan collar 3. sleeves 4. pleats and 5. a vintage feel with the low waistline. 

Can't wait to start the next inspiring outfit!